632Health Secretary may issue directions to Institute

632 Health Secretary may issue directions to Institute

(1) The Health Secretary may issue written directions to the Institute in relation to the following matters for the purpose of carrying out the Health Secretary's functions under this Act—

(a) the requirements for a specified person, or a specified class of person, employed or engaged by the Institute to be vaccinated against or prove immunity to specified diseases, including the consequences of non‑compliance for that person as an employee or person engaged by the Institute;

(b) the facilities, services, equipment or supplies which the Institute should use or should refrain from using;

(c) the extent to which and the conditions on which the Institute should make use of facilities, services, equipment or supplies provided by another entity, or should allow another entity to make use of its facilities, services, equipment or supplies;

(d) the extent to which and the conditions on which the Institute is required to obtain or purchase facilities, services, equipment or supplies provided by another entity;

(e) the carrying out of audits for case mix funding purposes;

(f) action to be taken or avoided to enable the State to comply with the terms of any agreement made between it and the Commonwealth or any other State.

(2) A direction issued under subsection (1)(a) and compliance by the Institute or a person with that direction, does not constitute discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity or religious belief or activity for the purposes of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010.

(3) The Health Secretary must ensure that a direction issued under subsection (1)(d) to the Institute is not inconsistent with an HPV direction or a purchasing policy that applies to the Institute.

(4) The Health Secretary must give a copy of a direction issued under this section to the Institute.

(5) The Institute Board must comply with a direction issued by the Health Secretary under this section.

(6) A direction issued by the Health Secretary under this section has effect despite anything to the contrary contained in any interim funding statement in relation to the Institute.

(7) To avoid doubt, nothing under this section limits the power of the Minister to make a direction under section 631.