Medical Indemnity Act 2002

If the Chief Executive Medicare believes on reasonable grounds that a person is capable of giving information that is relevant to determining:

whether an indemnity scheme payment is payable; or

the amount of the indemnity scheme payment that is payable; or

whether a qualifying claim certificate or qualifying allied health claim certificate should be issued, varied or revoked; or

the Commonwealth’s possible future liability to make indemnity scheme payments, or a particular kind of indemnity scheme payment;

Failure to comply with the request is an offence (see section 45).

Failure to comply may affect certain indemnity scheme payments: see sections 34I, 34ZZO and 37.

Without limiting subsection (1), any of the following persons may be requested to give information under that subsection:

an MDO;

an insurer;

a member, or former member, of an MDO;

a person who practises, or used to practise, a medical profession;

a person who is acting, or has acted, on behalf of a person covered by paragraph (ca);

the legal personal representative of a person covered by paragraph (c), (ca) or (cb).

Without limiting subsection (1), if the information sought by the Chief Executive Medicare is information relating to a matter in relation to which a person is required by section 39 or 40 to keep a record, the Chief Executive Medicare may request the person to give the information by giving the Chief Executive Medicare the record, or a copy of the record.

Without limiting paragraph (1)(d), the Chief Executive Medicare may request an MDO or insurer to give information under that paragraph on a periodic basis.

The request:

must be made in writing; and

must state what information must be given to the Chief Executive Medicare; and

may require the information to be verified by statutory declaration; and

must specify the day on or before which the information must be given; and

must contain a statement to the effect that a failure to comply with the request is an offence.