National Health Regulations (Amendment) 1994 No. 9
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 9
Issued by authority of the Minister for Health
National Health Act 1953
National Health Regulations (Amendment)
Section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.
The term "day hospital facility" is presently defined in subsection 4(1) of the Act as follows:
"(a) premises registered as a hospital under a law of a State or Territory relating to the registration of hospitals; or
(b) premises, or premises included in a class of premises, prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;"
The purpose of the proposed regulations is to approve a day hospital facility for South Australia. South Australia does not have the legislation to approve that State's day only facilities for health insurance purposes and must, therefore, rely on Federal approval.
Regulation 4 of the National Health Regulations formerly prescribed thirteen premises as "day hospital facilities" for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the above definition.
Subregulation 2.1 of the regulations amended the existing subregulation by adding a new paragraph (n) in the National Health Regulations to prescribe, for the purposes of the above definition, Northern Endoscopy Centre, 127 Frost Road, Brahma Lodge, South Australia, in addition to the other thirteen prescribed premises, as a day hospital facility'.
After the Regulations came into effect, the patients of the Northern Endoscopy Centre became eligible to receive basic table health insurance benefits, as are patients of all other such day hospital facilities.
The regulations commenced on Gazettal.