Commonwealth Coat of Arms

Health Insurance Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4)1

Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 294

I, QUENTIN BRYCE, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulation under the Health Insurance Act 1973.

Dated 6 December 2012

QUENTIN BRYCE

Governor-General

By Her Excellency’s Command

TANYA PLIBERSEK

Minister for Health

1 Name of regulation

  This regulation is the Health Insurance Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4).

2 Commencement

  This regulation commences on 27 December 2012.

3 Amendment of Health Insurance Regulations 1975

  Schedule 1 amends the Health Insurance Regulations 1975.

Schedule 1 Amendments

(section 3)

 

[1] Regulation 29, heading

substitute

29 Manner of patient referrals

[2] Subregulation 29 (1)

substitute

 (1) For section 132A of the Act, this regulation and regulations 30 and 31 set out the manner in which a patient is to be referred by a referring practitioner to another practitioner for the purposes of:

 (a) an item in the general medical services table; or

 (b) an item in a determination made under subsection 3C (1) of the Act;

specifying a service to be rendered by a specialist or consultant physician, in the practice of his or her speciality, to a patient referred to the specialist or consultant physician.

[3] Regulation 31, heading

substitute

31 Period of validity for referrals

[4] Subregulation 31 (1)

omit

Subject to subregulations (1A), (1B) and (1C), a referral given under regulation 29 is valid:

insert

Unless the period of validity for a referral is otherwise provided for in this regulation, the referral may state a period for which it remains valid and it will remain valid:

Note

1. All legislative instruments and compilations are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments kept under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. See www.comlaw.gov.au.