Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fees) Act 2007

No. 33, 2007

An Act to impose, as a tax, fees in relation to applications for listing, and listing, of prostheses, 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 (Prostheses Application and Listing Fees) Act 2007.

2 Commencement

This Act commences at the same time as the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 commences.

3 Imposition of application fees

(1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules may specify an application fee for applications made under section 72‑10 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

(2) The specified application fee is imposed, and is imposed as a tax.

4 Imposition of listing fees

(1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules may specify an initial listing fee for the purposes of subsection 72‑10(5) of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

(2) The specified initial listing fee is imposed, and is imposed as a tax.

(3) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules may specify an ongoing listing fee for the purposes of section 72‑15 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

(4) The specified ongoing listing fee is imposed, and is imposed as a tax, on each day specified in the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules as an ongoing listing fee imposition day.

(5) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules must not specify more than 2 ongoing listing fee imposition days in any period of 12 months.

5 Matters relating to fees

(1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules may specify:

(a) different application fees under subsection 3(1); or

(b) different initial listing fees under subsection 4(1); or

for different circumstances.

(2) The maximum amount of an application fee or initial listing fee is:

(a) $2,000, in relation to an application made in the financial year in which this Act commences; and

(b) in relation to a later financial year—the amount worked out under section 6.

(3) The maximum amount of an ongoing listing fee is:

(a) $2,000, in relation to a fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee imposition day in the financial year in which this Act commences; or

(b) in relation to a fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee imposition day in a later financial year—the amount worked out under section 6.

(4) The amount of a fee may be nil.

(5) Fees do not have to bear any relationship to the cost of the services in relation to which they are payable.

6 Indexation of maximum fees

(1) For the purposes of paragraphs 5(2)(b) and (3)(b), the maximum amount of a fee is worked out by multiplying the indexation factor for the financial year by the maximum amount of the fee in the previous financial year.

(2) The indexation factor for the financial year is the amount worked out, to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more), by using this formula:

where:

index number, for a quarter, is the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) published by the Australian Statistician for the quarter and in force at the time the indexation factor for the financial year is worked out under this section.

(3) If the indexation factor for the financial year worked out under subsection (2) is 1 or less, the maximum amount of:

(a) an application fee or an initial listing fee in relation to an application made in the financial year; or

(b) an ongoing listing fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee imposition day in the financial year;

is the previous year’s maximum.

7 Person liable for fee

(1) A person who makes an application under section 72‑10 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 is liable to pay the application fee for the application, at the time the application is made.

(2) A person who makes an application under section 72‑10 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 is, if the Minister grants the application, liable to pay:

(a) the initial listing fee for the application, at the time the person is informed of the Minister’s decision to grant the application; and

(b) the ongoing listing fee, on each subsequent ongoing listing fee imposition day.

(3) If there is no applicant in relation to a kind of prosthesis because the prosthesis was listed in the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses) Rules in accordance with section 12 of the Private Health Insurance (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2007, then the person who was, immediately before the commencement of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, the sponsor of that prosthesis for the purposes of the National Health Act 1953 is liable to pay the ongoing listing fee on each ongoing listing fee imposition day.

8 Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules

The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) 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.

9 Regulations

The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the purposes of carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 7 December 2006

Senate on 26 February 2007]

(188/06)