Queensland Numbered Acts

HEALTH AND HOSPITALS NETWORK ACT 2011 No. 32 - SECT 4

This Act recognises and gives effect to the principles and objectives of the national health system agreed by Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, namely—

(a) the following Medicare principles—

(i) eligible persons are to be given the choice to receive, free of charge as public patients, health and emergency services of a kind or kinds that are currently, or were historically, provided by hospitals;

(ii) access to these services by public patients free of charge is to be on the basis of clinical need and within a clinically appropriate period;

(iii) arrangements are to be in place to ensure equitable access to the services for all eligible persons, regardless of their geographic location; and

(b) the health system principles—Australia's health system should—

(i) be shaped around the health needs of individual patients, their families and communities; and

(ii) focus on the prevention of disease and injury and the maintenance of health and not simply on the treatment of illness; and

(iii) support an integrated approach to the promotion of healthy lifestyles, prevention of illness and injury, and diagnosis and treatment of illness across the continuum of care; and

(iv) provide all Australians with timely access to quality health services based on their needs, not ability to pay, regardless of where they live in the country; and

(c) the following long-term objectives for Australia's health system—

(i) prevention—Australians are born and remain healthy;

(ii) primary and community health—Australians receive appropriate high quality and affordable primary and community health services;

(iii) hospital and related care—Australians receive appropriate high quality and affordable hospital and hospital-related care;

(iv) aged care—older Australians receive appropriate high quality and affordable health and aged care services;

(v) patient experience—Australians have positive health and aged care experiences which take account of individual circumstances and care needs;

(vi) social inclusion and Indigenous health—Australia's health system promotes social inclusion and reduces disadvantage, especially for Indigenous Australians;

(vii) sustainability—Australians have a sustainable health system.