{"id":"F2019L00976","name":"Australian Hearing Services Regulations 2019","slug":"australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440174,"registerId":"F2019L00976-fast-fetch-1775955906774","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Hearing Services Regulations 2019","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nAustralian Hearing Services Regulations 2019\n\nI, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 10 July 2019\n\nDavid Hurley\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nStuart Robert\n\nMinister for Government Services\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Charges for services provided by the Authority\n\nDivision 1—Preliminary\n\n6 Purpose and application of this Part\n\n7 Liability to pay charge\n\n8 Meaning of chargeable day\n\nDivision 2—Charges\n\n9 Hearing aid service charge\n\n10 Hearing aid service may be refused if charge is not paid\n\n11 Hearing device replacement charge\n\n12 Charges for other services\n\nDivision 3—Indexation of charges\n\n13 Indexation\n\nPart 3—Contracts\n\n14 Amounts requiring Minister’s approval\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nAustralian Hearing Services Regulations 1992\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Australian Hearing Services Regulations 2019.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument 1 October 2019. 1 October 2019\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) Authority;\n\n(b) hearing services;\n\n(c) voucher‑holder.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991.\n\nchargeable day, in relation to a person, has the meaning given by section 8.\n\nhearing aid service means any of the following hearing services:\n\n (a) the provision of a battery for use with a hearing device;\n\n (b) the maintenance by the Authority of a hearing device.\n\nhearing device means goods for purposes in connection with hearing rehabilitation.\n\nPart 2—Charges for services provided by the Authority\n\nDivision 1—Preliminary\n\n6  Purpose and application of this Part\n\n (1) This Part:\n\n (a) is made for the purposes of subsection 62(1) and paragraph 77(2)(a) of the Act; and\n\n (b) sets out the charges payable to the Authority for services provided by the Authority and certain terms and conditions under which those services are provided.\n\n (2) This Part applies to a person other than a person who is a voucher‑holder.\n\n7  Liability to pay charge\n\n  A charge set out in this Part is payable to the Authority by the person who incurs it.\n\n8  Meaning of chargeable day\n\n (1) A day (including a day before the commencement of this instrument) is a chargeable day for a person if:\n\n (a) the Authority provides a hearing aid to, or is responsible for maintaining a hearing aid for, a person on the day; and\n\n (b) immediately before that day the person:\n\n (i) was not entitled to hearing aid service; and\n\n (ii) did not have a hearing aid that was provided or maintained by the Authority.\n\n (2) Each anniversary of the chargeable day mentioned in subsection (1) is also a chargeable day for the person until on such an anniversary:\n\n (a) the person does not have a hearing aid that was provided, or is maintained, by the Authority; and\n\n (b) the person is not entitled to hearing aid service provided by the Authority.\n\nDivision 2—Charges\n\n9  Hearing aid service charge\n\n (1) A hearing aid service charge is payable for a chargeable day for a person.\n\n (2) The person is then entitled to hearing aid service provided by the Authority during the 12 month period commencing on the chargeable day.\n\n (3) If the person is under 26 years of age, the amount of charge is:\n\n (a) if the chargeable day is in the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$26.25; or\n\n (b) if the chargeable day is in a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13.\n\n (4) If the person is not under 26 years of age, the amount of the charge is:\n\n (a) if the chargeable day is in the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$31.50; or\n\n (b) if the chargeable day is in a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13.\n\n (5) The charge is payable in accordance with a notice, in writing, given to the person by the Authority.\n\n (6) This section does not apply in relation to a chargeable day that occurs before this instrument commences.\n\n10  Hearing aid service may be refused if charge is not paid\n\n (1) If hearing aid service charge for a chargeable day for a person is not paid within 30 days after the chargeable day, the Authority may refuse to provide hearing aid service to the person until it is paid.\n\n (2) Before the Authority refuses to provide hearing aid service, the Authority must inform the person who incurred the charge that it intends to refuse to provide the service.\n\n11  Hearing device replacement charge\n\n (1) This section applies to a person who is at least 26 years old and satisfies the Authority, on the basis of information set out in a declaration by the person, that the person’s hearing device:\n\n (a) has been destroyed; or\n\n (b) has been lost, and is unlikely to be found; or\n\n (c) has been damaged, and cannot be reasonably repaired.\n\n (2) The Authority may replace the hearing device with a similar device or a reasonable alternative approved by the Authority.\n\n (3) The charge for replacing the device is:\n\n (a) if the device is replaced in the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$30; or\n\n (b) if the device is replaced in a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13.\n\n (4) The charge is payable in accordance with a notice, in writing, given to the person by the Authority.\n\n (5) This section does not apply in relation to a device replaced before this instrument commences.\n\n12  Charges for other services\n\n (1) The charge payable to the Authority in relation to a service referred to in column 1 of an item in the following table is the amount set out in column 2 of the item.\n\n \n\n- Charges for other services provided by the Authority\n- Item Column 1Service Column 2Amount of charge\n- 1 Audiometric testing The following amount for each hour or part of an hour:(a) during the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$119;(b) during a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13\n- 2 Consultancy services under paragraph 8(1)(h) of the Act The following amount for each hour or part of an hour:(a) during the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$217;(b) during a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13\n- 3 Maintenance or calibration of equipment at an acoustic laboratory controlled by the Authority The following amount for each hour or part of an hour:(a) during the financial year beginning on 1 July 2019—$119;(b) during a later financial year—that amount indexed in accordance with section 13\n\n\n (2) However, no charge is payable for a service of a kind specified in paragraph 8(1)(a), (aa) or (ad) of the Act.\n\n (3) This section does not apply in relation to a service provided before this instrument commences.\n\nDivision 3—Indexation of charges\n\n13  Indexation\n\n (1) If a provision of this instrument states that a dollar amount is to be indexed in accordance with this section, then at the start of each financial year (an indexation year) beginning on or after 1 July 2020, the dollar amount is replaced by the amount worked out using the following formula:\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\n (2) The indexation factor for an indexation year is the number worked out using the following formula:\n\n![](image.003.png)\n\nwhere:\n\nbase quarter means the last March quarter before the reference quarter.\n\nindex number, for a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) published by the Australian Statistician for that quarter.\n\nreference quarter means the March quarter immediately before the indexation year.\n\n (3) An indexation factor is to be calculated to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more).\n\n (4) If an indexation factor worked out under subsection (2) would be less than 1, that indexation factor is to be increased to 1.\n\n (5) Calculations under subsection (2):\n\n (a) are to be made using only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published index reference period; and\n\n (b) are to be made disregarding index numbers that are published in substitution for previously published index numbers (except where the substituted numbers are published to take account of changes in the index reference period).\n\nPart 3—Contracts\n\n \n\n14  Amounts requiring Minister’s approval\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 63(1) of the Act, the amount of $5,000,000 is prescribed.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nAustralian Hearing Services Regulations 1992\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument repeals the Australian Hearing Services Regulations 1992 in full (Schedule 1) and replaces them with a new schedule of charges, indexation rules, procedural limits on service provision for non‑payment, and a prescribed $5,000,000 Ministerial approval threshold for contracts, thereby updating the regulatory fee structure and administrative rules under the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991."},"complexity_factors":["Different charges by age cohort (under 26 / 26 and over) and by service type (ss 9, 11, 12)","Definition and recurrence rules for a 'chargeable day', including retrospective application and annual anniversaries (s 8)","Authority’s discretion to refuse service for unpaid charges, subject to a pre‑refusal notice requirement (s 10)","Replacement device eligibility requires a declaratory statement by the person and Authority approval of replacement (s 11)","Indexation mechanism ties statutory dollar amounts to CPI with a multi‑step formula, rounding rules and a floor of 1 (s 13)","Specified hourly rates for certain professional services and exemptions tied to Act references (s 12(1)–(2))","Prescribed monetary threshold requiring Ministerial approval for contracts ($5,000,000) (s 14)","Complete repeal of the prior 1992 Regulations (Schedule 1) and operation under the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 (s 3)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument prescribes the fees the Australian Hearing Services Authority can charge non‑voucher holders for hearing aids, replacements and other services, sets when those charges are payable, allows the Authority to withhold services for unpaid charges after giving notice, and establishes a CPI‑based annual indexation method. It also sets a $5,000,000 Ministerial approval threshold for contracts and repeals the 1992 Regulations. It primarily affects people receiving Authority services (who pay) and the Authority’s billing, enforcement and contracting decisions."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: setting charges for hearing services provided by the Authority. It covers fees for maintenance, replacements, and professional services, plus indexation and contract approval thresholds – all directly related to the financial operations of the hearing services scheme. No significant scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Straightforward structure with only 3 main Parts and 14 sections total","Simple conditional logic: only two age brackets (under 26 vs 26+) for main service charge","Single mathematical formula for indexation (CPI-based) with clear rounding rules","Only 4 defined terms in the instrument itself (Act, chargeable day, hearing aid service, hearing device) – other terms reference the parent Act","Limited cross-referencing: primarily refers back to the Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 for definitions and enabling provisions","No nested exceptions or complex provisos – section 12(2) contains a simple exemption for certain Act provisions","Clear commencement table and transitional provisions (sections 9(6), 11(5), 12(3) exclude pre-commencement events)"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation sets the fees Hearing Australia can charge people who are not voucher-holders for hearing aids, maintenance, repairs and related professional services. It fixes modest annual maintenance charges, a replacement fee for lost/destroyed devices for adults, hourly rates for testing and consultancy, and automatic CPI indexation; the Authority may refuse service for non‑payment. Contracts of $5 million+ require Ministerial approval."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-hearing-services-regulations-2019/documents"}}