Regulatory Reform Omnibus Act 2025 (73 of 2025)

Schedule 2   Amendments to improve or maintain access to government services

Part 5   Authorising appropriate information sharing to improve the integrity of medicare

Health Insurance Act 1973

71   Subsections 130(1) to (4)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

Offence - use or disclosure by officer outside course of duty

(1) A person (the relevant person ) commits an offence if:

(a) the relevant person is or has been an officer; and

(b) the relevant person uses or discloses information; and

(c) the information:

(i) relates to the affairs of a person other than the relevant person; and

(ii) is obtained or generatedby the relevant person in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under this Act.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply if the use or disclosure is:

(a) authorised or exempted under a provision of this Act; or

(b) otherwise required or authorised under an Australian law.

Note 1: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection. See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

Note 2: For the purposes of this subsection, examples of provisions of this Act that authorise the use or disclosure of information include sections 129B, 129C, 129D and 129E.

Authorisation - performance of functions

(2) An officer may use or disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c):

(a) in the performance of duties or functions, or in the exercise of powers, under this Act or any other Act; or

(b) for the purpose of enabling the officer or any other person to perform duties or functions, or exercise powers, in relation to a medicare program; or

(c) in the case of disclosure to the Minister - for the purposes of the Minister's performance of the Minister's functions.

Authorisation - use or disclosure in the public interest

(3) An officer may use or disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c) if:

(a) the Secretary or the Chief Executive Medicare certifies, by instrument in writing, that it is in the public interest to disclose the information to a specified person or body for a specified purpose; and

(b) the officer:

(i) discloses the information to the person or body for that purpose; or

(ii) uses the information for purposes related to such a disclosure.

Note: Information disclosed to a person under this subsection for a specified purpose must only be further used or disclosed for that purpose (see subsection (3G)).

(3A) The Secretary or the Chief Executive Medicare may, by instrument in writing, specify terms and conditions subject to which the information may be used or disclosed by the person.

(3B) Without limiting subsection (3A), the instrument may require the person to give an undertaking in writing with respect to the use or disclosure of the information by the person, which may include an undertaking not to disclose any of the information to any other person or body.

(3C) An instrument under paragraph (3)(a) or subsection (3A) is not a legislative instrument.

(3D) Subsection (3) has effect subject to rules made under subsection (3E) (if any).

(3E) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make rules for the purposes of subsection (3D).

Authorisation - disclosing to prescribed person or body

(3F) An officer may disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c) to a person or body for a specified purpose if regulations made for the purposes of this subsection provide that:

(a) the person or body is a prescribed person or body; and

(b) the information is prescribed information; and

(c) the information may be provided to the person or body for that purpose.

Note: Information disclosed to a person or body under this subsection for a specified purpose must only be further used or disclosed for that purpose (see subsection (3G)).

Obligation on further use or disclosure of disclosed information

(3G) A person or body that receives information under subsection (3) or (3F) for a specified purpose must ensure that any further use or disclosure of the information is only for that purpose.

Authorisation - use or disclosure by officer in certain circumstances

(4) An officer may use or disclose information of a kind referred to in paragraph (1)(c) if:

(a) the information is lawfully in the public domain; or

(b) the person to whom the information relates has expressly or impliedly consented to the use or disclosure; or

(c) the use or disclosure is for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice; or

(d) if the disclosure is to a person or body - the information relates to that person or body; or

(e) if the disclosure (the present disclosure ) is to a person or body - the information has lawfully been disclosed to that person or body previously (the previous disclosure ), and the present disclosure is for the same purpose as the previous disclosure.