Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to subsection (3), a medicare benefit is not payable in respect of a professional service rendered by a person who is an overseas trained doctor or who is a foreign graduate of an accredited medical school, unless:
(a) the person first became a registered medical practitioner before 1 January 1997; or
(b) all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person was, at a time before 1 January 1997, an overseas trained doctor;
(ii) before 1 January 1997, the Australian Medical Council received an application from the person to undertake examinations, successful completion of which would ordinarily enable the person to become a registered medical practitioner;
(iii) on the day the application was so received, the person was eligible to undertake those examinations under the rules of the Australian Medical Council as in force on the day the application was so received; or
(d) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person first became a registered medical practitioner before the commencement of this subparagraph;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner; or
(e) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person was a permanent Australian at the time when the person first became a registered medical practitioner;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner; or
(f) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person became a permanent Australian after the time when the person first became a registered medical practitioner;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a medicare benefit is not payable in respect of a professional service rendered on behalf of a person who is an overseas trained doctor or who is a foreign graduate of an accredited medical school, unless:
(a) the person first became a registered medical practitioner before 1 January 1997; or
(b) all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person was, at a time before 1 January 1997, an overseas trained doctor;
(ii) before 1 January 1997, the Australian Medical Council received an application from the person to undertake examinations, successful completion of which would ordinarily enable the person to become a registered medical practitioner;
(iii) on the day the application was so received, the person was eligible to undertake those examinations under the rules of the Australian Medical Council as in force on the day the application was so received; or
(d) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person first became a registered medical practitioner before the commencement of this subparagraph;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner; or
(e) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person was a permanent Australian at the time when the person first became a registered medical practitioner;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner; or
(f) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) the person became a permanent Australian after the time when the person first became a registered medical practitioner;
(ii) the service was rendered after the end of the period of 10 years beginning when the person first became a registered medical practitioner.
(3) The Minister may, by writing, grant an exemption from the operation of subsections (1) and (2) in respect of a person or a class of persons .
(4) An exemption under subsection (3) may be made subject to such conditions (if any) as the Minister thinks fit.
(4A) In exercising powers under subsection (3) or (4), the Minister must comply with guidelines determined by the Minister under subsection (4B).
(4B) The Minister must, by legislative instrument, determine guidelines that apply to the exercise of powers under subsections (3) and (4).
(4C) Without limiting subsection (4B), the guidelines may require that a person must have qualifications of a specified kind in order to qualify for an exemption.
(5) If a person to whom an exemption under subsection (3) applies breaches a condition of the exemption, the exemption ceases to apply to the person at all times during which the person is in breach.
(6) Despite anything contained in subsection 488(1) of the Migration Act 1958 , the Secretary of the Immigration Department may, for the purpose of:
(a) the granting of an exemption under subsection (3); or
(b) assisting the Minister or the Chief Executive Medicare to ascertain whether a condition of such an exemption has been breached;
disclose to the Minister or to an officer of the Department administered by the Minister, or to a Departmental employee (within the meaning of the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 ), information about the conditions on which a person has entered or remains in Australia.
(7) In this section:
"accredited medical school" means a medical school that is:
(a) accredited by the Australian Medical Council; and
(b) located in Australia or New Zealand.
"foreign graduate of an accredited medical school" means a person:
(a) whose primary medical qualification was obtained from an accredited medical school; and
(b) who was not one of the following when he or she first enrolled at an accredited medical school:
(i) a permanent Australian;
(ii) a New Zealand citizen;
(iii) a permanent resident of New Zealand.
"overseas trained doctor" means a person whose primary medical qualification was not obtained from an accredited medical school.
"permanent Australian" means an Australian citizen or a holder of a permanent visa (within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958 ).
"professional service" does not include a service of a kind referred to in paragraph (b), (ba) or (c) of the definition of professional service in subsection 3(1).
"registered medical practitioner" means a person:
(a) registered under the National Law in the medical profession; or
(b) registered or licensed as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provided for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners (within the meaning of that law).