Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1991 NO. 232

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 232

NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The following amendments to the National Health Regulations (the principal regulations) are contained in the National Health Regulations (Amendment) (the amending regulations).

Amending Regulation 1: Commencement

The regulation provides that Regulation 4 of the amending regulations commenced on 1 August 1991, this is to coincide with other arrangements relating to Section 7 of the Nursing Homes and Hostels Legislation Amendment Act 1986, described in detail below.

Amending Regulation 3: Regulation 4 (Day hospital facility)

The term 'day hospital facility' is presently defined in subsection 4 (1) of the Act as follows:

" (a)       premises registered as a hospital under a law of a State or Territory relating to the registration of hospitals; or

(b)       premises, or premises included in a class of premises, prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph."

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations has been amended to prescribe eleven premises as 'day hospital facilities' for the purposes of the above definition.

The amending regulations amended regulation 4 of the principal regulations to prescribe, for the purposes of the above definition, Corinna Chambers Eye Clinic, Corinna Chambers, Corinna Street, Woden, Australian Capital Territory, as a 'day hospital facility'. The patients of Corinna Chambers Eye Clinic are now eligible to receive basic table benefits as are patients of all other such day hospital facilities.

Amending Regulation 4: Part 2 (Government Nursing Homes)

Regulation 5 of the the principal regulations has been repealed by Regulation 4 of the amending regulations.

Regulation 5 specified that "prescribed" nursing homes, for the purposes of the definition of Government nursing home in sub-section 4(1) of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act), were those nursing homes specified in an item in a Part of Schedule 1 to the Nursing Homes Assistance Regulations.

Section 7 of the Nursing Homes and Hostels Legislation Amendment Act 1986, by amending the definition of Government nursing home under sub-section 4(1), provided for a list of Government nursing homes to be specified by the Minister by notice in writing. This necessitated the repealing of Regulation 5, which was no longer correct. Section 7 was proclaimed on 1 August 1991, the same day on which Regulation 4 of the amending regulations commenced.

Amending Regulation 5: Regulation 25 (Minister to notify proprietors)

Regulation 25 of the principal regulations provided that the Minister must inform the nursing home proprietor by notice in writing of his or her intention to make a declaration under sub-section 45E(1) of the Act that a nursing home does not meet certain and sufficient outcome standards.

The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and ordinances recommended that the notice of intention to make such a declaration should include a statement to the effect that the proprietor has a right to request a review of this intention by a Standards Review Panel.

Regulation 5 of the amending regulations inserted the requirement for such a statement to be included in the notice by amending Regulation 25 of the principal regulations.

Amending Regulation 6: Regulation 33 (Annual reports)

The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and ordinances recommended that the principal regulations require that the annual reports of the Chairpersons of the Standards Review Panels be tabled in Parliament.

Regulation 6 of the amending regulations inserted this requirement by amending Regulation 33 of the principal regulations.

The Statutory Rules came into effect on 1 August 1991.