National Health Regulations (Amendment) 1993 No. 153
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 153
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services
National Health Act 1953
National Health Regulations (Amendment)
Subsection 140(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) enables the GovernorGeneral to make regulations, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed.
A number of government nursing homes in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are to be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.
Currently, proprietors of government nursing homes receive a fixed rate of benefit for each nursing home patient. The rate of benefit paid in respect of such patients has been frozen since 1985. The Government has announced its intention that government nursing homes be brought into the care aggregated module (CAM) funding system which applies to privately operated and adjusted fee government nursing homes. The CAM funding system will result in higher levels of benefit being paid to the proprietors of nursing homes that become adjusted fee government nursing homes. In order for existing government nursing homes to become adjusted fee government nursing homes and thereby be brought into the CAM funding system, they must be prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purposes of section 4AAAA of the Act.
It is proposed that groups of government nursing homes throughout Australia will be progressively prescribed as adjusted fee government nursing homes for the purpose of the Act. On 1 May 1993, the first group of government nursing homes in Victoria became adjusted fee government nursing homes, followed by another group in Victoria on 1 June 1993.
On 1 July 1993, a third group of government nursing homes will become adjusted fee government nursing homes. The nursing homes are in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Accordingly, the Regulations prescribe the following government nursing homes as adjusted fee government nursing homes from 1 July 1993:
Name & Address of Nursing Home |
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The Regulations will commence on 1 July 1993.