Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) In this section:
"dental practitioner" means a person registered or licensed as a dental practitioner or dentist under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of dental practitioners or dentists.
"eligible person" means a person eligible under section 85 or 86 to be provided with treatment under this Part.
"in-patient" , in relation to a private hospital, means a person who occupies a bed in the hospital.
"medical practitioner" means a person registered or licensed as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners.
"officer" , in relation to a corporation, includes:
(a) a director, secretary, manager or employee of the corporation;
(b) a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; or
(c) a liquidator of the corporation appointed in a voluntary winding up.
"pathology service" means a procedure of a kind described in an item in the table of pathology services prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of section 4A of the Health Insurance Act 1973 .
"patient" means an eligible person who is provided with treatment under this Part.
"practitioner" means:
(a) a medical practitioner; or
(b) a dental practitioner.
"private hospital" means premises that are a private hospital for the purposes of section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 .
"proprietor" means:
(a) in relation to premises--the person, authority or body of persons having effective control of the premises, whether or not that person, authority or body is the holder of an estate or interest in the premises; and
(b) in relation to a private hospital--the proprietor (within the meaning of paragraph (a)) of the premises occupied by the hospital.
(2) A person who:
(a) being a person who renders pathology services, carries on the business of rendering pathology services or is a proprietor of premises at which pathology services are rendered, directly or indirectly offers any inducement (whether by way of money, property or other benefit or advantage), or threatens any detriment or disadvantage:
(i) to a practitioner as defined in subsection (1) in order to encourage the practitioner to request the rendering of a pathology service or of pathology services; or
(ii) to a person (other than a practitioner as defined in subsection (1)) in order to encourage such a practitioner to request the rendering of a pathology service or of pathology services;
(b) being a person who renders pathology services, carries on the business of rendering pathology services or is a proprietor of premises at which pathology services are rendered:
(i) directly or indirectly invites a practitioner as defined in subsection (1) to request the rendering of a pathology service or of pathology services; or
(ii) does any act or thing that the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, is likely to have the effect of directly or indirectly encouraging a practitioner as defined in subsection (1) to request the rendering of a pathology service or of pathology services; or
(c) being a practitioner as defined in subsection (1) who provides treatment for eligible persons under this Part, asks, receives or obtains, or agrees to receive or obtain, any property, benefit or advantage of any kind for himself or herself, or for any other person, from a person carrying on the business of rendering pathology services or from a person acting on behalf of a person carrying on such a business;
commits an offence against this section.
(3) In subsection (2):
(a) a reference to requesting the rendering of a pathology service shall be read as a reference to requesting the rendering of a pathology service or of pathology services for a person who is eligible to be provided with that service or those services under this Part;
(b) a reference to requesting the rendering of pathology services shall be read as a reference to requesting the rendering of pathology services for persons who are eligible to be provided with those services under this Part; and
(c) a reference to a person carrying on the business of rendering pathology services shall be read as a reference to a person who carries on a business in the course of which any pathology services are rendered.
(4) A person who, being a practitioner as defined in subsection (1), asks, receives or obtains, or agrees to receive or obtain, any property, benefit or advantage of any kind for himself or herself or for any other person from a proprietor of a private hospital or from a person acting on behalf of such a proprietor on the understanding that the first - mentioned person will, in any manner, do any act or thing the purpose of which is, or the effect of which will be, to enable an eligible person to be admitted as an in - patient in the hospital for treatment that the person is eligible to be provided with under this Part, commits an offence against this section.
(5) A person who, being a proprietor or one of the proprietors of a private hospital or a person acting on behalf of such a proprietor, in order to influence or affect a practitioner as defined in subsection (1) in the doing of any act or thing the purpose of which is, or the effect of which will be, to enable an eligible person to be admitted as an in - patient in the hospital for treatment that the person is eligible to be provided with under this Part, gives or confers, or agrees to give or confer, to or on the practitioner or any other person any property, benefit or advantage of any kind, commits an offence against this section.
(6) Where an offence against this section is committed by a corporation, an officer of the corporation who intentionally authorised or permitted the commission of the offence commits an offence against this section.
(8) A person who is convicted of an offence against this section is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.
(9) In a prosecution of a person for an offence against this section, it is a defence if the person proves that the conduct in question was in accordance with the standards of professional conduct generally accepted by medical practitioners.
(9A) Paragraph (2)(c), and subsections (4) and (5), do not apply if the person concerned has a reasonable excuse.
Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (9A). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .
(10) Where a person is convicted of an offence against this section by virtue of subsection (4) or (5) in relation to the admission of a person as an in - patient in a hospital, the court may, in addition to imposing a penalty in respect of the offence, order the person to pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the sum of any amounts paid by the Commonwealth in respect of treatment provided under this Part for the in - patient of the private hospital concerned.