Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

MEDICARE LEVY ACT 1986 - SECT 3

             (1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"Assessment Act" means the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 .

"income for surcharge purposes" has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 .

"levy" means Medicare levy referred to in section 5.

"phase-in limit" means:

                     (a)  for a person who is entitled to a rebate under section 160AAAA of the Assessment Act--$35,137; or

                     (b)  for a person who is entitled to a rebate under subsection 160AAA(2) of the Assessment Act--$29,763; or

                     (c)  in any other case--$20,934.

"singles surcharge threshold" for a person for a year of income has the meaning given by section 3AA.

"threshold amount" means:

                     (a)  for a person who is entitled to a rebate under section 160AAAA of the Assessment Act--$29,867; or

                     (b)  for a person who is entitled to a rebate under subsection 160AAA(2) of the Assessment Act--$25,299; or

                     (c)  in any other case--$17,794.

             (2)  In this Act, a reference to income for surcharge purposes, net income or taxable income is to be read as a reference to that term for the year of income.

          (2A)  In section 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, 8F or 8G, net income and taxable income have the meanings that they would have in that section if subsection 271‑105(1) of Schedule 2F to the Assessment Act were ignored.

             (3)  Subject to subsection (3A), for the purposes of this Act:

                     (a)  a person shall be deemed not to be married to another person if they are living separately and apart; and

                     (b)  where the last person to whom another person was married during a year of income died during the year of income, those persons shall be deemed to have been married on the last day of the year of income.

          (3A)  For the purposes of sections 8B, 8C and 8D, if:

                     (a)  the last person to whom another person was married during a year of income died during the year of income; and

                     (b)  the death occurred while they were married;

the living person is taken to be married to the person who died during the period starting on the day he or she died and ending on 30 June of the year of income.

             (4)  Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, expressions used in this Act that are also used in Part VIIB of the Assessment Act have in this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meanings as those expressions have in that Part of the Assessment Act.

             (5)  For the purposes of this Act, a person is covered by an insurance policy that provides private patient hospital cover if:

                     (a)  the policy is a complying health insurance policy (within the meaning of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 ) that covers hospital treatment (within the meaning of that Act); and

                     (b)  any excess payable in respect of benefits under the policy is no more than:

                              (i)  $500 in any 12 month period, in relation to a policy under which only one person is insured; and

                             (ii)  $1,000 in any 12 month period, in relation to any other policy.

          (5A)  Paragraph (5)(b) does not apply in relation to an insurance policy under which a person has been insured continuously since the end of 24 May 2000, as long as the amount of any excess payable under the policy has not increased since that time.

             (6)  For the purposes of this Act, a person is also covered by an insurance policy that provides private patient hospital cover if:

                     (a)  the policy is issued by a person to whom subsection 67(3) of the National Health Act 1953 applied immediately before the commencement of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 ; and

                     (b)  in a case where the person referred to in paragraph (a) had been, immediately before that commencement, a registered organization within the meaning of the National Health Act 1953 --the policy would have been, immediately before that commencement, an applicable benefits arrangement, within the meaning of section 5A of that Act, to which paragraph 5A(1)(a) of that Act would apply.

             (7)  However, for the purposes of this Act a person is not covered by an insurance policy that provides private patient hospital cover if:

                     (a)  the person is covered by an insurance policy described in subsection (6); and

                     (b)  any excess payable in respect of benefits under the policy is more than:

                              (i)  $500 in any 12 month period, in relation to a policy under which only one person is insured; and

                             (ii)  $1,000 in any 12 month period, in relation to any other policy.