NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 284

NATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1993 NO. 284

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 284

Issued by authority of the Minister for Health

National Health Act 1953

National Health Regulations (Amendment)

Section 140 of the National Health Act 1953 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The term day hospital facility, is presently defined in subsection 4(1) of the Act as follows:

"(a)       premises registered as a hospital under a law of a State or Territory relating to the registration of hospitals; or

(b)       premises, or premises included in a class of premises, prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;"

Regulation 4 of the National Health Regulations formerly prescribed twelve premises as day hospital facilities' for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the above definition.

Subregulation 2.1 of the Regulation amended the existing subregulation and added a new paragraph (m) in the National Health Regulations to prescribe, for the purposes of the above definition, Launceston Eye Clinic, 262 Charles Street, Launceston, Tasmania, in addition to the other twelve prescribed premises, as a 'day hospital facility'.

This is the first day hospital in Tasmania.

After the Regulations came into effect, the patients of the Launceston Eye Clinic became eligible to receive basic table health insurance benefits, as are patients of all other such day hospital facilities Australia wide.

Tasmania does not have the legislation to approve their State's day only facilities for health insurance purposes and must, therefore, rely on Federal approval.

The Regulations commenced on Gazettal.