THE VICTORIAN experience of prevention and management of chronic disease in primary health care will be the focus of a House of Representatives Health Committee hearing to be held in Melbourne on Thursday.
The committee will hear from witnesses including the Victorian Health Department, chronic disease advocacy groups, bodies representing medical practitioners and allied health workers, research bodies, a health consumer group, private health insurers, and Primary Health Networks.
Discussion is expected to include methods used to treat chronic disease in primary health care, as well as ways in which patient care can be better coordinated, supported and improved.
Committee Chair Steve Irons MP said, "Hearing more about innovative models of care being delivered in Victoria, including the CarePoint partnership delivered by the Victorian Department of Health and Medibank Private, will provide a perspective on the ways in which the challenges of chronic disease can be addressed on a local and state-wide scale.
"Collaborative partnerships, and information sharing between research bodies and primary health care organisations, including Primary Health Networks, may find efficiencies and lead to better implementation of best practice treatment for patients living with chronic disease."
Details of the hearing are: Thursday, 1 October – 9.00 am to 5.30 pm Meeting Room G1, 55 St Andrews Place, Melbourne, Victoria
NATIONAL resource industry employer group, AMMA (Australian Mines and Metals Association), calls on the Labor Opposition to heed the clear message from the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Mr Ma Zhaoxu, that our country needs to act quickly to secure the significant economic and employment opportunities of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA).
AMMA executive director, policy and public affairs, Scott Barklamb says Australia must not waste its opportunity to steal a substantial march on our global competitors, and to lock in preferential trading arrangements with our most important trading partner.
“Ambassador Ma is correct in describing the ChAFTA as a win-win for both nations. As the Chinese leadership, the Australian Government and the Opposition are well aware, this is an excellent deal which will allow Australia to secure the highest levels of access to this massive market for our exports, goods and services,” Mr Barklamb says.
“It will create jobs for Australians, including our children and grandchildren, and increase our living standards for decades to come - but only if the negotiated agreement is rapidly ratified when parliament resumes.”
As Ambassador Ma delivers his address on the 100th day since the ChAFTA was signed, Mr Barklamb says the enormity of what Labor is risking should not be underestimated.
“The Chinese leadership must be incredulous that Australia is not seizing with both hands the opportunities ChAFTA promises. As a nation we should be embarrassed that our alternative government needs to be reminded of what is at stake if we let this opportunity slip through our fingers,” he says.
“If ChAFTA does not proceed, our competitors will be only too quick to take up the preferential opportunities we have negotiated.”
With legislation to ratify the ChAFTA expected to be considered in parliament next month, Mr Barklamb says Opposition leader Bill Shorten will be tested on his economic leadership credentials.
“The CHAFTA legislation is where national economic leadership starts to get very real for Mr Shorten,” he says.
“This is a test of his capacity to make decisions for all Australians, rather than for the vested interests of the union movement. It is a test of actions rather than spin.
“The Opposition must decide whether they want to take instructions from the CFMEU and thereby become complicit in a fundamentally xenophobic campaign singling out Chinese labour, or instead demonstrate maturity and vision, act in the national interest, and help deliver more jobs and better living standards for generations of Australians.”
AMMA’s comments follow Mr Ma Zhaoxu’s address to the Australia China Business Council/ China Chamber of Commerce in Australia on the evening of 29 September.
ASIC has released its latest report outlining decisions on relief applications covering the period February 1 to May 31, 2015.
Businesses frequently approach ASIC for assistance to help make the law work better for them. ASIC uses its discretion to vary or set aside certain requirements of the law where there is a net regulatory benefit or where ASIC can facilitate business or cut red tape without harming other stakeholders.
This is a key part of ASIC's function and between February 1 to May 31, 2015, ASIC approved 372 relief applications.
Report 449 Overview of decisions on relief applications (February to May 2015) (REP 449), aims to improve the level of transparency and the quality of publicly available information about decisions ASIC makes when asked to exercise its discretionary powers to grant relief from provisions of the:
Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), or
National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act).
REP 449 also discusses the various relevant publications released by ASIC during the four months.
The report summarises examples of situations where ASIC has exercised, or refused to exercise, its exemption and modification powers under the Corporations Act. The report also highlights instances where ASIC has considered adopting a no-action position regarding specified non-compliance with statutory provisions.
Finally, the report provides examples of decisions that demonstrate how ASIC has applied its policy in practice which ASIC thinks will be of particular interest for capital market participants and for participants in the financial services industry. The report includes an appendix detailing the publicly available individual relief instruments referred to in the report.
BACKGROUND
ASIC can modify or set aside certain provisions of Chapters 2D (officers and employees), 2G (meetings), 2M (financial reporting and audit), 5C (managed investment schemes), 6 (takeovers), 6D (fundraising) and 7 (financial services) of the Corporations Act.
ASIC also has powers to give relief under the provisions of Chs 2 (licensing) and 3 (responsible lending) of the National Credit Act and from all or specified provisions of the National Credit Code, which is in Sch 1 to the National Credit Act.
In limited situations, ASIC may also consider providing a no-action letter when instances of non-compliance with certain statutory provisions have been brought to ASIC’s attention.
A no-action letter states to a particular person that ASIC does not intend to take regulatory action over a particular state of affairs or particular conduct. The factors that ASIC will consider when dealing with a request for a no-action letter is set out in Regulatory Guide 108 No-action letters (RG 108).
ASIC publishes a copy of most of the relief instruments issued in theASIC Gazette. Credit instruments are available from the ASIC website under credit relief.
APPLYING FOR RELIEF
Applications for relief must be in writing and should address the requirements set out in Regulatory Guide 51 Applications for relief (RG 51) (and any other regulatory guides relevant to the application).
Applications can be submitted electronically toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Fees are applicable for relief applications.
ASIC is streamlining the process for considering applications for relief to ensure that applications are assessed as quickly and efficiently as possible. As part of this, ASIC will be more strictly enforcing its policy to refuse applications for relief where information needed to make a decision is not provided.
Where ASIC has asked for additional information within a specified time period—and a reasonable explanation is not provided for any delay—an application for relief may be refused.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted re-authorisation to the Clean Energy Council for its revised Solar Retailer Code of Conduct for five years.
The Council represents Australia’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. The Code is a voluntary system that solar retailers can sign up to and meet best practice standards that will benefit consumers and the industry.
"Ensuring that solar retailers, as well as other industry participants, strive to improve standards of practice is important for consumers as household solar panels are a significant purchase,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.
"Achieving higher standards in the industry will increase consumer confidence, enable consumers to make better decisions and enhance compliance as the industry grows."
The Code enhances consumer protection by requiring ethical sales practices, increases disclosure to consumers about the costs of entering into agreements and reduces safety risk by requiring Code signatories to use accredited installers.
"The solar panel market is evolving, which has led to different business models emerging. While this could lead to greater confusion for customers, signatories to the Code will be required to provide important information to consumers about the nature of the agreement they are entering into," Ms Rickard said.
Authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating reports about the approach supermarket retailers are taking to implement the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct (Code).
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said, “The aim of the Code is to redress the imbalance in bargaining power that can exist between suppliers and large grocery retailers by prohibiting certain types of unfair conduct.
“The Code imposes a duty to deal with suppliers in good faith and we are concerned by reports we have received from suppliers that suggest that some retailers have not got off to a good start when it comes to implementing the Code,” Mr Sims said.
“The ACCC has concerns as to the manner in which some retailers, in particular Woolworths and Aldi, are presenting new Grocery Supply Agreements (GSAs), which might give the impression that the supplier is not able to negotiate the terms of the GSA.
“The ACCC is also concerned about the low level of detail provided in some GSAs about the circumstances in which certain payments may arise.”
The Code sets out a number of prohibitions on, for example, requiring a payment for wastage that occurs at the premises of the retailer.
While it is possible for retailers and suppliers to opt out of such prohibitions, this can only occur if the opt outs are agreed, if the agreement sets out the circumstances in which the opt out applies and if the payment is reasonable in the circumstances.
“One of the purposes of the Code is to provide certainty to suppliers, who are often in a much weaker bargaining position when dealing with retailers. In order to provide that certainty, the ACCC expects retailers to set out the circumstances in which they will seek payments from suppliers,” Mr Sims said.
The Code requires that retailers offer code-compliant GSAs. Suppliers should not feel compelled to sign these agreements and should seek advice before signing them. In particular, the Code will confer protections on suppliers 12 months after a retailer has signed up to the Code, regardless of whether a supplier has accepted a code-compliant GSA.
The ACCC has written to retailers about the manner in which they purport to be giving effect to the Code. The retailers have responded providing their new GSAs and the correspondence they have sent to suppliers offering the new GSAs. The ACCC will continue to monitor compliance with the code.
Background
The ACCC is responsible for enforcing the Code and has developed guidance material, which is available at Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.
Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Sydney-based retailer About Life have signed up to the Code.
The Code has rules about GSAs, payments, termination of agreements, dispute resolution and a range of other matters.
It is a voluntary code which complements existing protections under theCompetition and Consumer Act 2010, including the unconscionable conduct provisions.
The Code requires retailers and wholesalers to deal with suppliers in good faith during the bargaining stages of establishing GSAs, during the term of the agreement, and in dealing with any disputes.
Under the Code, retailers are required to offer suppliers code-compliant GSAs – whether the agreements are new, or variations to existing ones.
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