PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012

Administered by Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Legislation au F2012L02383 Rules Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

 

PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012

D

as amended

made under section 109 of the

Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012

Compilation start date:                             16 June 2015

Includes amendments up to: PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment (support of parental responsibility claim) Rule 2015

About this compilation

The compiled instrument

This is a compilation of the PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012 as amended and in force on 16 June 2015.  It includes any amendment affecting the compiled instrument to that date.

This compilation was prepared on 24 June 2015.

The notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information about amending Acts and instruments and the amendment history of each amended provision.

Uncommenced provisions and amendments

If a provision of the compiled instrument is affected by an uncommenced amendment, the text of the uncommenced amendment is set out in the endnotes.

Application, saving and transitional provisions for amendments

If the operation of an amendment is affected by an application, saving or transitional provision, the provision is identified in the endnotes.

Modifications

If a provision of the compiled instrument is affected by a textual modification that is in force, the text of the modifying provision is set out in the endnotes.

Provisions ceasing to have effect

If a provision of the compiled instrument has expired or otherwise ceased to have effect in accordance with a provision of the instrument, details of the provision are set out in the endnotes.

 

Contents

 

 

Part 1 Preliminary 

1. Name of Rules 

2. Commencement 

3. Definitions 

Part 2 Assisted registration 

Division 1 Application for registration 

4. Application for registration

Division 2 Undertaking assisted registration 

5. Eligibility to undertake assisted registration

6. Identification of consumer

7. Consumer consent

8. Must inform consumer of alternative methods of registration

Division 3 Security requirements 

9. Healthcare provider organisation policies

Endnotes 

Endnote 1Legislation history

Endnote 2―Amendment history

Endnote 3―Uncommenced amendments (none)

Endnote 4―Misdescribed amendments (none)

Part 1 Preliminary

1.                      Name of Rules

These Rules are the PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012.

2.                      Commencement

The PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012 commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

3.                      Definitions

(1)     In these Rules, unless the contrary intention appears:

Act means the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012;

assisted registration means the process, in accordance with subrule (2), in which a registered healthcare provider organisation assists a consumer to apply to register for a PCEHR.

Note: Other terms used in these Rules have the same meaning as in the Act: see section 13 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. These terms include: approved form, authorised representative, consumer, employee, identifying information, PCEHR, PCEHR system, registered healthcare provider organisation, and System Operator.

(2)     Assisted registration:

(a)                    allows a registered healthcare provider organisation to submit identifying information to the System Operator on behalf of a consumer who is applying to be:

(i)        registered under section 41 of the Act; or

(ii)      recognised by the System Operator, under section 6 of the Act, as an authorised representative of a person aged under 18 years:

(A)                  for whom the consumer asserts parental responsibility; and

(B)                  who is applying to be registered under section 41 of the Act; and

(b)                    requires the registered healthcare provider organisation to check the identity of the consumer who is making the application, in accordance with Rule 6 of these Rules, before asserting that identity to the System Operator.

(3)        For the purposes of paragraph 3(2)(a), the consumer who is applying to be recognised by the System Operator, under section 6 of the Act, as an authorised representative of a person aged under 18 years, must:

(a)                    be co-located on the same Medicare card as the person; or

(b)                    be applying in respect of a person who is aged not more than 14 days; or

(c)                   be the subject of a declaration by the healthcare provider organisation that it supports the consumer’s assertion under
sub-subparagraph 3(2)(a)(ii)(A) of parental responsibility for the person.

 

Part 2 Assisted registration

Division 1 Application for registration

4.                      Application for registration

For the purposes of paragraph 15(f) of the Act, the System Operator may permit consumers to apply to register for a PCEHR through assisted registration.

Division 2 Undertaking assisted registration

5.                      Eligibility to undertake assisted registration

For the purposes of paragraph 15(f) and subsections 109(3) and (5) of the Act, assisted registration of a consumer may be undertaken only by an employee of a registered healthcare provider organisation who is authorised by that organisation for that purpose.

Note: Employee has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Act. It includes: (a) an individual who provides services for the entity under a contract for services; and (b) an individual whose services are made available to the entity (including those services made free of charge).

6.                      Identification of consumer

Before asserting a consumer’s identity to the System Operator for the purpose of assisted registration, the registered healthcare provider organisation must:

(a)                    exercise reasonable care in identifying the consumer; and

(b)                    be satisfied that the consumer is the person whose identity is to be asserted to the System Operator.
 

6A.                              Declaration to support a consumer’s assertion of parental responsibility

 Before making a declaration to support a consumer’s assertion of parental responsibility for a person, the healthcare provider organisation must exercise reasonable care.

7.                      Consumer consent

(1)     A registered healthcare provider organisation that undertakes assisted registration must record, in writing, the consumer’s consent to apply to be registered through assisted registration and for the purpose of subsection 41(3) of the Act.

(2)     A consumer’s consent must be recorded in a form approved by the System Operator.

(3)     The registered healthcare provider organisation must do one, or both, of the following:

(a)                    store the record of the consumer’s consent for not less than three years from the date the consumer gave that consent in the approved form;

(b)                    submit the record of the consumer’s consent to the System Operator not more than 30 days after the consumer gave that consent in the approved form.

(4)     The System Operator must retain the record of the consumer’s consent that has been submitted by a registered healthcare provider organisation for not less than three years from the date the consumer gave that consent in the approved form.

Note:               The System Operator cannot register a consumer if the consumer does not consent to a registered healthcare provider organisation uploading to the PCEHR system any record that includes health information about the consumer, subject to express consumer advice that particular records not be uploaded and prescribed laws: see subsections 41(3) and (4) of the Act.

8.                      Must inform consumer of alternative methods of registration

Before providing assisted registration for a consumer, a registered healthcare provider organisation must inform the consumer that an application to register may be made at a Medicare office, by telephone, by the Internet, or by mail.


 

Division 3 Security requirements

 

9.                      Healthcare provider organisation policies

For the purposes of rule 25 of the PCEHR Rules 2012 and in addition to the matters specified in subrule 25(4) of the PCEHR Rules 2012, the written policy of a registered healthcare provider organisation that undertakes assisted registration must reasonably address:

(a)                    the manner of authorising employees of the organisation to provide assisted registration;

(b)                    the training that will be provided before a person is authorised to provide assisted registration;

(c)                    the manner of recording a consumer’s consent and how that record will be handled for retention purposes; and

(d)                    the process and criteria for identifying a consumer for the purposes of assisted registration.

 

Note: Registered healthcare provider organisations must provide to the System Operator a copy of its written policy upon request under rule 26 of the PCEHR Rules 2012.

 


Endnotes

Endnote 1―Legislation history

 

This endnote sets out details of the legislation history of the PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012.

 

Title

FRLI registration date

Commencement date

Application, saving and
transitional provisions

PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012

10 December 2012 (see F2012L02383)

11 December 2012

 

PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment Rules 2013 (No. 1)

24 May 2013 (see F2013L00838)

25 May 2013

PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment (support of parental responsibility claim) Rule 2015

15 June 2015 (see F2015L00804)

16 June 2015

 

 


Endnote 2―Amendment history

 

This endnote sets out the amendment history of the PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment (support of parental responsibility claim) Rule 2015.

 

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted     exp. = expired or ceased to have effect

Provision affected

How affected

S.3…...................................


S.6A....................................

am. PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment (support of parental responsibility claim) Rule 2015

ad. PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Amendment (support of parental responsibility claim) Rule 2015

 


Endnote 3―Uncommenced amendments (none)

 

There are no uncommenced amendments.


Endnote 4―Misdescribed amendments (none)

 

There are no misdescribed amendments.

Overview

The PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012 were made under section 109 of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012 (PCEHR Act) and aim to streamline the process for consumers to register for a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). The rules were enacted to address the need for a more accessible and efficient method for consumers to register for a PCEHR, particularly those who may face challenges in doing so independently. The policy objective is to facilitate the registration process while maintaining security and consumer consent protocols. The PCEHR Act establishes a national system for PCEHRs, and these rules provide the framework for assisted registration, allowing registered healthcare provider organisations to assist consumers in the registration process, subject to certain conditions and requirements, such as verifying the consumer's identity and obtaining their written consent. The rules came into effect on 11 December 2012 and have since been amended to, among other things, include provisions for supporting parental responsibility claims.

Scope and Application

The PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012, as amended, apply to registered healthcare provider organisations that assist consumers in applying for a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). These rules detail the procedures and requirements for assisted registration, including the eligibility of employees to undertake such registration, the need for the healthcare provider organisation to verify the consumer's identity, and the consumer's consent to be registered through assisted means. The rules also mandate that the healthcare provider organisation must inform consumers of alternative methods of registration and require the organisation to have written policies that address the authorisation of employees, training, consent recording and retention, and consumer identification processes. These rules operate nationally across Australia, and they extend to subordinate instruments that may further define or amend specific aspects of the assisted registration process. The rules do not specify any exclusions or exemptions, and their application is governed by the provisions of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012.

Key Provisions

The PCEHR (Assisted Registration) Rules 2012 govern the process by which a registered healthcare provider organisation can assist a consumer in registering for a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). Rule 4 allows the System Operator to permit consumers to apply for registration through assisted registration. Rule 5 specifies that only authorised employees of a registered healthcare provider organisation can undertake assisted registration. Rule 6 requires the organisation to exercise reasonable care in identifying the consumer and be satisfied that the consumer is the person whose identity is to be asserted. Rule 7 mandates that the consumer’s consent to assisted registration must be recorded in writing and in an approved form. The organisation must then either store this record for at least three years or submit it to the System Operator within 30 days of the consent being given. Rule 8 requires the organisation to inform the consumer of alternative methods of registration before providing assisted registration. Rule 9 outlines the security requirements for the organisation's written policy, which must address the authorisation of employees, training requirements, the recording and handling of consumer consent, and the process for identifying consumers. The Act imposes several obligations on the parties involved. Registered healthcare provider organisations must ensure that only authorised employees undertake assisted registration and that they exercise reasonable care in identifying consumers. They must record and handle consumer consent appropriately and inform consumers of alternative registration methods. The System Operator must permit assisted registration, retain records of consumer consent, and ensure that no consumer is registered without their consent, subject to specific exceptions. Healthcare provider organisations must also provide their written policy to the System Operator upon request. The Rules do not explicitly outline offences or penalties for breaches of the assisted registration process. However, non-compliance with these Rules and the Act could potentially lead to civil or criminal liability under the overarching legislation, the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012. The Act itself may include provisions for offences and penalties related to breaches of its requirements, although specific details are not provided within these Rules.

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Concepts
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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.