{"id":"qld:act-2008-060","name":"Mater Public Health Services Act 2008","slug":"mater-public-health-services-act-2008","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"qld","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"60 of 2008","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30080,"registerId":"qld-act-2008-060-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"pt.1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"# Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"sec.1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### sec.1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the Mater Public Health Services Act 2008 .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"sec.2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### sec.2 Commencement\n\nThis Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"sec.3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Main object","content":"### sec.3 Main object\n\nThe main object of this Act is to provide a statutory framework for the department and the Mater to enter into arrangements (the arrangements ) about the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals and their funding.\nIt is Parliament’s intention that the arrangements—\nrecognise the major contribution made by the Mater and the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy of Queensland to the delivery of public patient health services; and\ntake account of the quantity and quality of public patient health services delivered by the Mater hospitals by—\nmaintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding; and\nmaintaining the clinical viability of delivering the services as part of all the health services delivered by the Mater hospitals; and\nrecognise the value of the Mater hospitals as teaching hospitals; and\nhave regard to the corporate governance and public accountability requirements of the department and the Mater.\n(sec.3-ssec.1) The main object of this Act is to provide a statutory framework for the department and the Mater to enter into arrangements (the arrangements ) about the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals and their funding.\n(sec.3-ssec.2) It is Parliament’s intention that the arrangements— recognise the major contribution made by the Mater and the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy of Queensland to the delivery of public patient health services; and take account of the quantity and quality of public patient health services delivered by the Mater hospitals by— maintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding; and maintaining the clinical viability of delivering the services as part of all the health services delivered by the Mater hospitals; and recognise the value of the Mater hospitals as teaching hospitals; and have regard to the corporate governance and public accountability requirements of the department and the Mater.\n- (a) recognise the major contribution made by the Mater and the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy of Queensland to the delivery of public patient health services; and\n- (b) take account of the quantity and quality of public patient health services delivered by the Mater hospitals by— (i) maintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding; and (ii) maintaining the clinical viability of delivering the services as part of all the health services delivered by the Mater hospitals; and\n- (i) maintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding; and\n- (ii) maintaining the clinical viability of delivering the services as part of all the health services delivered by the Mater hospitals; and\n- (c) recognise the value of the Mater hospitals as teaching hospitals; and\n- (d) have regard to the corporate governance and public accountability requirements of the department and the Mater.\n- (i) maintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding; and\n- (ii) maintaining the clinical viability of delivering the services as part of all the health services delivered by the Mater hospitals; and","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"sec.4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Guiding principles","content":"### sec.4 Guiding principles\n\nThe principles intended to guide the achievement of this Act’s main object include the following—\nthe department and the Mater should use their best endeavours to ensure that public patient health services are funded and delivered in a way that serves the best interests of patients receiving the services;\nthe department and the Mater should be committed to maintaining and enhancing a special relationship for giving effect to the arrangements;\nthe philosophy underpinning the delivery of health services by the Mater hospitals should be acknowledged;\nthe delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals should be funded by the State in a way that is consistent with the funding of public sector health services;\nthe Mater, and not the department, is responsible for the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals;\nthe department and the Mater should cooperate in the development of the department’s plan and key initiatives relating to the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals.\n- (a) the department and the Mater should use their best endeavours to ensure that public patient health services are funded and delivered in a way that serves the best interests of patients receiving the services;\n- (b) the department and the Mater should be committed to maintaining and enhancing a special relationship for giving effect to the arrangements;\n- (c) the philosophy underpinning the delivery of health services by the Mater hospitals should be acknowledged;\n- (d) the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals should be funded by the State in a way that is consistent with the funding of public sector health services;\n- (e) the Mater, and not the department, is responsible for the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals;\n- (f) the department and the Mater should cooperate in the development of the department’s plan and key initiatives relating to the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"sec.5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"### sec.5 Definitions\n\nThe dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used in this Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"pt.2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Agreement","content":"# Agreement","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"sec.6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority to enter into agreement","content":"### sec.6 Authority to enter into agreement\n\nThe chief executive, acting on behalf of the State, and the Mater may enter into an agreement for the arrangements.\nThe agreement may include matters relating to the following—\nthe period of the agreement;\nreviewing and varying the agreement;\nthe department’s obligation to allocate funds to the Mater for the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals;\ndetails of the department’s funding allocation to the Mater for each financial year;\nproviding extraordinary or emergency funding by the department to the Mater;\nfunding for capital works\ninitiatives, performance targets, priorities, strategies, undertakings and other measures (the measures ) relating to the delivery of the services;\nthe Mater’s obligations to deliver the services under the measures;\nassessing the Mater’s performance against the measures;\nthe rights and obligations of the department and the Mater relating to matters of privacy and access to medical records;\nreporting by the Mater to the department about the delivery of the services;\nresolving disputes between the department and the Mater.\nSubsection (2) does not limit the matters that may be included in the agreement.\nA regulation may prescribe matters that must be included in the agreement relating to the funding that the department must provide for the purpose of staff entitlements.\n(sec.6-ssec.1) The chief executive, acting on behalf of the State, and the Mater may enter into an agreement for the arrangements.\n(sec.6-ssec.2) The agreement may include matters relating to the following— the period of the agreement; reviewing and varying the agreement; the department’s obligation to allocate funds to the Mater for the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals; details of the department’s funding allocation to the Mater for each financial year; providing extraordinary or emergency funding by the department to the Mater; funding for capital works initiatives, performance targets, priorities, strategies, undertakings and other measures (the measures ) relating to the delivery of the services; the Mater’s obligations to deliver the services under the measures; assessing the Mater’s performance against the measures; the rights and obligations of the department and the Mater relating to matters of privacy and access to medical records; reporting by the Mater to the department about the delivery of the services; resolving disputes between the department and the Mater.\n(sec.6-ssec.3) Subsection (2) does not limit the matters that may be included in the agreement.\n(sec.6-ssec.4) A regulation may prescribe matters that must be included in the agreement relating to the funding that the department must provide for the purpose of staff entitlements.\n- (a) the period of the agreement;\n- (b) reviewing and varying the agreement;\n- (c) the department’s obligation to allocate funds to the Mater for the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals;\n- (d) details of the department’s funding allocation to the Mater for each financial year;\n- (e) providing extraordinary or emergency funding by the department to the Mater; Example of extraordinary funding— funding for capital works\n- (f) initiatives, performance targets, priorities, strategies, undertakings and other measures (the measures ) relating to the delivery of the services;\n- (g) the Mater’s obligations to deliver the services under the measures;\n- (h) assessing the Mater’s performance against the measures;\n- (i) the rights and obligations of the department and the Mater relating to matters of privacy and access to medical records;\n- (j) reporting by the Mater to the department about the delivery of the services;\n- (k) resolving disputes between the department and the Mater.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"pt.3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Disclosure of information","content":"# Disclosure of information","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"sec.7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions for pt 3","content":"### sec.7 Definitions for pt 3\n\nIn this part—\nconfidential information see the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 , schedule 2 .\ns 7 def confidential information sub 2011 No. 32 s 332 sch 1 pt 2 (amd 2012 No. 9 s 47 )\ndesignated person see the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 , schedule 2 .\ns 7 def designated person sub 2011 No. 32 s 332 sch 1 pt 2 (amd 2012 No. 9 s 47 )\nhealth professional see the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 , schedule 2 .\ns 7 def health professional sub 2011 No. 32 s 332 sch 1 pt 2 (amd 2012 No. 9 s 47 )\nofficer , of the Mater, means an employee of the Mater, or a health professional engaged to deliver a health service by a Mater hospital.\npersonal information , about an individual, means information or an opinion, whether true or not, about the individual from which the individual’s identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"sec.8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Who may disclose information","content":"### sec.8 Who may disclose information\n\nA designated person may disclose confidential information about an individual to a health professional engaged to deliver a public patient health service for a Mater hospital if the disclosure is for the care or treatment of the individual.\nAn officer of the Mater may disclose personal information about an individual who is or was a patient of a Mater hospital to a health professional engaged to deliver a public sector health service on behalf of the department if the disclosure is for the care or treatment of the individual.\n(sec.8-ssec.1) A designated person may disclose confidential information about an individual to a health professional engaged to deliver a public patient health service for a Mater hospital if the disclosure is for the care or treatment of the individual.\n(sec.8-ssec.2) An officer of the Mater may disclose personal information about an individual who is or was a patient of a Mater hospital to a health professional engaged to deliver a public sector health service on behalf of the department if the disclosure is for the care or treatment of the individual.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"pt.4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Transitional provision","content":"# Transitional provision","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"sec.9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Existing agreement","content":"### sec.9 Existing agreement\n\nThe existing agreement—\nis taken to have been made under section 6; and\ncontinues in force until it expires under its terms or is otherwise terminated.\nThe annual agreement continues in force until it expires under its terms or is otherwise terminated.\nIn this section—\nannual agreement means the agreement, made under clause 7 of the existing agreement as in force immediately before the commencement and includes that agreement as subsequently varied.\ncommencement means the commencement of this section.\nexisting agreement means the Mater Hospital Funding Agreement made between the State and the Mater on 16 December 2002 as in force immediately before the commencement and includes that agreement as subsequently varied.\n(sec.9-ssec.1) The existing agreement— is taken to have been made under section 6; and continues in force until it expires under its terms or is otherwise terminated.\n(sec.9-ssec.2) The annual agreement continues in force until it expires under its terms or is otherwise terminated.\n(sec.9-ssec.3) In this section— annual agreement means the agreement, made under clause 7 of the existing agreement as in force immediately before the commencement and includes that agreement as subsequently varied. commencement means the commencement of this section. existing agreement means the Mater Hospital Funding Agreement made between the State and the Mater on 16 December 2002 as in force immediately before the commencement and includes that agreement as subsequently varied.\n- (a) is taken to have been made under section 6; and\n- (b) continues in force until it expires under its terms or is otherwise terminated.","sortOrder":12}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"sec.9(3) - definition of 'commencement'","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A definition that defines a term by reference to the very thing being defined ('commencement means the commencement of this section') is logically vacuous. It tells the reader nothing about the actual date or event of commencement. While sec.2 establishes commencement by proclamation, sec.9(3) does not cross-reference that provision — it simply loops back on itself. Any reader attempting to determine the operative date from this definition alone cannot do so.","confidence":0.92,"description":"The definition of 'commencement' within sec.9 is defined as 'the commencement of this section' — a circular self-referential definition that provides no meaningful information about when commencement actually occurs."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"sec.9(1)(a)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Section 9(1)(a) deems the 2002 Mater Hospital Funding Agreement to have been made under sec.6 of this 2008 Act. Logically, an agreement made in 2002 cannot have been made under a statutory authority that did not exist until 2008. While retrospective deeming provisions are a known legislative technique and are not uncommon in transitional provisions, the logical absurdity remains: the agreement predates the empowering section by six years, and the parties could not have been 'acting under' a non-existent section. This creates potential ambiguity about which terms, constraints and obligations of sec.6 are to be retroactively imputed to the 2002 agreement.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The existing agreement (made in 2002) is retrospectively 'taken to have been made under section 6' of an Act that did not exist in 2002, creating a legal fiction that a pre-legislative agreement was authorised by legislation enacted six years later."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"sec.6(1) and sec.6(4)","severity":"low","reasoning":"If the parties merely 'may' enter into an agreement, there is no obligation to do so. However, if a regulation prescribes matters that 'must be included' in the agreement, this implies the agreement is in some sense obligatory or that the regulation operates in a vacuum if no agreement is made. The mandatory content requirement is logically contingent on an agreement being entered into, but the Act provides no mechanism to compel agreement formation, leaving the mandatory regulation potentially unenforceable.","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 6(1) uses permissive language ('may enter into an agreement') but sec.6(4) allows regulations to prescribe matters that 'must be included' in that agreement — creating an internal tension where a discretionary act is simultaneously subject to mandatory content requirements."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"sec.3(2)(b)(i)","severity":"low","reasoning":"Maintaining funding (i.e., keeping it at least at current levels) and ensuring the most efficient and effective use of funding are not always compatible objectives. A genuine efficiency assessment might conclude that current funding levels are excessive, duplicative, or better deployed elsewhere. Locking in funding maintenance while simultaneously demanding efficiency maximisation creates a structural contradiction: true efficiency optimisation cannot be constrained by a predetermined floor of maintained funding without undermining the efficiency objective.","confidence":0.6,"description":"Parliament's stated intention includes 'maintaining funding for the services while ensuring the most efficient and effective use of the funding' — these two objectives are potentially in direct logical conflict, as efficiency may require reducing or restructuring funding rather than maintaining it at existing levels."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.4(e)","section_b":"sec.4(a)","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 4(e) states the Mater alone is responsible for delivery of public patient health services, while sec.4(a) states both the department AND the Mater should use best endeavours to ensure services are funded and delivered in the best interests of patients — implying shared responsibility for delivery outcomes."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.4(e)","section_b":"sec.4(f)","confidence":0.72,"description":"Section 4(e) assigns sole responsibility for service delivery to the Mater (not the department), yet sec.4(f) requires both the department and the Mater to cooperate in developing 'key initiatives relating to the delivery of public patient health services by the Mater hospitals' — suggesting the department has a co-governance role in delivery decisions, contradicting the exclusive responsibility assigned to the Mater."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.7 (definition of 'officer of the Mater')","section_b":"sec.8(2)","confidence":0.55,"description":"Section 7 defines 'officer of the Mater' to include health professionals 'engaged to deliver a health service by a Mater hospital', but sec.8(2) authorises an officer of the Mater to disclose information to a 'health professional engaged to deliver a public sector health service on behalf of the department' — meaning that depending on the specific engagement arrangement, the same individual could simultaneously qualify as both the disclosing officer and the receiving health professional, potentially allowing self-disclosure without meaningful consent or oversight."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.3(2)(d)","section_b":"sec.4(d)","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 3(2)(d) directs the arrangements to 'have regard to' the corporate governance and public accountability requirements of the department and the Mater, while sec.4(d) states the Mater hospitals should be funded 'in a way that is consistent with the funding of public sector health services'. Mater hospitals are private Catholic institutions — applying public sector funding consistency norms to a private entity while simultaneously requiring regard to its own (private) corporate governance requirements creates a structural contradiction between two regimes that may be fundamentally incompatible."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing a statutory framework for the funding and delivery arrangement between the State and the Mater hospitals. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific public-private partnership."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 9 sections across 4 parts","Minimal defined terms—only 5 definitions in Part 3, with most terms referencing external legislation (Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Simple transitional provision (section 9) that grandfathers a single existing agreement","Straightforward enabling structure: object → principles → authority to contract → information sharing → transitional","Cross-references limited to one external Act for definitions in Part 3"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act creates a legal framework for how the Queensland Government (through its health department) partners with the Mater hospitals (a Catholic not-for-profit hospital group run by the Sisters of Mercy) to deliver free public healthcare to patients.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Patients:** Anyone receiving public (free) healthcare at Mater hospitals\n- **The Mater:** The hospital group that delivers the services\n- **The Department:** Queensland Health, which provides the funding\n- **Staff:** Doctors, nurses and other health workers who need to share patient information\n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **The Partnership:** The Act authorises a formal agreement between the State and the Mater about funding and delivering public hospital services. This recognises that while the Mater is a private Catholic organisation, it has a long history of providing public healthcare alongside its private services.\n\n- **What the agreement covers:** Funding levels, performance targets, emergency funding, building works, privacy rules, reporting requirements, and how to resolve disputes.\n\n- **Information sharing:** The Act allows patient information to be shared between Mater staff and Queensland Health staff when it's necessary for a patient's care or treatment—overcoming privacy barriers that might otherwise prevent doctors from accessing important medical history.\n\n- **Grandfathering:** An existing funding agreement from 2002 continues under this new law until it expires.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law formalises a unique arrangement where a religious, non-government hospital group delivers public healthcare services with government funding. It balances the Mater's independence and Catholic ethos with public accountability and ensures patients can move between the public and private parts of the Mater system without their care being compromised by information silos."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act formalises and preserves the pre‑existing Mater Hospital Funding Agreement and establishes a framework for future agreements without expanding state powers beyond funding, disclosure for care, and agreement‑making. This is reflected in the main object (sec 3) and the transitional saving of the existing agreement (sec 9)."},"complexity_factors":["Most substantive detail is left to the agreement between the parties rather than contained in the Act (sec 6(2)), increasing reliance on contractual drafting and regulatory prescription.","Definitions and confidentiality concepts are cross‑referenced to the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011, creating dependency on external instruments for meaning (sec 7).","Regulation‑making power to prescribe mandatory agreement content about staff entitlements introduces delegated rule complexity (sec 6(4)).","Discretion vested in the chief executive to enter agreements on behalf of the State requires administrative decision‑making and potential internal governance processes (sec 6(1)).","Information‑sharing exceptions for care and treatment interact with privacy rules and professional obligations, requiring operational protocols (sec 8).","Transitional provision preserves an existing 2002 funding agreement in force, layering continuity and potential legacy terms onto the new statutory framework (sec 9)."],"plain_english_summary":"Creates a statutory framework allowing the State (through the chief executive) and the Mater to enter and govern agreements about funding and delivery of public patient health services at Mater hospitals. It sets objectives and guiding principles for funding, clinical viability, teaching roles, governance and limited information‑sharing rules. Affects the State health department, the Mater hospitals and their patients because it determines who pays, what performance measures apply, and what patient information may be shared for care."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act closely tracks its stated main object throughout. It establishes a statutory framework for funding arrangements between the Queensland government and the Mater hospitals, and every operative provision — agreement authority, disclosure rules, and transitional provisions — directly serves that purpose. No significant scope creep or narrowing is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Interaction between a private (religious) organisation and public health funding frameworks creates a unique dual-accountability structure","Cross-references to external legislation (Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011) for key definitions, requiring readers to consult multiple laws","Transitional provisions involving a pre-existing 2002 agreement and a subordinate annual agreement add layering","Regulation-making power for staff entitlement funding introduces an open-ended element not fully defined in the Act itself","The distinction between 'confidential information' (public sector concept) and 'personal information' (Mater-specific concept) in the disclosure provisions requires careful reading"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a legal framework allowing Queensland to enter formal funding and service agreements with the Mater hospitals so they can continue treating public patients. It affects public patients, Queensland Health, the Mater (Sisters of Mercy) and clinicians working across both systems.\n\nIt gives certainty about who funds and delivers services, protects patient privacy for shared records (only for care), and preserves the existing 2002 funding arrangement until replaced."},"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/mater-public-health-services-act-2008","history":"/api/acts/mater-public-health-services-act-2008/history","analysis":"/api/acts/mater-public-health-services-act-2008/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/mater-public-health-services-act-2008/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/mater-public-health-services-act-2008/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/mater-public-health-services-act-2008/documents"}}