Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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HEALTH INSURANCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 239

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 239

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services

Health Insurance Act 1973

Health Insurance Regulations (Amendment)

The Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) provides in part for the payment of medicare benefits for professional services rendered by medical practitioners and certain professional services rendered by dental practitioners and optometrists.

Section 133 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The Regulations are necessary to amend the Health Insurance Regulations as a consequence of the repeal, in Statutory Rule No. 120 of 1992, of Statutory Rules No. 95 and No. 119 of 1992. These statutory rules were to have amended the item numbering in, and a rule of interpretation to, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Table as from 1 May 1992. As a result of this repeal (on 30 April 1992) amendments in Statutory Rule No. 111 of 1992 to Health Insurance Regulations 10, 11 and 12 (at that time numbered Health Insurance Regulations 2ADAAA, 2ADAA.B and 2ADAAC respectively), which were intended to reflect changes to item numbers in the Diagnostic Imaging Services Table from 1 May 1992, became redundant.

The Regulations amend Health Insurance Regulations 10, 11 and 12 so as to revert to the item numbers quoted in the Health Insurance Regulations prior to the amendments to the Health Insurance Regulations in Statutory Rule No. 111 of 1992. The Regulations need to become operative immediately after the date on which Statutory Rules of Nos. 95 and 119 were repealed, that is, 30 April 1992.

The item numbers restored by Regulations 3 and 4 relate to diagnostic imaging services which dental practitioners, chiropractors, physiotherapists and podiatrists may request a medical practitioner to perform. Regulation 5 restores item numbers relating to diagnostic imaging services which may be performed by pre-existing diagnostic imaging practices.

AS the abovementioned repeal of amendments to the Diagnostic Imaging Services Table occurred prior to the commencement date of 1 May 1992, practitioners requesting or performing these services have continued to use the item numbers which have now been restored. Since no rights could have been adversely affected nor obligations imposed in relation to the item numbers that have been removed from the Health Insurance Regulations because the items were never applied to the diagnostic imaging services rendered after 30 April 1992, no person can be prejudiced by the retrospective effect of the Regulations.