Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The intent of the My Health Records Act has always been clear: to help improve the health care of all Australians and to ensure that health information is managed safely and securely in the My Health Record system. The government recognises that you cannot have one without the other. The My Health Record system is changing the nature of health care in Australia for the better. It is increasingly becoming a standard feature of good health care. More than six million Australians are, I am advised, already experiencing the benefits, with access to important health information when and where it is needed so that the right treatment can be delivered more safely and faster.

When the predecessor to this was first brought to the parliament under the previous Labor government, it passed through both houses of the parliament, I am advised, with not just bipartisan support but unanimous support. I know that, when the updating legislation was brought to the parliament in 2015, it was also passed unanimously through the House and through the Senate. That was to facilitate and enable opt-out. I welcome the presence of the member for Ballarat in the chamber. She said in relation to the measures to allow the opt-out at the time and the measures which were included in the bill, 'We think they are sensible measures.' She was correct then. Since then, I would note that on 15 May 2018 the member for Ballarat said:

Labor welcomes that the Turnbull Government has at long last announced the opt-out process for the national rollout of electronic health records.

Three days later, she reaffirmed:

Now the My Health Record is something we've supported—we've supported the Government in having an opt-out approach …

There was a slight change some weeks later, but I understand they still support the opt-out. They do not support the current timing. That is, however, at odds with the position of the RACGP and the AMA. We recently had a reaffirmation of support for the opt-out approach at COAG unanimously, from all states and territories. This is an important development that will help save lives and protect lives. As the President of the AMA, Tony Bartone, said in his article in The Sydney Morning Herald, this can save lives. He gave examples of where it can do that. So to further delay it would be a very poor outcome. The government will not be supporting, therefore, those amendments, given the advice of the medical professionals, given the progress to date and given the actions we are taking in the My Health Records Amendment (Strengthening Privacy) Bill 2018.

In advice given before the Senate this week the head of the Digital Health Agency noted that the opt-out rate so far has been significantly lower than the government had anticipated. We had anticipated a 10 per cent opt-out; at this point it's about three per cent. There's more to go, so we won't make a final prediction, but it's significantly lower than we had anticipated. We had not been anticipating any significant uptick in voluntary opt-ins, given that the process will soon be complete, and that was significantly higher, according to the Digital Health Agency head, Mr Tim Kelsey, than was anticipated.

I thank all members for their contribution to the debate on this bill. This bill will strengthen the privacy protections for the My Health Record system, and remove any doubt as to how seriously the government takes the security of health information. The bill will provide additional confidence and additional protections, and it will remove the ability of the system operator, in particular, to disclose health information to law enforcement bodies and other government bodies without a court order or express consent from the consumer. The bill will also require the system operator to delete health information that it holds for any consumer who has cancelled their My Health Record. Once they cancel it, it will be deleted forever. The legislative changes further strengthen the existing privacy controls that apply to every My Health Record. They build on a system that was designed and implemented after consultation with consumers, privacy advocates and experts, health sector representatives, health software providers, medical indemnity insurers, and state and territory governments.

The protections enshrined in this bill are some of the strongest in the Commonwealth. Once a consumer has a My Health Record they can set a range of access controls. For example, they can set up an access code so that only those organisations they elect can access their record, and they can be notified when their record is accessed. The My Health Record is an important—indeed, fundamental—piece of our national health infrastructure. It addresses a critical problem with the Australian health system. Our health information is fragmented and spread across a vast number of locations and systems. This problem is a longstanding one and its costs are well understood. The benefits of a safe and secure system are significant for all Australians in terms of health and economic outcomes through avoided hospital admissions, fewer adverse drug events, reduced duplication of tests, better coordination of care for people who are seeing multiple healthcare providers, and better-informed treatment decisions.

Against that background, I respect and appreciate the contributions made, not just within this House but also outside it, by different people to provide the additional elements in relation to public confidence and security. It's a system that has been operating extraordinarily well for six years, with six million participants to date. I think in years to come it will be seen as a critical and fundamental basis for the Australian healthcare system. It will save lives and protect lives, simply—to use the words of the president of the AMA, no less. I particularly want to thank the AMA and the College of General Practitioners for their role and their leadership in working with the government on these changes. I would note that the Senate is currently inquiring, and we'll address and consider any issues that are raised in its report. I am open to discussions on those, subject to their not interfering with the fundamental integrity of the system. That will allow further matters to be dealt with within the Senate—and I say that in a genuine, positive spirit, to the opposition and others in the chamber and within the parliament.

The Australian government is committed to the My Health Record system, because it is changing health care in Australia for the better and because it can and will save and protect lives, at the very moment that people are most likely to need access to that information but may be the least capable of providing it because of accident, emergency, crisis, or physical or mental inability—for example, if they are having a major attack. The Australian government is therefore equally committed to the privacy of individuals' health information. These measures to strengthen the privacy protections demonstrate this commitment and appropriately balance the need to protect personal health information with the benefit of clear and consolidated health information to support clinical decisions. I commend the bill to the House.

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