After section 85 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 2:

85A.     Professional indemnity insurance guidelines

(1)  The Minister may issue guidelines relating to the levels of professional indemnity insurance that are appropriate for medical practice in this State.

(2)  The guidelines may be of general application or distinguish between different categories or circumstances of medical practice.

(3)  In formulating the guidelines, the Minister may –

(a) seek submissions from the Council; and

(b) consult such providers of medical indemnity insurance, such bodies as represent the interests of medical practitioners and such other interested persons as the Minister considers appropriate; and

(c) take into account such considerations as the Minister considers relevant.

(4)  The Minister is to give a copy of the guidelines to the Council and may publish them as he or she sees fit.

(5)  The Minister must, on application, provide a copy of the guidelines to any person but may charge a fee to recover the cost of doing so.

(6)  The guidelines are not statutory rules for the purposes of the Rules Publication Act 1953 .