Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

There are three amendments to this bill that have been requested by the Senate. These three requested amendments remove the requirements for determinations of rates of risk equalisation levy to be set by legislative instruments and simply require the rates to be determined in writing by the minister or his delegate. This is because the disallowable rules made under section 318-30 will set out the method for calculating the levy. Setting the rate of levy thus is an administrative decision to give effect to an outcome worked out under the disallowable rules and should not be subject to disallowance. However, it is fair and reasonable to have the enabling framework included in the rules to ensure that it is subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The funds pay their levy into a risk equalisation pool which, under the community rating, then helps cushion insurers against the claims costs of high-risk members and high-cost claims. The government accepts these requests and commends the amendments to the House.

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