Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007

Administered by Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Legislation au C2007A00037 In force Act

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Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007

 

No. 37, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003, and for related purposes

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Schedule(s)

Schedule 1—Amendments

Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003

 

 

 

Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007

No. 37, 2007

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003, and for related purposes

[Assented to 30 March 2007]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provision(s)

Commencement

Date/Details

1.  Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table

The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

30 March 2007

2.  Schedule 1

1 April 2007.

1 April 2007

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by both Houses of the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.

 (2) Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedule(s)

  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.


Schedule 1—Amendments

 

Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003

1  Title

Omit “Reinsurance Trust Fund levy on registered health benefits organizations”, substitute “risk equalisation levy on private health insurers”.

2  Section 1

Omit “Reinsurance Trust Fund”, substitute “Risk Equalisation”.

Note: This item amends the short title of the Act. If another amendment of the Act is described by reference to the Act’s previous short title, that other amendment has effect after the commencement of this item as an amendment of the Act under its amended short title (see section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).

3  Section 5 (definition of Council)

Omit “National Health Act”, substitute “Private Health Insurance Act 2007”.

4  Section 5 (definition of National Health Act)

Repeal the definition.

5  Section 5

Insert:

private health insurer has the same meaning as in the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

6  Section 5 (definition of registered health benefits organization)

Repeal the definition, substitute:

registered health benefits organization means an organisation that was registered under Part VI of the National Health Act 1953 as in force before 1 April 2007.

7  Section 5 (definition of Reinsurance Trust Fund)

Repeal the definition.

8  Section 5 (definition of Reinsurance Trust Fund levy)

Repeal the definition.

9  Section 5 (definition of Reinsurance Trust Fund levy day)

Repeal the definition.

10  Section 5

Insert:

risk equalisation levy means a risk equalisation levy imposed under section 6.

11  Section 5

Insert:

risk equalisation levy day means a risk equalisation levy day specified in Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules made for the purposes of section 6.

12  Section 5

Insert:

Risk Equalisation Trust Fund means the Private Health Insurance Risk Equalisation Trust Fund continued in existence under section 3181 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

13  Section 5 (definition of supplementary Reinsurance Trust Fund levy day)

Repeal the definition.

14  Section 5

Insert:

supplementary risk equalisation levy day means a supplementary risk equalisation levy day specified in a determination by the Minister under section 6.

15  Section 6

Repeal the section, substitute:

6  Imposition of risk equalisation levy

 (1) Risk equalisation levy is imposed on each private health insurer:

 (a) on each day specified in the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules as a risk equalisation levy day for a financial year; and

 (b) on each day (if any) determined by the Minister, by legislative instrument, as a supplementary risk equalisation levy day for a financial year.

 (2) The Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules must not specify more than 4 levy days for a financial year.

 (3) The determination by the Minister must not specify more than 2 supplementary levy days for a financial year.

16  Subsection 7(1)

Omit “rate of Reinsurance Trust Fund”, substitute “rate of risk equalisation”.

Note: The heading to section 7 is altered by omitting “Reinsurance Trust Fund” and substituting “risk equalisation”.

17  Subsection 7(1) (table)

Repeal the table, substitute:

 

Rate of risk equalisation levy

Item

The rate of levy imposed on a …

is the rate that …

1

risk equalisation levy day

(a) is determined in writing by the Council; and

(b) applies on that day.

2

supplementary risk equalisation levy day

(a) is determined in writing by the Minister; and

(b) applies on that day.

 

18  Subsection 7(2)

Omit “follow the Ministerial principles determined under subsection 73BC(5B) of the National Health Act”, substitute “comply with the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Policy) Rules made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007”.

18A  At the end of section 7

Add:

 (4) An instrument made under paragraph (a) of item 1 or 2 of the table in subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.

19  Section 8

Omit “Reinsurance Trust Fund” (wherever occurring), substitute “risk equalisation”.

20  After section 10

Insert:

10A  Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules

  The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules providing for matters:

 (a) required or permitted by this Act to be provided; or

 (b) necessary or convenient to be provided in order to carry out or give effect to this Act.

21  Transitional provision

The total number of days in respect of which levy is imposed under the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Act 2003 for the financial year ending on 30 June 2007 must not exceed 6 days.

 

 

 [Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 7 December 2006

Senate on 26 February 2007]

(189/06)

 

Overview

The Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007, enacted by the Parliament of Australia and assented to on 30 March 2007, seeks to amend the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003. This legislation introduces changes to the structure and nomenclature of the levy system within the private health insurance sector, transitioning from a reinsurance trust fund to a risk equalisation system. The policy objective is to ensure a more equitable distribution of funds among private health insurers, aligning the system with contemporary health insurance practices and policy goals. The Act modifies key definitions and provisions of the original Act, replacing references to the "Reinsurance Trust Fund" and "Reinsurance Trust Fund levy" with "Risk Equalisation" and "risk equalisation levy" respectively. This shift is reflected in the renaming of the Act itself and in various sections where the new terminology is applied. Additionally, the Act delineates the process for imposing the risk equalisation levy on private health insurers and specifies the rules and limitations governing the levy days and rates. The overall aim is to facilitate a more balanced and effective risk equalisation mechanism within the private health insurance industry.

Scope and Application

The Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007 amends the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003, primarily to adjust the terminology and operational framework for the risk equalisation levy applicable to private health insurers in Australia. This Act applies to private health insurers as defined under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, and it affects their obligations and the operations of the Risk Equalisation Trust Fund. The amendments have a national jurisdictional reach, impacting all private health insurers operating within Australia. The Act introduces new definitions, replaces the previous Reinsurance Trust Fund terminology with risk equalisation, and modifies the levy imposition process, including the determination of levy days by the Council and the Minister. The Act also includes specific transitional provisions to manage the levy days for the financial year ending on 30 June 2007. Subordinate instruments, such as the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules, may further extend or restrict the application of the Act by detailing the specific matters required or permitted by this legislation.

Key Provisions

The Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Amendment Act 2007 amends the Private Health Insurance (Reinsurance Trust Fund Levy) Act 2003. The Act introduces a new risk equalisation levy instead of the previous reinsurance trust fund levy. The new levy applies to private health insurers (Section 6). The levy is imposed on specified days within a financial year, with up to four levy days allowed per financial year as specified in the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Rules (Section 6(2)). Additionally, the Minister may determine up to two supplementary levy days per financial year (Section 6(3)). The rates for these levies are determined by the Council and the Minister, respectively (Section 7). Under this Act, private health insurers are obligated to pay the risk equalisation levy on the specified levy days. The levy rates are determined by the Council for the risk equalisation levy days and by the Minister for the supplementary risk equalisation levy days. The levy must comply with the Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Policy) Rules made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 (Section 7(2)). The Act also mandates that the total number of levy days for the financial year ending on 30 June 2007 must not exceed six days (Transitional provision). Failure to comply with the provisions of this Act may result in civil or criminal penalties, although the Act itself does not specify the exact nature of these penalties. However, under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, breaches of the risk equalisation levy provisions could attract penalties, including fines. The specific penalties would be determined by the courts based on the severity and nature of the breach.

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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.