Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NATIONAL HEALTH (PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO.226

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 226

Issued by Authority of the Minister for Aged, Family and Health Services

National Health Act 1953

National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations for the purposes of the Act. Certain other provisions in the Act also specifically provide for matters to be prescribed by regulation.

Subsection 84D(7) of the Act provides that a record of the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit shall include the prescribed particulars of the prescription upon which the benefit is supplied and such other particulars relating to the supply of the benefit as are prescribed.

Subsections 84DA(3) and 84E(3) of the Act provide that an application for the issue of a safety net concession card or a pharmaceutical benefits entitlement card respectively must be accompanied by such documents as are prescribed.

Subsections 84H(1) and (3) of the Act provide for the issue of an additional and replacement concession and entitlement cards in accordance with the regulations.

The Health, Housing and Community Services Legislation Amendment Act 1992 establishes a joint safety net for supplies of benefits made under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and for supplies of drugs made through the out-patient departments of public hospitals. Amounts charged for drugs supplied under all of these arrangements will count towards the various thresholds for the issue of safety net concession cards and pharmaceutical benefit entitlement cards under the Act.

Regulation 5 of the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations (the Regulations) is amended to include definitions of "applicable amount", "out-patient medication", "public hospital" and "public hospital authority", in each case to have the same meaning as in the National Health Act 1953. These definitions are included as they are used in several of the amending regulations.

Regulation 9A of the Regulations is amended to make the changes necessary to allow for the recording of supplies of out-patient medication on prescription record forms.

Amendments to regulations 9AA and 9B of the Regulations ensure that prescription record forms or other documents which establish the value of supplies of out-patient medication are recognised in relation to applications for safety net concession cards and pharmaceutical benefits entitlement cards respectively.

The amendments to regulations 9AB, 9AC, 9C and 9D of the Regulations enable applications to be made to the public hospital authority which issued the original card for the issue of additional or replacement concession or entitlement cards respectively.

Amendments to regulations 9AD and 9E of the Regulations provide that where a public hospital authority refuses to issue an additional or replacement concession or entitlement card, an application for the issue of the card may be made to the Secretary.

The Regulations will commence on gazettal.