EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
National Health Act 1953 No.
National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations (Amendment)
Apart from section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act), which provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for purposes of the Act, certain other provisions in the Act also specifically provide for matters to be prescribed by Regulation.
Paragraph 84D(7)(c) of the Act provides for the prescribing of particulars to be included on a prescription record form where the pharmaceutical benefit has been supplied to the holder of the form.
Subsection 84D(6) of the Act provides that where an approved pharmacist supplies a pharmaceutical benefit in accordance with subsection 84C(4) and the holder of a pharmaceutical benefits prescription record form presents it at the time of supply, the pharmacist must record the supply, including the supply at the “agreed price,” of under $11 items (for which the Commonwealth does not make any contribution), of the pharmaceutical benefit on the form. Where a person has had supplied to him or her 25 pharmaceutical benefits, he or she is entitled to be issued with an entitlement card allowing that person to be supplied with free pharmaceutical benefits for the rest of the calendar year. No compulsion is placed on the pharmacist to charge only the agreed price, but if he or she does not so charge, he or she is not able to record that supply on the prescription record form in accordance with subsection 84D(6). The “agreed price” is the price determined by the Minister after taking into account a number of factors outlined in subsection 84C(8) of the Act, and after consultation with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Paragraph 9A(4)(c) of the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations was made with effect from 1 August 1990 to ensure that the amount of the charge made for the supply of the pharmaceutical benefit was also recorded on a prescription record form. This would have allowed the Department of Community Services and Health (the Department) to check whether, for the purposes of filling in the record form under subsection 84D(6), the “agreed price” was in fact actually charged. The Department has since developed certain administrative measures to deal with this matter, and it is considered that these measures are more appropriate than the requirement (through paragraph 9A(4)(c)) for the pharmacist to record the charge.
Accordingly this amendment will repeal paragraph 9A(4)(c) with effect from 1 August 1990. The retrospectivity is not in breach of subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, ie the amendment will not prejudice the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth) existing at the date of notification of the Regulations, and liabilities will not be imposed on any person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of notification.