EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

National Health Act 1953

National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Application to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of approved pharmacist - documentary evidence) Determination 2015

PB 5 of 2015

Authority

Subsection 91(2)(c) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Secretary of the Department of Health may determine in writing the types of documentary evidence that must accompany a request to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of an approved pharmacist.

Purpose

The purpose of the  National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Application to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of approved pharmacist – documentary evidence) Determination 2015 (Determination), made under subsection 91(2)(c) of the Act, is to replace the previous determination,  National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Application to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of approved pharmacist - documentary evidence) Determination 2005 which is due to sunset on 1 April 2015.

Section 90 of the Act provides for the Secretary to approve a pharmacist to supply Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines at particular premises.  Section 91 of the Act provides for the circumstances in which an application may be made to continue the supply of pharmaceutical benefits upon the death of an approved pharmacist.

Section 91of the Act enables a person who is, or is likely to become, an executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased approved pharmacist, to apply for permission to supply PBS medicines at or from the premises in respect of which the deceased pharmacist had been approved.

Such an application must be accompanied by documentary evidence, as determined by the Secretary under subsection 91(2)(c) of the Act.  The evidence set out in the Determination relates to the identity of the applicant and the nature of their claim, and will enable the Secretary to decide whether the applicant is, or is likely to become, the executor or the administrator of the deceased approved pharmacist’s estate.  Details are provided in the Attachment.

The Determination is as comprehensive as possible, however it need not be exhaustive since subsection 91(4) of the Act provides for the Secretary to request further information or documents from an applicant for the purpose of considering an application under section 91 of the Act.

A provision by provision description of the Determination is contained in the Attachment.

Consultation

As the purpose of this Instrument is to ensure the continuation of existing administrative arrangements beyond the current cessation date of 1 April 2015 and contains no substantial amendments, no formal consultation process has been undertaken.

This Instrument commences on the day after it is registered.

This Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

ATTACHMENT

PROVISION BY PROVISION DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH (PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS) (APPLICATION TO SUPPLY PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF APPROVED PHARMACIST - DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE) DETERMINATION 2015

Section 1 Name of Determination

This section provides for the Determination to be referred to as National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Application to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of approved pharmacist – documentary evidence) Determination 2015.  The Determination may be cited as PB 5 of 2015.

Section 2 Commencement and authority

This section provides that the Determination commences on the day after registration.  The authority for the Determination is paragraph 91(2) of the Act.

Section 3 Revocation

This section provides for the revocation of the previous determination, National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Application to supply pharmaceutical benefits following the death of approved pharmacist – documentary evidence) Determination 2005.

Section 4 Definitions

This section defines “Act” to mean the National Health Act 1953 and “certified copy” to mean a copy of a document certified to be a true copy by a person identified by regulation 4 of the Statutory Regulations 1993.

Section 5 Documentary evidence

Section 5 sets out the documentary evidence that is required by an applicant in respect of an application under subsection 91(1) of the National Health Act 1953, as set out below:

(a)          The applicant must provide evidence of his or her identity.  Photographic evidence such as a license or a passport is preferable.  Where this may not be available, the applicant must provide a certified document including his or her signature and a statutory declaration by the applicant that he or she is the person named in the first document.

(b)          The applicant must provide evidence that he or she is, or is likely to become, the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased approved pharmacist.  This encompasses various circumstances, for example:

                Where the applicant is an executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased approved pharmacist, the applicant should provide certification that he or she has been granted either probate or letters of administration by the court.

                Where the applicant is likely to become the executor of the estate of a deceased approved pharmacist, the applicant should provide a copy of his or her application to the court for probate. 

                Where the applicant has not yet applied for probate, the applicant should provide a statutory declaration that he or she will, as soon as is reasonably practicable, apply for probate and that, to his or her knowledge, there is no reason such an application would be refused.

                Where the applicant is likely to become the administrator of the estate of a deceased approved pharmacist, the applicant should provide evidence of his or her relationship with the deceased approved pharmacist.  This will assist the decision-maker to assess the likelihood of the applicant being granted letters of administration by the court. 

In addition, if there are persons other than the applicant that have an equal or higher priority to a grant of letters of administration, the applicant should provide evidence that those other persons consent to the applicant applying for letters of administration.

In circumstances where a will was made by the deceased approved pharmacist naming the applicant as his or her executor and that will was not properly executed, the applicant should provide evidence to this effect.

(c)          The applicant must provide a certified copy of the death certificate of the deceased approved pharmacist.

(d)          Where the deceased approved pharmacist died testate, the applicant must provide a certified copy of the deceased approved pharmacist’s will, together with a statutory declaration that, to his or her knowledge, it is the last will and testament of the deceased approved pharmacist.

(e)          Where the deceased approved pharmacist died intestate and the applicant has applied for letters of administration, the applicant must provide a certified copy of his or her application for letters of administration, together with a statutory declaration that, to his or her knowledge, there is no reason such an application would be refused.

(f)           Where the deceased approved pharmacist died intestate and the applicant has not applied for letters of administration, the applicant must provide a statutory declaration that he or she will apply for letters of administration as soon as practicable and that, to his or her knowledge, there is no reason such an application would be refused