Page 43 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 27 November 2012
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The bill presented today provides for these arrangements and is focused on establishing for the ACT the structures necessary to allow commonwealth growth funding for public hospitals to flow to the ACT in the future. In developing this legislation, COAG established a Health Reform Implementation Group made up of senior officials of each jurisdiction, and chaired by the commonwealth Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to provide national oversight to the implementation of the agreement.
This group has led a collaborative process of drafting common national provisions to be enacted in each state and territory that give effect to the provisions in the agreement for the establishment of the national health funding pool and body, and the administrator of that pool. The Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee drafted the common national provisions of the legislation and the bill presented today reflects those common national provisions being enacted around the country.
This bill will allow the ACT to receive efficient growth funding for public hospitals from the commonwealth in the future. To do this, the bill proposes for the ACT the national health funding pool and the administrator of that pool. In addition, the bill provides for a territory-managed fund for the purposes of receiving funding for block grants, and a new directorate which will be established under the Financial Management Act. Establishing a new directorate under the Financial Management Act will ensure appropriate accountability and transparency of funds received by the ACT from the national health funding pool.
More specifically, the Health (National Health Funding Pool and Administration) Bill 2012 provides for the following: adoption of the common national provisions as drafted by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee; necessary consequential amendments arising out of adopting the common national provisions including the disapplication of certain ACT legislation; establishment of a Reserve Bank of Australia account for the ACT, which will form part of the national health funding pool; establishment of the territory-managed fund for the purposes of receiving block funding; establishment of a new directorate under the FMA to be under the direction of the Director-General of the Health Directorate to ensure appropriate accountability and transparency of funds received by the ACT.
In regard to the national health funding pool, the following reporting arrangements have been agreed. The administrator for the commonwealth will prepare an amalgamated set of financial statements for all states and territories. The format, structure and content of the amalgamated financial statements will be determined by the administrative rules. The financial statement for the ACT will be audited by the ACT Auditor-General. The administrator for the ACT will have access to all required information for reporting purposes and will prepare the ACT’s financial statements based on this information.
In addition, the administrator for the commonwealth will also rely on the audited financial statements prepared by the states and territories administrators in order to prepare the amalgamated financial statements. In regard to the state-territory pool
accounts, each jurisdiction will prepare financial statements for their state-territory
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