Government Resources
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING HEALTH FUNDS
New Commonwealth legislation affecting Health Funds will take effect from 1 July 2009. From 1 July 2009 a practitioner must belong to an approved Association in order for Health Funds to recognise the practitioner as a provider. The Health Funds will still set their own additional eligibility requirement. However it will now be Law that from 1 July a practitioner must also belong to an approved Association in order for any rebates on the practitioner’s services to be made.
The ARM fully satisfies all the requirements under the new Law. Members of the ARM will continue to be able to be recognised as Health Fund Providers as long as they meet, without any interruptions, the relevant Health Fund’s additional eligibility requirements.
YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOU KEEP YOUR DETAILS UP TO DATE
There is however a potentially very significant impact of the new changes which might occur if you become ineligible to be placed on the lists we send to the Health Funds. For example, if you do not pay your ARM fees or Indemnity Insurance on time, we can no longer include you on the lists we send to the Health Funds.
If you later correct the situation, say you pay your overdue ARM fees, you will not be able to be placed back on the Health Funds lists unless you meet the Health Fund’s current requirements. These requirements, especially the academic qualifications required, do change from time to time, and even though you met a Health Fund’s old requirements, you might not meet the new requirements.
If you are unable to go back on the lists the ARM sends to the Health Funds, your patients may not be able to claim a Health Fund rebate on your services.
HOW TO AVOID LOSING HEALTH FUND PROVIDER ELIGIBILITY
To avoid potentially losing your Health Fund Provider eligibility,
You must ensure that you:
- Remain a financial member of the ARM without any breaks in your financial membership:
- Keep your First Aid Certificate and Indemnity Insurance up to date. Do not let them lapse, even for a day. The ARM must also have copies of these documents:
- Keep your Continuing Professional Education activities up to date, being 20 CPE points each financial year.
Changes to NSW Privacy Laws
New privacy legislation in NSW came into effect on 1st September 2004. The Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act) protects the privacy of health information in NSW.
The HRIP Act contains 15 health privacy principles (HPPs) outlining how health information must be collected, stored, used and disclosed. The health privacy principles can be grouped into seven main headings:
- Collection
- Storage
- Access and accuracy
- Use
- Disclosure
- Identifiers
- Anonymity
- Transferrals and linkage
These are legal obligations that must be followed by massage therapists.
ARM members are strongly urged to read the new guidelines and Health Privacy Principles in detail. The full text of the Act is available from The Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner.
PrivacyNSW has identified seven basic steps on how you can get ready for the HRIP Act. This document outlines the seven recommended steps.
WorkCover NSW
WorkCover NSW is a statutory authority within the Minister for Commerce's portfolio. Its primary objective is to work in partnership with the NSW community to achieve safe workplaces, effective return to work and security for injured workers.
ComCare
Our vision is to have Australia’s safest workplaces.
Comcare is responsible for workplace safety, rehabilitation and compensation in the Commonwealth jurisdiction.
Comcare aims to reduce the human and financial costs of workplace injury and disease by working with customers to prevent injuries and return injured employees to work.
The Attorney-General's Department
Law Resource
SCALEplus is the legal information retrieval system owned by the Australian Attorney-General's Department. SCALEplus is an integral part of the Australian Law Online initiative to bring low or no-cost access to the law for the community.
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