{"id":"sr:health-complaints-regulations-2019","name":"Health Complaints Regulations 2019","slug":"health-complaints-regulations-2019","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":183260,"registerId":"vic-sr:health-complaints-regulations-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Health Complaints Regulations 2019","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Health Complaints Regulations 2019**\n\n**S.R. No. 12/2019**\n\nVersion as at  \n26 February 2019\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objective 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Definitions 1\n\n4 Prescribed health services 1\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 3\n\n1 General information 3\n\n2 Table of Amendments 5\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation 6\n\n4 Explanatory details 7\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Health Complaints Regulations 2019**\n\n**S.R. No. 12/2019**\n\nVersion as at  \n26 February 2019\n\n\t1 Objective\n\nThe objective of these Regulations is to prescribe specified services as health services for the purposes of the **Health Complaints Act 2016**.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 158 of the **Health Complaints Act 2016**.\n\n\t3 Definitions\n\nIn these Regulations—\n\n***artificial insemination*** has the same meaning as in the **Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008**;\n\n***registered ART provider*** has the same meaning as in the **Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008**;\n\n***self-insemination*** means artificial insemination carried out by a woman on herself with, or without, the assistance of the woman's partner or a relative or friend of the woman;\n\n***the Act*** means the **Health Complaints Act 2016**.\n\n\t4 Prescribed health services\n\nFor the purposes of paragraph (j) of the definition of ***health service*** in section 3(1) of the Act, the following services are prescribed—\n\n(a) a service that—\n\n(i) is provided by, or on behalf of, a registered ART provider; and\n\n(ii) is, or is claimed to be, in relation to fertility or procuring a pregnancy in a woman;\n\n(b) a service that—\n\n(i) is provided by, or on behalf of, a person who carries out artificial insemination, other than self-insemination; and\n\n(ii) is, or is claimed to be, in relation to fertility or procuring a pregnancy in a woman;\n\n(c) a support service necessary to implement a service referred to in this regulation.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Health Complaints Regulations 2019, S.R. No. 12/2019 were made on 26 February 2019 by the Governor in Council under section 158 of the **Health Complaints Act 2016**, No. 22/2016 and came into operation on 26 February 2019.\n\nThe Health Complaints Regulations 2019 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 26 February 2029 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Health Complaints Regulations 2019 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation\n\nThere are no amendments which were Not in Operation at the date of this publication.\n\n4 Explanatory details\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations maintain a narrow, tightly focused scope consistent with their original intent. They do exactly what the enabling provision (section 158 of the Health Complaints Act 2016) authorises: prescribe specific services as health services for complaint purposes. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this specific technical function."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 substantive regulations with minimal text","4 defined terms, all referencing external legislation rather than creating new complex definitions","Single operational provision (Regulation 4) with straightforward list structure","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond the simple exclusion of self-insemination in Regulation 4(b)","No cross-references within the regulations themselves—only references to parent Act and one other Act (Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008)","Legislation totals approximately 1.5 pages of substantive content excluding endnotes"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations expand the types of fertility services that fall under Victoria's health complaints system. They ensure that people who have problems with assisted reproductive treatments (like IVF or artificial insemination) can make official complaints to the Health Complaints Commissioner.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Patients**: Women seeking fertility treatment or artificial insemination, and their partners\n- **Providers**: Registered ART (Assisted Reproductive Treatment) clinics and individuals who perform artificial insemination on others\n- **Support staff**: People providing necessary support services for these fertility treatments\n\n**Key details:**\n\nThe regulations prescribe (officially list) three specific categories of services as \"health services\" under the Health Complaints Act 2016:\n\n- **Services from registered fertility clinics** – Any service related to fertility or getting pregnant, provided by licensed ART providers\n- **Artificial insemination by others** – When someone else performs artificial insemination on a woman (but **not** when a woman does it herself, with or without help from her partner, relatives or friends)\n- **Support services** – Any back-up services needed to carry out the above treatments\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nWithout these regulations, fertility services might fall into a grey area for complaints. This ensures that if something goes wrong—whether it's poor medical care, misleading claims about success rates, or other issues—patients have a clear pathway to seek redress through Victoria's health complaints system. It specifically excludes self-insemination from regulation, recognising that women performing this procedure on themselves (even with informal help) is a private matter rather than a regulated health service."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These Regulations implement the Act’s stated purpose by prescribing ART‑related services and non‑self artificial insemination, plus necessary support services, as \"health services\" for the Health Complaints Act. The text confines the change to those categories and does not expand beyond that prescription (regs 1, 3, 4; endnotes re commencement/sunset)."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow substantive scope: single regulatory purpose to prescribe specified services as \"health services\" (reg 1, reg 4).","Cross‑references to external Acts increase interpretive steps: defined terms reference the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 and the Health Complaints Act 2016 (reg 3).","Few operative provisions and no procedural rules here — substantive complaint procedures sit in the parent Act, requiring readers to consult that Act for effects.","Exclusion of self‑insemination introduces a bright‑line distinction that may require factual inquiry in complaints (reg 3, reg 4(b)).","Administrative detail limited; implementation and enforcement discretion rests with bodies created by the Health Complaints Act (implied by reg 1).","Statutory lifespan noted in endnotes (10‑year sunset) creates temporal limitation for assessment of impact."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation adds certain assisted‑reproductive services to the Health Complaints Act 2016 by declaring them to be \"health services\". It covers services provided by registered ART providers, artificial insemination performed by someone other than the woman herself, and necessary support services, so those providers fall within the Act’s complaint and oversight framework (regs 1, 3, 4). Providers therefore face complaint exposure and any administrative costs of responding; the Health Complaints body applies the Act’s processes to these services."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether scope changed from original intent, as only version metadata was provided rather than the substantive text of the regulations. No amendments or scope changes can be identified from the information supplied."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient substantive content was provided — only metadata and version history were included, making detailed analysis impossible","Regulations of this type are generally less complex than primary legislation as they deal with procedural/administrative detail rather than broad legal principles","Health complaints frameworks can involve multiple interacting bodies and processes, which can add moderate complexity","The supporting Act (not provided) would need to be read alongside these regulations to understand the full legal picture"],"plain_english_summary":"The Health Complaints Regulations 2019 set out the procedural and administrative rules that support the Health Complaints Act, governing how health complaints are lodged, managed and administered. They affect patients and consumers, health practitioners, service providers, and the Health Complaints Commissioner by defining the practical mechanics of the complaints system.\n\nNote: the supplied document contained only metadata/version history; this summary reflects the instrument’s purpose and likely scope, not its specific provisions."},"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/health-complaints-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/health-complaints-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/health-complaints-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/health-complaints-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/health-complaints-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/health-complaints-regulations-2019/documents"}}