Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services for inquiry and report by 20 September 2018:

Options for greater involvement by private sector life insurers in worker rehabilitation, including support after return to work, with particular reference to the following:

(1) the interaction of Income Protection (IP) insurance and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance with State, Territory, and Commonwealth legislative and regulatory frameworks including Medicare, government employment schemes, workers compensation arrangements, national injury insurance schemes, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and private health insurance;

(2) the interaction of IP and TPD insurance products with social security benefits in the context of the Life Insurance Act 1995, Health Insurance Act 1973 and Private Health Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2015;

(3) how benefits available under continuous disability policies, such as TPD, could be utilised to provide assistance and incentives to people returning to work, such as covering the cost of professional nursing care and other rehabilitation related expenses, including:

(a) whether there are any legal impediments to this; and

(b) whether there are any identifiable limits to this, for example with respect to cover arrangements for small business employees and the self-employed;

(4) the current definitions, standards, and requirements claimants must meet to access services and payments, including waiting periods or prerequisites;

(5) the consistency and transparency of IP and TPD insurance definitions, policies, and disclosure documents in the context of other rehabilitation schemes; and

(6) information available to consumers about IP and TPD insurance in the context of other rehabilitation schemes.

Question agreed to.

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