Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Health Acts Amendment Act 1981 No. 118 of 1981 - SECT 17

17. (1) Section 23A of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (2)
(d) and substituting the following paragraph:

''(d) an assurance by the optometrist (in this paragraph referred to as 'the
practitioner') that, where-

        (i)    a professional service, not being-

                (A)  a service covered by item 186 that is included in a
                     course of attention to which section 13 applies; or

                (B)  a service rendered at premises owned by, or in the
                     possession of, the optometrist that are not covered by
                     the undertaking,

is rendered by the practitioner on his own behalf or by another optometrist
acting on his behalf;

        (ii)   Commonwealth medical benefit in respect of that service is
               payable
to a person (in this paragraph referred to as ''the beneficiary'') who
identifies himself to the optometrist rendering the service as an eligible
pensioner or a disadvantaged person; and

        (iii)  the person to whom the service is rendered is the beneficiary
               or his dependant,

the practitioner will ensure that the beneficiary is asked whether he wishes
to assign his right to the payment of the Commonwealth medical benefit, being
an assignment in accordance with section 20A, in full payment of the medical
expenses in respect of the professional service and, if the person indicates
that he so wishes, arrangements are made for making the appropriate
assignment;''.

(2) On the commencement of this section-

   (a)  the common form of undertaking in force for the purposes of the
        Principal Act immediately before the commencement of this section
        shall, by force of this paragraph, be deemed to have been varied to
        conform with the requirements of sub-section 23A (2) of the Principal
        Act, as amended by this section; and

   (b)  undertakings in relation to participating optometrists in force for
        the purposes of the Principal Act immediately before the commencement
        of this section shall, by force of this paragraph, be deemed to have
        been varied to accord with the common form of undertaking as deemed to
        have been varied by force of paragraph (a).