Catholic Health Australia Submission: Consultation on the remaking of private health insurance instruments (sunsetting) – April and October 2027

Background

The Legislation Act 2003 provides that legislative instruments are automatically repealed (they “sunset”) ten years after they are made. An instrument that is still required beyond its sunset date must be remade rather than extended. The purpose of sunsetting is to ensure that the statute book is kept up to date and that instruments remain in force only for so long as they are fit for purpose, necessary and relevant.

This consultation concerns seven private health insurance instruments made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 (the Act) that are scheduled to sunset. Six are due to sunset in April 2027: the Accreditation Rules 2011, the Benefit Requirements Rules 2011, the Complying Product Rules 2015, the Incentives Rules 2012 (No. 2), the Lifetime Health Cover Rules 2017 and the Health Insurance Business Rules 2018, and one, the Risk Equalisation Levy Rules 2017, is due to sunset in October 2027. The Department proposes that the instruments remain fit for purpose and that the laws they express are still required. The consultation is expressly limited to administrative amendments for the purpose of replacement; significant policy change, including broader sector reform, is stated to be outside its scope.

The grouping of related instruments for a single, sequenced review of this kind is, in substance, a thematic review of the framework governing one sector. Consistent with the Attorney-General’s guidance on such reviews, the relevant question is not merely whether an instrument can be re-registered, but whether it continues to achieve its objects, whether it aligns with current government policy, and whether there are opportunities to simplify or streamline it so that it is clearer and does not impose unnecessary regulatory burden.