Health Services Act 2016

In this section —

The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette —

fix fees and charges for the provision of health services by health service providers; and

provide that no fees or charges are payable in respect of —

a specified health service or class of health service; or

a health service rendered to a specified class of patient; or

a health service in respect of any specified public hospital or class of public hospital.

The Minister may amend or revoke an order made under subsection (2).

The order may adopt by reference fees or charges (as in force at a particular time or as in force from time to time) fixed or determined by a Commonwealth authority or body.

An adoption under subsection (4) may be wholly or in part and with or without modification.

The order may —

define classes of patient and classes of service; and

confer a discretion on a person to determine whether a patient falls within a class of patient; and

specify criteria that a person may, or must, use to determine whether a patient falls within a class of patient; and

adopt for the purposes of referring to a class of patient or class of service any definition in any law of the Commonwealth; and

discriminate between classes of patient and classes of service and according to the circumstances in which a service is provided and in respect of the class of patient to whom it is provided; and

fix different fees and charges according to the public hospital or class of public hospital in which or on behalf of which a service or class of service is provided; and

provide that the charges for any health services provided in respect of any specified class of patient at or by a public hospital are to be of an amount determined by the Minister or another specified person according to the cost of providing the health service.

An order made under subsection (2) is subsidiary legislation for the purposes of the Interpretation Act 1984.

The Interpretation Act 1984 section 42 applies to an order made under subsection (2) as if the order were a regulation.