Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government is committed to protecting the integrity of the Medicare program. Rigorous and effective health provider compliance is a vital component of this commitment. The behaviour of individual practitioners remains a critical focus, but the government is adapting its compliance arrangements for corporations in recognition that they are increasingly involved in and influencing the provision of healthcare services.

The Health Legislation Amendment (Medicare Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2022 both strengthens and adds flexibility to compliance powers, especially the ability of the Professional Services Review, the PSR, to address the inappropriate practices of corporations. In essence, the bill extends provisions that are currently applicable only to individual practitioners, corporations and other nonpractitioners. The new provisions allow the director to come to an agreement with a body corporate or a nonpractitioner as an alternative to a lengthy review by a committee. This is a valuable and practical addition to the PSR's toolkit, facilitating confidential agreements with corporations while still ensuring that the PSR properly addresses inappropriate practice.

It must be emphasised, however, that while the bill strengthens the compliance arrangements in respect to corporations it also protects practitioners who are employed or otherwise engaged by corporations that acknowledge inappropriate practice. To be clear, individual practitioners will not be named in agreements with corporations. To encourage compliance, the director of the PSR will have discretion as to whether to publish details of the agreement when its terms are not fulfilled. The government's commitment to improve compliance is demonstrated through new sanctions, including civil liberties, to discourage behaviour that interferes with the ability of the PSR to review inappropriate practice and the Commonwealth's ability to recover debts formed in agreement between persons under review and the director. In addition, the director will be able to apply for court orders that require non-responsive corporations to comply with notices to produce information. Another important safeguard protecting the compliance terms negotiated in agreements is the extension of the government's ability to garnishee the bank accounts of persons or corporations that renege on agreements to repay a debt to the Commonwealth.

The bill also clarifies that a referral to the PSR may be made where it appears that there is a possibility that a person may have engaged in inappropriate practice in the provision of services. It is ultimately for the director or a committee to investigate whether a person has provided services and to determine whether the conduct of the person under review in relation to the rendering or initiation of those services amounts to inappropriate practice.

The bill also addresses inconsistencies arising from the introduction of legislation in 2018 to improve debt recovery powers under the Health Insurance Act 1973, the National Health Act 1953 and the Dental Benefits Act 2008. The bill introduces amendments clarifying the application of debt recovery provisions, the use of financial information powers, the recovery of Commonwealth debts from the states, the recovery of interest on Commonwealth debts and the administrative penalties for debts under the Shared Debt Recovery Scheme. Finally, the bill amends the National Health Act 1953 and the Dental Benefits Act 2008 to mirror recent changes to the Health Insurance Act 1973. The December 2020 amendments to the Health Insurance Act 1973 clarify the Commonwealth may recover incorrect payments resulting from the giving of false or misleading information.

I thank senators for their contributions and commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.