Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026

Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (19:07): by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 3818 together: (1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 5 (after line 15), after section 124ZZ, insert: 124ZZAA Complaints about published information (1) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, make provision for, and in relation to, complaints by medical practitioners about information published under section 124ZY.

(2) The instrument must (without limitation) provide for: (a) the manner for making complaints; and (b) the processes for handling complaints; and (c) the resolution of complaints, including criteria for making decisions on complaints; and (d) the consequences of decisions on complaints, including, where appropriate, correcting or removing published information.

(3) Information cannot be published under section 124ZY unless an instrument is in force under this section. (2) Schedule 1, item 2, page 9 (after line 17), after section 324-10, insert: 324-12 Complaints about published information (1) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, make provision for, and in relation to, complaints by medical practitioners about information published under section 324-5.

(2) The instrument must (without limitation) provide for: (a) the manner for making complaints; and (b) the processes for handling complaints; and (c) the resolution of complaints, including criteria for making decisions on complaints; and (d) the consequences of decisions on complaints, including, where appropriate, correcting or removing published information.

(3) Information cannot be published under section 324-5 unless an instrument is in force under this section. This amendment, once again, is seeking to make sure that we have got greater accuracy, transparency and relevance in terms of what is actually being provided. We're seeking to have no information published by the secretary under this section until the minister has made, by legislative instrument, an internal review process for managing and resolving complaints by medical practitioners in relation to the decisions made by the secretary.

At the moment, no internal review process has been outlined, and we believe that there needs to be a dispute resolution process contained in this legislation before the government proceeds to have this website go live. We have seen a government and a department that is often quick to make decisions and slow to resolve them. We have seen the unsatisfactory review processes that have been contained in many pieces of legislation in the past, not least of which is the absolutely woefully inadequate resolution or review process that is available to older Australians after they've had their care needs and priorities determined by a computer-generated algorithm.

I would have thought that, in relation to that particular failure, the lesson for having a proper, robust, transparent and fair resolution process included in their legislation should have been learned. I would like to think that the government would seek to support this amendment, put forward by the coalition in the interest of making sure that disputes are resolved in an appropriate, quick and fair manner and are not left to a timeless decision process that takes months and months and leaves in great uncertainty those people who are seeking a review by the government of a decision that they believe is unfair or incorrect.