Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2017 [F2017L00504]-Response required [2017] AUSStaCSDLM 181 (14 June 2017)

---

Instrument	Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2017 [F2017L00504]
Purpose	Revokes and remakes the Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2016 to update the kinds of statistical information to be provided by hospitals to insurers and by private hospitals to the Department of Health
Authorising legislation	Private Health Insurance Act 2007
Department	Health
Disallowance	15 sitting days after tabling (tabled Senate 9 May 2017) Notice of motion to disallow must be given by 16 August 2017
Scrutiny principle	Standing Order 23(3)(a)

Drafting

Section 17 of the Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules 2017 [F2017L00504] (the rules) provides that certain insurance is not health insurance business if it covers prescribed matters or persons. Subsection 17(2) provides:

Despite subrule (1), during the period from the commencement of these Rules until 1 July 2008, the business referred to in that subrule is health insurance business if it is conducted by a private health insurer.

However, as the rules commence on 1 July 2017, it is unclear to the committee whether subsection 17(2) contains a drafting error, or whether the inclusion of the subsection in the rules is unnecessary, as it is no longer operational.

The committee notes that this provision has remained in the Private Health Insurance (Health Insurance Business) Rules since 2007.

The committee requests the advice of the minister in relation to the above.