House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by the authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan MP)

Statement of compatibility with human rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy) Bill 2013

1.15 This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .

Overview

1.16 This Bill amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 to increase the Medicare levy low income threshold for families and the dependent child-student component of the threshold in line with movements in the CPI.

1.17 This will ensure that low-income families who were exempt from the Medicare levy in the 2011-12 income year will continue to be exempt in the 2012-13 income year if their incomes have increased in line with or less than the CPI.

Human rights implications

1.18 This Bill engages the following human rights:

'Right to Health

Article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

While ICESCR contains no definition of health, the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights has stated that the right to health is not to be understood as a right to be healthy. ^[7] The Committee has stated that the right to health contains both freedoms and entitlements, and the entitlements include the right to a system of health protection which provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the highest attainable level of health. ^[8]

Increasing the low income threshold for families promotes the right to health by ensuring that low-income families who were exempt from the Medicare levy in 2011-12 income year will continue to be exempt in the 2012-13 income year if their incomes have increased in line with or less than the CPI, promoting their access to the health care system.'

Conclusion

1.19 This Bill is compatible with human rights because it promotes the right to health by ensuring that those families on lower incomes are not liable to pay the Medicare levy, therefore providing equality of opportunity for people to enjoy access to the health care system without additional financial burden.