Your information and rights
Medicare Australia administers Australia’s national health programs. Because of this administrative function Medicare Australia manages a lot of information which is subject to privacy legislation.
This document tells you about the types of information available from Medicare Australia, some of its restrictions, and how to request information from Medicare Australia.
Information collection and hosting
Medicare Australia actions a number of requests every year for the release of personal information in accordance with legislation, for example to prescribed authorities or where the release is in the public interest. In addition, Medicare Australia also responds to information requests lodged under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982
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Information provision
Medicare Australia has established an Information Office to facilitate communication about Medicare Australia's key information products and services. Medicare Australia provides information under two categories: formal requests and specialised feedback reports.
Recipients of standard and ad hoc reports on the usage of programs administered by Medicare Australia (ie Medicare, PBS, Childcare Rebate, ACIR) include:
- university researchers
- Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA)
- other government agencies
- journalists
- pharmaceutical companies
- other public and private researchers
- Divisions of General Practice
- Medicare Australia staff - national office and states
- individual providers, and
- consumers
Medicare Australia Feedback Reporting Facility (FRF) distributes individual and peer comparison Medicare and PBS data to practitioners via a secured Internet site. Some two thousand general practitioners now have secure online access to the FRF site for feedback purposes.
Contacts
- Information held by Medicare Australia
Manager, Information Strategy Section
Phone: 02 6124 7833
- Submission of personal or third party information requests and access to FOI information and/or privacy issues
Manager, Privacy Policy Section
Phone: 02 6124 7172
- Support about how Medicare Australia can help you identify and meet your information needs
Client Liaison Unit
Phone: 1800 101 099
Email: statistics@medicareaustralia.gov.au
Last updated: 22 July, 2008