Health ref. no.808

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973

Health Insurance (Eligible persons unauthorised maritime arrivals and holders of Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa) Order 2017

I, GREG HUNT, Minister for Health, pursuant to subsection 6(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act) hereby DECLARE that:

(a)          Every person included in the specified class of persons:

(i)                 who is an unauthorised maritime arrival or who was not immigration cleared on their last entry to Australia; and

(ii)               who is the holder of a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa (Subclass 449),

being a person who, but for this Order, would not be an eligible person for the purposes of the Act shall, during any period in which the person is in Australia, be treated as being an eligible person for the purposes of the Act.

(b)          In this Order the terms unauthorised maritime arrival and immigration cleared have the meanings given by the Migration Act 1958, as in force from time to time.

(c)          This Order shall have effect from the date of signature.

Dated this 26th day of October 2017

GREG HUNT

MINISTER FOR HEALTH

ATTACHMENT - STATEMENT OF REASONS

Health Insurance Act 1973

Class Order under Subsection 6(1)

ORDER NO: 808

DATE OF ORDER: 2017

RELATED ORDER: 779, 792

NAME OF PERSON/GROUP:  Unauthorised maritime arrivals holding a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa (Subclass 449)

REASON FOR APPROVAL:

The Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa (Subclass 449) (HSTV) is a subclass of the Temporary Safe Haven (Class UJ) visa.  It is a generic humanitarian visa that provides temporary stay in Australia primarily for persons displaced or likely to be displaced and who have grave fears for their personal safety.

The Government has decided that people who are not immigration cleared or who are illegal arrivals to Australia who are found to engage Australia’s protection obligations and satisfy certain legislative criteria are eligible for temporary humanitarian visas.  The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection has decided that an available option for illegal arrivals, who are found to engage Australia’s protection obligations and satisfy the legislative criteria, is either Ministerial Intervention or to accept a Government offer to grant of a HSTV, which is a prerequisite to the grant of a Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) visa subclass 786 (THCV), if all other legislative criteria are met.  At present, HSTVs are granted for up to 12 months from the date of grant, but it is anticipated that many of these can be transitioned to a THCV during this period if they satisfy necessary checks. 

As the Government has acknowledged that these cohorts, once checks are satisfied, have engaged Australia’s protection obligations, there are certain provisions under the Refugees Convention that must be met.  This includes social security (legal provisions in respect of employment injury, occupational diseases, maternity, sickness, disability, old age, death, unemployment, family responsibilities and any other contingency which, according to national laws or regulations, is covered by a social security scheme).  Therefore, to ensure Australia meets its obligations it is necessary to ensure that there is Medicare eligibility attached to both the HSTV and THCV.  A separate subsection 6(1) order is already in place for the THCV.

Note: The name of this instrument was amended on registration as the instrument as lodged did not have a unique name (see subsection 10(2), Legislation Rule 2016).