Comments invited on review of Community Health Centre Governance
Victorian Health Minister, Daniel Andrews issued a media release today, inviting responses to a discussion paper looking at options for the governance and accountability of stand alone community health centres in Victoria.Many of these agencies offer dental services to public patients, and as ADAVB members employed by those centres well know, the remuneration the agencies are able to offer could be significantly reduced by a recent ruling by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The ruling has the potential to cause the loss of people who deliver services for which there are still long waiting lists, and so further disadvantage the community.
The review was necessitated by the ATO advice that a precedent established by the Federal Court, as applied to the stand alone agencies, meant that they were too tightly regulated to be regarded as public benevolent institutions.
As a result, they would lose Fringe Benefits Tax and other charitable concessions.
Victoria has 100 community health centres operating from 400 sites. Around 60 per cent of them operate in association with, or as part of, hospitals and health services.
The 38 stand alone services which are incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act are the agencies affected by the discussion paper.
“Our priority is to ensure that the delivery of important services can be maintained, which is why we commenced this review with the intention to make future arrangements consistent with the requirements of the ATO, through legislative change if required,” Mr Andrews said.
“Victoria’s stand alone community health centres received more than $250 million in Victorian Government funding in 2007/08, and we need to be able to ensure this money is spent efficiently and on the health and wellbeing of our community.”
The options outlined in the discussion paper enable agencies to:
· Become a non-government agency which can opt-in to become a registered community health centre;
· Become a charitable non-government organisation not registered under the Health Services Act, and therefore not eligible to receive primary and dental services funding; and
· Amalgamate with a public hospital or health service.
Mr Andrews said comments on the discussion paper must be received by June 20.
The review was necessitated by the ATO advice that a precedent established by the Federal Court, as applied to the stand alone agencies, meant that they were too tightly regulated to be regarded as public benevolent institutions.
As a result, they would lose Fringe Benefits Tax and other charitable concessions.
Victoria has 100 community health centres operating from 400 sites. Around 60 per cent of them operate in association with, or as part of, hospitals and health services.
The 38 stand alone services which are incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act are the agencies affected by the discussion paper.
“Our priority is to ensure that the delivery of important services can be maintained, which is why we commenced this review with the intention to make future arrangements consistent with the requirements of the ATO, through legislative change if required,” Mr Andrews said.
“Victoria’s stand alone community health centres received more than $250 million in Victorian Government funding in 2007/08, and we need to be able to ensure this money is spent efficiently and on the health and wellbeing of our community.”
The options outlined in the discussion paper enable agencies to:
· Become a non-government agency which can opt-in to become a registered community health centre;
· Become a charitable non-government organisation not registered under the Health Services Act, and therefore not eligible to receive primary and dental services funding; and
· Amalgamate with a public hospital or health service.
Mr Andrews said comments on the discussion paper must be received by June 20.
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