Date published:
The Australian Government intends to amend Part VD of the Health Insurance Act 1973, through a bill being presented to parliament. The proposed amendments include:
- removal of the Medicare ban – as a consequence of withdrawal or upon breaching a condition – for ex-Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship (MRBS) Scheme bonded participants
- extension of the ‘grace period’ for students to withdraw from their course of study in medicine, without consequence, from the HECS Census date in their second year of study, up to the award of the degree
- provision for the responsible minister to make additional rules to support the administration of the Program that better support participants’ personal circumstances and the objectives of the Program.
These provisions have been incorporated into a bill that has been introduced into parliament and awaits consideration.
Should parliament pass these amendments, we will work quickly to implement them.
Find more information about the bill and the explanatory memorandum on the Parliament of Australia website.