Health Insurance (Approved Pathology Undertakings) Approval 2017 [F2017L01293]-Response required [2017] AUSStaCSDLM 391 (15 November 2017)

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Instrument	Health Insurance (Approved Pathology Undertakings) Approval 2017 [F2017L01293]
Purpose	Places obligations on pathology practitioners and pathology providers to ensure that they are accountable for services rendered by them or on their behalf.
Authorising legislation	Health Insurance Act 1973
Portfolio	Health and Aged Care
Disallowance	15 sitting days after tabling (tabled Senate 16 October 2017) Notice of motion to disallow currently must be given by 7 December 2017
Scrutiny principle	Standing Order 23(3)(b)

Personal rights and liberties: privacy

Scrutiny principle 23(3)(b) of the committee's terms of reference requires the committee to ensure that instruments of delegated legislation do not trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties, which includes the right to privacy.

Section 7 of Schedule 1 (Approved Pathology Practitioner Undertaking) and

section 12 of Schedule 2 (Approved Pathology Authority Undertaking) to the instrument require pathology practitioners and authorities, respectively, to comply with requests for information by specified government officials.^[1] The relevant sections also provide that such information may then be made available to other specified entities.

Subsection 12(4) of Schedule 2 provides that an approved athology authority is not required to provide information containing clinical details relating to a patient.

That caveat is not included in section 7 of Schedule 1 with respect to information requested from an approved pathology practitioner.

The committee notes that the ES does not address the nature of the information that may be requested under subsection 7(1) of Schedule 1, nor does it set out any means by which the privacy of any information provided under the instrument – particularly information relating to a patient's clinical details, which it seems may be provided

by pathology practitioners under Schedule 1 – will be appropriately protected.

Without information regarding these matters, the committee is unable to be satisfied that the instrument will not unduly trespass on the personal rights and liberties of individuals.

The committee requests the minister's advice in relation to:

• the nature of information that may be requested under subsection 7(1) of Schedule 1 to the instrument; and

• any relevant safeguards in place in relation to the collection and sharing of personal information under the instrument, particularly information concerning patients' clinical details.

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^[1] The government officials specified in the instrument are the Director, Medicare Provider Eligibility and Accreditation, or an Assistant Secretary in the Provider Benefits Integrity Division of the Department of Health.