Medical Indemnity Act 2002

This section allows the Chief Executive Medicare to collect money from a person who owes money to a person (the liable person) who has a debt to the Commonwealth under subsection 24(4), 34Q(6), 34T(3), 34ZJ(3), 34ZZW(6), 34ZZZ(3) or 41(3) (the repayment or overpayment debt).

The Chief Executive Medicare may direct a person (the third party) who owes, or may later owe, money (the available money) to the liable person to pay some or all of the available money to the Chief Executive Medicare in accordance with the direction. The Chief Executive Medicare must give a copy of the direction to the liable person.

The direction must:

not require an amount to be paid to the Chief Executive Medicare at a time before it becomes owing by the third party to the liable person; and

specify a period of not less than 14 days within which the third party must comply with the direction.

If:

the repayment or overpayment debt relates to an exceptional claims indemnity or an allied health exceptional claims indemnity; and

the recipient and the practitioner referred to in subsection 34Q(1) or 34ZZW(1) are not the same person; and

the practitioner becomes the liable person; and

the direction was given to the recipient;

The third party commits an offence if the third party fails to comply with the direction.

The third party does not commit an offence against subsection (4) if the third party complies with the direction so far as the third party is able to do so.

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code).

An offence against subsection (4) is an offence of strict liability.

For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.

If a person is convicted of an offence in relation to a failure of the third party to comply with subsection (4), the court may (in addition to imposing a penalty on the convicted person) order the convicted person to pay to the Commonwealth an amount up to the amount involved in the failure of the third party.

Any payment made by the third party under this section is taken to have been made with the authority of the liable person and of all other persons concerned and the third party is indemnified for the payment.

If the whole of the repayment or overpayment debt of the liable person is discharged before any payment is made by the third party, the Chief Executive Medicare must immediately give notice to the third party of that fact.

If a part of the repayment or overpayment debt of the liable person is discharged before any payment is made by the third party, the Chief Executive Medicare must:

immediately give notice to the third party of that fact; and

make an appropriate variation to the direction; and

give a copy of the varied direction to the liable person.

The third party is taken to owe money to the liable person if:

money is due or accruing by the third party to the liable person; or

the third party holds money for or on account of the liable person; or

the third party holds money on account of some other person for payment to the liable person; or

the third party has authority from some other person to pay money to the liable person;