Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973 - SECT 23DZZIR

Any person offers or provides prohibited benefit

  (1)   A person (the first person ) commits an offence if:

  (a)   the first person offers or provides a benefit to a second person; and

  (b)   the first person intends that the benefit will induce a requester of one or more of kinds of pathology services or diagnostic imaging services to request any of those kinds of services from a particular provider; and

  (c)   the benefit is not a permitted benefit.

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 5 years.

Note:   For the liability of an executive officer of a body corporate, see section   23DZZIT.

  (2)   The requester in paragraph   (1)(b) may or may not be the second person. The provider in paragraph   (1)(b) may or may not be the first person.

Provider knows that another person offers or provides prohibited benefit

  (3)   A person commits an offence if:

  (a)   the person is a provider; and

  (b)   a second person offers or provides a benefit to a third person; and

  (c)   the second person intends that the benefit will induce a requester of one or more kinds of pathology services or diagnostic imaging services to request any of those kinds of services from the provider; and

  (d)   the provider knows (either at the time of the offer or provision of the benefit or at any later time) that:

  (i)   the second person offers or provides the benefit to the third person; and

  (ii)   the second person has that intention; and

  (e)   the benefit is not a permitted benefit.

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 5 years.

Note:   For the liability of an executive officer of a body corporate, see section   23DZZIT.

  (4)   The requester in paragraph   (3)(c) may or may not be the third person.

  (5)   Subsection   (3) does not apply if:

  (a)   within 30 days after the provider first becomes aware as mentioned in paragraph   (3)(d), the provider reports the benefit to the Chief Executive Medicare, in the form approved in writing by the Chief Executive Medicare; or

  (b)   that 30 day period has not elapsed.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection   (5) (see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).