Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Amendment Determination 2012 (No. 1)
Hearing Services Administration Act 1997
I, MARK BUTLER, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, make this Determination under section 13 of the Hearing Services Administration Act 1997.
Dated              25 May 2012
MARK BUTLER
 
 
Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
1              Name of Determination
                This Determination is the Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Amendment Determination 2012 (No. 1).
2              Commencement
                This Determination commences at the same time as the Hearing Services Rules of Conduct 2012 commence. 
3              Amendment of Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Determination 1997
                The Hearing Services (Participants in the Voucher System) Determination 1997 is amended as set out in Schedule 1, and any other item in Schedule 1 has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1        Amendments
(section 3)
  
[1]           Section 3 (definition of Wishes and Needs Tool)
Repeal the definition, substitute:
Wishes and Needs Tool means the questions, answers and scoring system in the Wishes and Needs Tool document issued by the National Acoustic Laboratories, as in force on 1 July 2010, where the questions are in the order specified in that document and are answered by the participant.
 [2]          Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 1, item 3)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
3.     For a participant with type 1 hearing loss in at least 1 ear, provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 1 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section for fitting at no cost to participants; and
   (c)  is clinically necessary and appropriate to the participant’s hearing loss, capacity to benefit from its use and life circumstances
[3]           Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 1, item 4)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
4.     For a participant with type 1 hearing loss in at least 1 ear, provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 1 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section as a device for which participants can be asked to make a payment to the provider; and
   (c)  is clinically suitable to the participant’s hearing loss
Note   Subsection 7 (2) applies.
[4]           Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 1, item 5)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
5.     For a participant with type 2 hearing loss in at least 1 ear and who meets the additional requirements set out in subsection 9(2), provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 2 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section for fitting at no cost to participants; and
   (c)  is clinically necessary and appropriate to the participant’s hearing loss, capacity to benefit from its use and life circumstances
[5]           Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 1, item 6)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
6.     For a participant with type 2 hearing loss in at least 1 ear and who meets the additional requirements set out in subsection 9(2), provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 2 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section as a device for which participants can be asked to make a payment to the provider; and
   (c)  is clinically suitable to the participant’s hearing loss
Note   Subsection 7 (2) applies.
[6]           Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 2, item 3)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
3.     For a participant with type 1 hearing loss in at least 1 ear, provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 1 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section for fitting at no cost to participants; and
   (c)  is clinically necessary and appropriate to the participant’s hearing loss, capacity to benefit from its use and life circumstances
 [7]          Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 2, item 4)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
4.     For a participant with type 1 hearing loss in at least 1 ear, provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 1 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section as a device for which participants can be asked to make a payment to the provider; and
   (c)  is clinically suitable to the participant’s hearing loss
Note   Subsection 7 (2) applies.
 [8]          Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 2, item 5)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
5.     For a participant with type 2 hearing loss in at least 1 ear and who meets the additional requirements set out in subsection 9(2), provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 2 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section for fitting at no cost to participants; and
   (c)  is clinically necessary and appropriate to the participant’s hearing loss, capacity to benefit from its use and life circumstances
[9]           Section 6 (Table B, Class No. 2, item 6)
Repeal the item, substitute:
 
6.     For a participant with type 2 hearing loss in at least 1 ear and who meets the additional requirements set out in subsection 9(2), provision of a hearing device for fitting in an ear with type 2 hearing loss, if that device:
   (a)  meets the specifications approved by the Minister; and
  (b)  is approved by the Minister, in writing, for this section as a device for which participants can be asked to make a payment to the provider; and
   (c)  is clinically suitable to the participant’s hearing loss
Note   Subsection 7 (2) applies.
 [10]        Paragraphs 7(3)(b) and 8(2)(b)
Omit "paragraph 42 (2) (b) of the Hearing Services Rules of Conduct 2005", substitute "paragraph 28 (5) (b) of the Hearing Services Rules of Conduct 2012".
[11]         At the end of the Determination
Add:
10            Delegation
         (1)   In this section:
class 1 means class 1 specified in Table A.
class 2 means class 2 specified in Table A.
item means an item in column 2, in relation to class 1 or 2, in Table B.
         (2)   The Minister may, by writing, delegate the Minister’s function of approving hearing devices for items 3, 4, 5 and 6 to:
                     (a)  the Secretary of the Department; or
                     (b)  any other officer of the Department.