Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question, which the minister could perhaps answer for us, is on an issue that came up in a recommendation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing in The blame game report that was produced earlier. It is about the lack of PBI status, or public benevolent institution status, of certain institutions. Recently, submissions were made to the health and ageing committee’s inquiry into health funding. One of the issues that came up when we visited the IMVS in South Australia was that they had lost PBI status. People were working, perhaps side by side, in the same institution—medical staff and all sorts of people in diagnostic laboratories, pathology, and in-patient and outpatient clinical services—and were treated differently by the ATO. Consequently, the IMVS was unable to offer some staff the same salaries that other staff were getting in institutions that still get the PBI status. They were finding it hard to recruit and retain staff in such an important area, especially in regional areas, where we have huge shortages.

There was a recommendation in The blame game report, which I am sure would have been brought to the attention of the minister at some stage, that the Australian government amend the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986. It also affects aged-care facilities that are operated by local governments. The recommendation reads:

• local governments operating aged care facilities are able to qualify for fringe benefits tax exemptions granted to public benevolent institutions for employees involved in the aged care facility; and
• fringe benefits exemptions applying to public employers delivering health services in hospital-based settings also apply to public employers providing health services in other settings.

At the IMVS in Adelaide there are approximately 1,000 employees who are affected by this decision. They would like to see their status returned. A lot of them are leaving the institution and finding work with other employers who do offer those benefits. I would appreciate it if the parliamentary secretary could tell us whether there are any plans for the government to come up with a solution.

See this speech in context