Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2025C00090:section:135aa:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2025C00090
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 135AA (pt 1/3)
Character Range: 607614–610399

135AA  Privacy rules

Information to which this section applies
 (1) Subject to subsection (2), this section applies to information that:
 (a) is information relating to an individual; and
 (b) is held by an agency (whether or not the information was obtained by that agency or any other agency after the commencement of this section); and
 (c) was obtained by the agency or any other agency in connection with:
 (i) a claim for payment of a benefit under the Medicare Benefits Program or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program; or
 (ii) a supply of a pharmaceutical benefit to which subsection 98AC(1) applies.

Information to which this section does not apply
 (2) This section does not apply to such information:
 (a) so far as it identifies:
 (i) a person who provided the service or goods in connection with which the claim for payment is made, or who provided the pharmaceutical benefit; or
 (ii) a person who, in his or her capacity as the provider of services, made a referral or request to another person to provide the service or goods or the pharmaceutical benefit; or
 (b) so far as it is contained in a database that:
 (i) is maintained for the purpose of identifying persons who are eligible to be paid benefits under the Medicare Benefits Program or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program; and
 (ii) does not contain information relating to claims for payment of such benefits; or
 (c) so far as it is not stored in a database.

Issuing rules
 (3) The Information Commissioner must, by legislative instrument, issue rules relating to information to which this section applies.
 (3A) The issuing of rules under this section is a privacy function for the purposes of the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010.

Replacing or varying rules
 (4) At any time, the Information Commissioner may, by legislative instrument, issue further rules that vary the existing rules.

Content of rules
 (5) So far as practicable, the rules must:
 (a) specify the ways in which information may be stored and, in particular, specify the circumstances in which creating copies of information in paper or similar form is prohibited; and
 (b) specify the uses to which agencies may put information; and
 (c) specify the circumstances in which agencies may disclose information; and
 (d) prohibit agencies from storing in the same database:
 (i) information that was obtained under the Medicare Benefits Program; and
 (ii) information that was obtained under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program; and
 (e) prohibit linkage of:
 (i) information that is held in a database maintained for the purposes of the Medicare Benefits Program; and
 (ii) information that is held in a database maintained for the purposes of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program;
  unless the linkage is authorised in the way