2004-2005-2006 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Presented and read a first time Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fees) Bill 2006 No. , 2006 (Health and Ageing) A Bill for an Act to impose, as a tax, fees in relation to applications for listing, and listing, of prostheses, and for related purposes [Page Break] 1 Short title ........................................................................................... 1 2 Commencement ................................................................................. 1 3 Imposition of application fees............................................................ 2 4 Imposition of listing fees ................................................................... 2 5 Matters relating to fees ...................................................................... 2 6 Indexation of maximum fees ............................................................. 3 7 Person liable for fee ........................................................................... 4 8 Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules .......................................................................................... 4 9 Regulations ........................................................................................ 5 [Page Break] 1 to applications for listing, and listing, of prostheses, 2 and for related purposes 3 The Parliament of Australia enacts: 4 1 Short title 5 This Act may be cited as the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses 6 Application and Listing Fees) Act 2006. 7 2 Commencement 8 This Act commences at the same time as the Private Health 9 Insurance Act 2006 commences. 10 [Page Break] 1 (1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing 2 Fee) Rules may specify an application fee for applications made 3 under section 72-10 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2006. 4 (2) The specified application fee is imposed, and is imposed as a tax. 5 4 Imposition of listing fees 6 (1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing 7 Fee) Rules may specify an initial listing fee for the purposes of 8 subsection 72-10(5) of the Private Health Insurance Act 2006. 9 (2) The specified initial listing fee is imposed, and is imposed as a tax. 10 (3) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing 11 Fee) Rules may specify an ongoing listing fee for the purposes of 12 section 72-15 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2006. 13 (4) The specified ongoing listing fee is imposed, and is imposed as a 14 tax, on each day specified in the Private Health Insurance 15 (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules as an ongoing 16 listing fee imposition day. 17 (5) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing 18 Fee) Rules must not specify more than 2 ongoing listing fee 19 imposition days in any period of 12 months. 20 5 Matters relating to fees 21 (1) The Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing 22 Fee) Rules may specify: 23 (a) different application fees under subsection 3(1); or 24 (b) different initial listing fees under subsection 4(1); or 25 (c) different ongoing listing fees under subsection 4(3); 26 for different circumstances. 27 (2) The maximum amount of an application fee or initial listing fee is: 28 (a) $2,000, in relation to an application made in the financial 29 year in which this Act commences; and 30 [Page Break] 1 under section 6. 2 (3) The maximum amount of an ongoing listing fee is: 3 (a) $2,000, in relation to a fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee 4 imposition day in the financial year in which this Act 5 commences; or 6 (b) in relation to a fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee 7 imposition day in a later financial year--the amount worked 8 out under section 6. 9 (4) The amount of a fee may be nil. 10 (5) Fees do not have to bear any relationship to the cost of the services 11 in relation to which they are payable. 12 6 Indexation of maximum fees 13 (1) For the purposes of paragraphs 5(2)(b) and (3)(b), the maximum 14 amount of a fee is worked out by multiplying the indexation factor 15 for the financial year by the maximum amount of the fee in the 16 previous financial year. 17 (2) The indexation factor for the financial year is the amount worked 18 out, to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 19 5 or more), by using this formula: 20 Sum of index numbers for the quarters in the year ending on 31 March just before the start of the relevant financial year 21 Sum of index numbers for the quarters in the year ending on the previous 31 March where: 22 index number, for a quarter, is the All Groups Consumer Price 23 Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) 24 published by the Australian Statistician for the quarter and in force 25 at the time the indexation factor for the financial year is worked out 26 under this section. 27 [Page Break] 1 subsection (2) is 1 or less, the maximum amount of: 2 (a) an application fee or an initial listing fee in relation to an 3 application made in the financial year; or 4 (b) an ongoing listing fee imposed on an ongoing listing fee 5 imposition day in the financial year; 6 is the previous year's maximum. 7 7 Person liable for fee 8 (1) A person who makes an application under section 72-10 of the 9 Private Health Insurance Act 2006 is liable to pay the application 10 fee for the application, at the time the application is made. 11 (2) A person who makes an application under section 72-10 of the 12 Private Health Insurance Act 2006 is, if the Minister grants the 13 application, liable to pay: 14 (a) the initial listing fee for the application, at the time the person 15 is informed of the Minister's decision to grant the 16 application; and 17 (b) the ongoing listing fee, on each subsequent ongoing listing 18 fee imposition day. 19 (3) If there is no applicant in relation to a kind of prosthesis because 20 the prosthesis was listed in the Private Health Insurance 21 (Prostheses) Rules in accordance with section 12 of the Private 22 Health Insurance (Transitional Provisions and Consequential 23 Amendments) Act 2006, then the person who was, immediately 24 before the commencement of the Private Health Insurance Act 25 2006, the sponsor of that prosthesis for the purposes of the 26 National Health Act 1953 is liable to pay the ongoing listing fee on 27 each ongoing listing fee imposition day. 28 8 Private Health Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) 29 Rules 30 The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make Private Health 31 Insurance (Prostheses Application and Listing Fee) Rules, 32 providing for matters: 33 (a) required or permitted by this Act to be provided; or 34 [Page Break] 1 or give effect to this Act. 2 9 Regulations 3 The Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters 4 necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the purposes of 5 carrying out or giving effect to this Act. 6