Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (45 of 2025)

Schedule 3   Amendments of other Acts

Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010

139   After section 7

Insert:

7A Meaning of health administration

In this Act, health administration means any of the following:

(a) the creation and maintenance of a record about healthcare or support services provided to a healthcare recipient;

(b) assessing a healthcare recipient's level of, need for or access to healthcare or support services;

(c) monitoring an individual's level of, need for or access to healthcare or health programs or support services;

(d) reporting on an individual's level of, need for or access to healthcare or health programs or support services;

(e) verifying healthcare identifiers;

(f) the creation and maintenance of a record about any of the following:

(i) a healthcare recipient's participation in health related programs;

(ii) support services that are being, are to be, or have been provided to a healthcare recipient;

(g) the governance and operation of health and health related programs and registries, including oversight, reporting, administration, complaints handling, billing and payment of costs or claims associated with the provision of healthcare and support services;

(h) health surveillance activities including, but not limited to, contact tracing, and monitoring, analysing and disseminating data for the purposes of implementing public health responses;

(i) monitoring or analysis (or both) of individual or system-wide healthcare or support services needs, demands, performance and outcomes, including, but not limited to the following:

(i) by means of statistical research, data and reporting services;

(ii) to inform health workforce planning and management;

(iii) for other population health purposes;

(j) linking or connecting data about healthcare recipients and or healthcare providers across different data sets.

7B Minister may determine health administration entities

(1) The Minister may determine, in writing, that an entity, or an entity included in a class of entities, is a health administration entity.

(2) A determination made under subsection (1) is a legislative instrument.

(3) Before the Minister makes a determination under subsection (1), the Minister must consult an appropriate subcommittee of the Ministerial Council.

(4) A failure to consult does not affect the validity of the determination.

(5) The Minister may, in writing, delegate the power to make a determination under subsection (1) to:

(a) the Secretary of the Department; or

(b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Department.

(6) In exercising any powers under a delegation under this section, the delegate must comply with any directions of the Minister.

Note: Sections 34AA to 34A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 contain provisions relating to delegations.