Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 1953 - SECT 125

  (1)   Where a matter referred to a Committee concerns the conduct of a PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist, as the case may be, the Chairperson of the Committee shall cause notice in writing of the matter so referred, and of the time and place at which the Committee intends to hold an inquiry into the matter, to be given to that PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist at least 10 days before the date of the inquiry.

  (2)   For the purposes of ascertaining whether a matter referred to a Committee concerns the conduct of a PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist, the Committee may, before causing notice to be given to any person, meet and examine any written evidence or allegation referred to the Committee by the Minister or the Secretary in relation to the matter.

  (4)   Subject to subsection   (5), the Committee shall afford a PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist to whom notice has been given in pursuance of subsection   (1) an opportunity of examining witnesses, giving evidence and calling witnesses and of addressing the Committee.

  (5)   Where a PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist to whom notice has been given in pursuance of subsection   (1) fails to attend at the time and place specified in the notice, the Committee may, unless it is satisfied that the PBS prescriber or approved pharmacist is prevented by illness or other unavoidable cause from so attending, proceed to hold the inquiry in the absence of the PBS prescriber or approved pharmacist.

  (6)   For the purposes of this section, inquiry includes a reconsideration of a question by a Committee in pursuance of subsection   124(4) where that reconsideration involves the rehearing of evidence or the hearing of further evidence.

  (7)   When a matter referred to a Federal Committee of Inquiry concerns a course of conduct of PBS prescribers or approved pharmacists generally or in a class of cases, the matter shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to concern the conduct of a PBS prescriber or an approved pharmacist, as the case may be.