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Private Health Insurance (Council Administration Levy) Amendment Bill 2006
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Private Health Insurance (Council Administration Levy) Amendment Bill 2006
Date introduced:
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Health and Ageing
To impose the Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC) levy through amendments to the Private Health Insurance (Council Administration Levy) Act 2003.
This is one of four Bills reimposing existing levies
on private health insurers. This Bill was introduced as part of a suite
of legislation to reflect the new regulatory regime detailed in the
accompanying Private Health Insurance Bill 2006. On
Separate Bills are required for each levy because they could be construed as imposing a tax and section 55 of the Constitution requires that such Bills ‘deal with one subject of taxation only’.
The PHIAC Levy is currently authorised under the National Health Act 1953 and funds the general administrative costs of PHIAC. The levy is imposed on each registered health benefits organization (renamed private health insurers under the proposed Act) based on the number of health fund contributors.
The Bill provides that authorisation of the PHIAC levy be transferred to the proposed Private Health Insurance Act 2006 and provides that the rate of the PHIAC levy be set in regulations, within a maximum limit specified in the Bill itself.
In 2005-06 levies totalling $4.435 million were imposed on registered health benefits organizations.(1)
The Schedule replaces a number of definitions to reflect the replacement of the National Health Act 1953 with the Private Health Insurance Act 2006; these new definitions are described in the Explanatory Memorandum. Broadly, the changes to definitions reflect the new terminology under the proposed Act.
Item 15 removes subsection 7(2) and replaces it with a new subsection which provides that the rate of the levy be based on the number of health insurance policies on issue, in line with the proposed Private Health Insurance Act 2006; previously this rate was based on the number of contributors. The maximum rate remains unchanged; that is, it must not exceed $2 annually for a policy where only one person is covered, or $4 for other policies.
Item 18 is a transitional provision that specifies
that the total amount of levy imposed for the financial year ending
on
This paper has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2007
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties.
Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2007.
