{"id":"C2017A00071","name":"Medicare Guarantee Act 2017","slug":"medicare-guarantee-act-2017","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"71 of 2017","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8590,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2017A00071-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Medicare Guarantee Act 2017","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nMedicare Guarantee Act 2017\n\n \n\nNo. 71, 2017\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to establish the Medicare Guarantee Fund, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Simplified outline of this Act\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Medicare Guarantee Fund\n\n6 Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n7 Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n8 Credit to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—budget year beginning on 1 July 2017\n\n9 Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—later budget years\n\n10 Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—avoiding funding shortfalls\n\n11 Purpose of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n12 Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n13 Purposes of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n14 Transfer of amounts to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n15 Surplus amounts in the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account—transfer to general CRF\n\n16 Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n17 Delegation by the Health Minister\n\n18 Appropriation\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nMedicare Guarantee Act 2017\n\nNo. 71, 2017\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to establish the Medicare Guarantee Fund, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 26 June 2017]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act is the Medicare Guarantee Act 2017.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this Act 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 Act The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. 27 June 2017\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.\n\n3  Simplified outline of this Act\n\n• This Act establishes the Medicare Guarantee Fund, which consists of:\n\n (a) the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account; and\n\n (b) the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account.\n\n• The purpose of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is to ensure that amounts are available for transfer to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account.\n\n• The purposes of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account are:\n\n (a) to make payments of Medicare benefits; and\n\n (b) to make payments under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.\n\n• Amounts will be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account and transferred to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account.\n\n• The transferred amounts will cover:\n\n (a) payments of Medicare benefits; and\n\n (b) payments under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nbudget means an annual Commonwealth budget.\n\nbudget year means the financial year to which a budget relates.\n\nHealth Department means the Department administered by the Health Minister.\n\nHealth Minister means the Minister who administers Part II of the Health Insurance Act 1973.\n\ninitial credit time for the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account means the first time when an amount is required to be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account by a direction under subsection 14(1).\n\nMedicare benefit payment means:\n\n (a) a payment by the Commonwealth under Part II of the Health Insurance Act 1973; or\n\n (b) a payment by the Commonwealth under an arrangement in force under section 129A of the Health Insurance Act 1973.\n\nMedicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account means the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account established by section 12.\n\nMedicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account means the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account established by section 6.\n\nPBS payment means a payment by the Commonwealth for the purposes of Part VII of the National Health Act 1953, but does not include expenditure covered by subsection 137(2) of that Act.\n\nregistered means registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\nNote: See the Legislation Act 2003.\n\nTreasury Department means the Department administered by the Treasurer.\n\n5  Medicare Guarantee Fund\n\n  The Medicare Guarantee Fund consists of:\n\n (a) the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account; and\n\n (b) the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account.\n\n6  Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n (1) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is established by this section.\n\n (2) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n (3) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury Department.\n\n7  Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by notifiable instrument, determine that a specified amount is to be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account at a time specified in, or ascertained in accordance with, the determination.\n\n (2) The time specified in, or ascertained in accordance with, the determination must not be earlier than the commencement of the determination.\n\n (3) The time specified in, or ascertained in accordance with, the determination must not be earlier than 1 July 2017.\n\n (4) The determination must be expressed to be for a specified budget year.\n\n8  Credit to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—budget year beginning on 1 July 2017\n\n (1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of this section, the Treasurer must make a determination under section 7 that:\n\n (a) is expressed to be for the budget year beginning on 1 July 2017; and\n\n (b) provides that a specified amount is to be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account at whichever of the following times is applicable:\n\n (i) if the determination is registered before 1 July 2017—the start of 1 July 2017;\n\n (ii) otherwise—the commencement of the determination.\n\nAmount specified in determination\n\n (2) The amount specified in the determination must be the amount the Treasurer considers to be sufficient to cover the funding of:\n\n (a) Medicare benefit payments; and\n\n (b) PBS payments;\n\nfor the period:\n\n (c) beginning when the specified amount is credited in accordance with the determination; and\n\n (d) ending at the end of the budget year.\n\n9  Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—later budget years\n\n (1) As soon as practicable after the release of the budget for:\n\n (a) the budget year beginning on 1 July 2018; or\n\n (b) a later budget year;\n\nthe Treasurer must make a determination under section 7 that:\n\n (c) is expressed to be for the budget year; and\n\n (d) provides that a specified amount is to be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account at whichever of the following times is applicable:\n\n (i) if the determination is registered before the start of the budget year—the specified time;\n\n (ii) otherwise—the commencement of the determination.\n\n (2) The specified time referred to in subparagraph (1)(d)(i):\n\n (a) must not be later than the start of the budget year; and\n\n (b) must not be earlier than the commencement of the determination.\n\nAmount specified in determination\n\n (3) The amount specified in the determination must be the amount the Treasurer considers to be sufficient to cover the funding of:\n\n (a) Medicare benefit payments; and\n\n (b) PBS payments;\n\nfor the period:\n\n (c) beginning when the specified amount is credited in accordance with the determination; and\n\n (d) ending at the end of the budget year.\n\n10  Credits to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account—avoiding funding shortfalls\n\n (1) If:\n\n (a) one or more amounts have been credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account; and\n\n (b) at a time during a budget year, the Treasurer is satisfied that the combined balance of that account and the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account is likely to fall short of the amount that the Treasurer considers would be sufficient to cover the funding of:\n\n (i) Medicare benefit payments; and\n\n (ii) PBS payments;\n\n  for the remainder of the budget year;\n\nthe Treasurer must make a determination under section 7 that:\n\n (c) is expressed to be for the budget year; and\n\n (d) provides that a specified amount is to be credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account at a specified time.\n\n (2) The specified time:\n\n (a) must occur during the budget year; and\n\n (b) must not be earlier than the commencement of the determination.\n\nAmount specified in determination\n\n (3) The amount specified in the determination must be the amount that the Treasurer estimates to be the amount of the shortfall.\n\n11  Purpose of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account\n\n  The purpose of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is to ensure that amounts are available for transfer to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account under section 14.\n\n12  Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n (1) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account is established by this section.\n\n (2) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account is a special account for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\n (3) The Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account is to be administered by the Secretary of the Health Department.\n\n13  Purposes of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n  The purposes of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account are as follows:\n\n (a) to make Medicare benefit payments after the initial credit time for the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account;\n\n (b) to make PBS payments after the initial credit time for the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account.\n\nNote: See section 80 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with special accounts).\n\n14  Transfer of amounts to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account\n\n (1) If, at a particular time, the balance of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account is greater than zero, the Treasurer must, in writing, direct that an amount equal to the balance is to be:\n\n (a) debited from the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account; and\n\n (b) credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account;\n\nas soon as practicable after the direction is given.\n\n (2) A direction under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.\n\n15  Surplus amounts in the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account—transfer to general CRF\n\n (1) After the initial credit time for the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account, the Health Minister may, by notifiable instrument, direct that a specified amount is to be debited from the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account on a specified day.\n\n (2) The specified day must not be earlier than the commencement of the direction.\n\n (3) The Health Minister must not give a direction under subsection (1) that specifies a day in a budget year unless:\n\n (a) the Health Minister has estimated that the balance of the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account as at the end of the budget year (reduced by any amounts credited to that account for a later budget year) is likely to be a particular amount; and\n\n (b) the amount specified in the direction is equal to, or less than, the estimated amount.\n\n (4) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a), if:\n\n (a) an amount is credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account under a section 7 determination for a budget year; and\n\n (b) as a result, under a section 14 direction, an amount equal to that amount is:\n\n (i) debited from the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Treasury) Special Account; and\n\n (ii) credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account;\n\nthe amount credited to the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account is taken to have been credited for the budget year.\n\n16  Delegation by the Treasurer\n\n (1) The Treasurer may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions or powers under this Act to:\n\n (a) the Secretary of the Treasury Department; or\n\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Treasury Department.\n\nNote: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation under subsection (1), the delegate must comply with any directions of the Treasurer.\n\n17  Delegation by the Health Minister\n\n (1) The Health Minister may, by writing, delegate any or all of his or her functions or powers under this Act to:\n\n (a) the Secretary of the Health Department; or\n\n (b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Health Department.\n\nNote: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n (2) In exercising powers under a delegation under subsection (1), the delegate must comply with any directions of the Health Minister.\n\n18  Appropriation\n\n  If, at any time after the initial credit time for the Medicare Guarantee Fund (Health) Special Account, the balance of that account is insufficient to cover:\n\n (a) a Medicare benefit payment that is about to be made; or\n\n (b) a PBS payment that is about to be made;\n\nthe Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated for the purposes of making the Medicare benefit payment or PBS payment, as the case requires.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 1 June 2017\n\nSenate on 19 June 2017]\n\n \n\n(118/17)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act confines its scope to establishing funding flows for Medicare benefit payments and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme payments through two special accounts (simplified outline; ss5,13). It does not broaden payment types or create substantive new program entitlements. Decision-making powers over credits, transfers and surplus directions are allocated to the Treasurer and Health Minister (ss7–11,14–15) with a CRF appropriation backstop for shortfalls (s18)."},"complexity_factors":["Dual-account structure requiring coordination between Treasury and Health departments (ss5,6(3),12(3)).","Treasurer discretion to determine credit amounts and timing by notifiable instrument each budget year (s7; ss8–9) — requires forecasts and judgement about sufficient funding (ss8(2),9(3)).","Intrabudget top-up power to avoid shortfalls based on Treasurer's satisfaction and estimate of shortfall (s10(1),(3)).","Automatic transfer rule: when Treasury special account balance > 0 the Treasurer must direct full transfer to the Health account (s14(1)) — mechanical but timing sensitive.","Health Minister power to direct surplus transfers back to the Consolidated Revenue Fund subject to required estimates (s15(1),(3)) — creates estimation and reporting obligations.","Fallback appropriation from the Consolidated Revenue Fund if the Health account is insufficient (s18) — preserves payment continuity but shifts who pays in practice.","Certain instruments/directions are not legislative instruments (s14(2)) or are notifiable instruments (ss7,15), affecting parliamentary scrutiny and administrative process.","Delegation paths for Treasurer and Health Minister to senior officials (ss16–17) increase operational complexity and control chains.","Interaction with Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 because accounts are special accounts (ss6(2),12(2)) — imposes PGPA reporting/management requirements."],"plain_english_summary":"Creates a Medicare Guarantee Fund made of two special accounts. The Treasurer credits budgeted amounts to a Treasury special account each year to fund Medicare benefit and PBS payments, and those amounts are transferred to the Health special account for payment.\n\nThe Commonwealth budget ultimately pays; the Treasurer sets credit amounts and timing, the Health Minister may direct surplus returns, and if the Health account is insufficient the Consolidated Revenue Fund covers payments (ss7–11,14–15,18)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: establishing a dedicated funding mechanism for Medicare benefits and PBS payments. The two-account structure, annual determination requirements, and surplus management provisions all serve this single objective without significant expansion into broader health financing or unrelated policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["18 sections total — relatively short and focused statute","Only 11 defined terms in section 4, most referencing external legislation (Health Insurance Act 1973, National Health Act 1953)","Simple two-account structure with clear directional flow (Treasury → Health → payments)","Minimal cross-referencing — primarily to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 for special account mechanics","Straightforward conditional logic: if balance insufficient → Treasurer must determine top-up (section 10); if surplus → Health Minister may return to general revenue (section 15)","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions beyond standard budget year definitions","Delegation provisions (sections 16-17) are standard boilerplate using familiar SES employee definitions from Acts Interpretation Act 1901"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a dedicated funding mechanism to ensure Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) always have money available to pay for doctors' visits and subsidised medicines.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Establishes the **Medicare Guarantee Fund** — essentially two linked bank accounts (called \"Special Accounts\") that operate under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (the law that governs how government money is managed).\n- **Account 1 — Treasury Special Account:** The Treasurer must put money into this account each budget year, based on estimated costs for Medicare and PBS. If there's a risk of running short, the Treasurer must top it up.\n- **Account 2 — Health Special Account:** Money from the Treasury account flows into this account, which the Health Department uses to actually pay Medicare rebates to patients and doctors, and to pay for PBS medicines.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Patients:** Anyone who visits a doctor or buys subsidised medicines — this law is designed to ensure those payments keep flowing.\n- **Doctors and pharmacists:** They rely on these payments being available.\n- **Government:** The Treasurer and Health Minister have specific duties to maintain funding levels, with limited delegation to senior officials.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nBefore this law, Medicare and PBS funding came from general budget appropriations. This Act creates a \"locked box\" mechanism that makes it harder for governments to quietly divert health funding elsewhere. It forces the Treasurer to explicitly calculate and guarantee funding levels each year, and provides a backup if estimates prove wrong. It's essentially a political and legal commitment to protect health spending."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017","history":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/medicare-guarantee-act-2017/documents"}}