House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Dr Michael Wooldridge, MP)

Schedule 1 - Amendment of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987

Part 1 - Membership of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Item 1

This item repeals existing paragraphs 8(1)(f)(fa)(fb) and (fc) which specify both the categories of people who can be nominated for membership of the Institute and the process of recommendation, and replaces them with paragraphs which specify the categories of people who can be recommended for membership.

Item 2

This item replaces those parts of the repealed paragraphs (above) relating to the process of recommendation. It provides for a new process of recommendation by prescribed bodies, rather than by bodies included in a Schedule to the Act. It requires the Minister to seek recommendations from relevant bodies before nominating prospective Institute members to the Governor-General for appointment.

Item 3

This item repeals the current Schedule which limits to only those associations listed, the groups from which the Minister may seek recommendations for appointment to the Institutes Board. The Schedule will be replaced by a list prescribed by regulation which will include, but not be limited to, the bodies currently included in the Schedule.

Item 4

This item limits the application of the proposed amendments to appointments made after approval of the changes.

Part 2 - The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Ethics Committee

Items 5 and 6

These items replace references to the title of the Institutes Ethics Committee from the Health Ethics Committee to the Health and Welfare Ethics Committee to reflect legislative changes to extend the committees scope to include welfare-related information and statistics.

Item 7

This item ensures that the present change, and any further changes to the regulations which prescribe the functions of the Institutes Ethics Committee, remain consistent with contemporary NHMRC requirements.

Item 8

This item extends the scope of responsibility of the Institutes Ethics Committee to include welfare-related information and statistics.

Item 9

The clause is a transitional provision to overcome the requirement to entirely reconstitute the Institute's existing Ethics Committees as a consequence of the present legislative changes.