AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 34
THE PO L ICY DESK
INDEPENDENT COVID
REVIEW
—
AMA Victoria recently provided
a submission to a private review
into Australia’s response to
the COVID-19 pandemic COVID
Review Submissions | e61.
Our submission was grounded
principally in the Victorian
experience, and particularly
the structural issues within
Victoria’s health system, namely
the devolved governance of the
state’s hospitals.
The submission noted that
there are certain advantages
associated with decentralisation,
but that the pandemic had
only stood to magnify the
weaknesses inherent in the
system, with these weaknesses
including governance,
accountability, transparency,
communication, general practice
integration, and (primarily
early in the pandemic) a lack of
clinical knowledge within the
Victorian Department of Health.
On a more positive note, the
submission highlighted recent
steps taken by the Government
that resulted in state
engagement and investment
into general practice to address
COVID-19, some of which has
been revolutionary (including
directly funding general
practice). The submission noted
that AMA Victoria’s hope is
that this is just the beginning
of greater State Government
engagement with general
practice.
34
AMA VI C TO RIA
PAYROLL TAX AND
MEDICAL PRACTICES
—
AMA Victoria continues to
advocate to the Victorian
Government expressing
significant concern regarding
recent developments in payroll
tax — originating from the
Optical Superstore decision of
the Court of Appeal in Victoria,
most recently the Thomas and
Naaz case in the NSW Civil and
Administrative Tribunal.
We have conveyed to the
Victorian Government that the
standard business procedures
caught by these decisions are
incredibly common throughout
Victoria and are now essentially
the standard for how medical
care is supported outside
hospitals and that imposing
payroll tax in this manner
would necessitate many general
practices abandoning bulk
billing and charging gap fees to
Victorian patients to remain a
sustainable and viable business.
Accordingly, AMA Victoria
continues to urge the Victorian
Government to abandon
retrospectively applied current
payroll tax assessments on
medical practices relying on the
reasoning in Optical Superstore
and like cases, and to reform
payroll tax law to prevent this
from happening further.
Beyond the realm of political
advocacy, we continue to receive
questions/queries from members
on what the implications of
these developments could be
for them and their practices
Accordingly, we are collaborating
with Tax and Accounting Partner,
the Bongiorno Group, and Legal
Partner, Kennedys, to develop
guidance for members to assist
them in avoiding falling afoul of
mistargeted laws.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES AT
GOULBURN VALLEY HEALTH
—
AMA Victoria continues to call
for the serious workplace culture
issues at Goulburn Valley Health
(GV Health) perpetuated by the
executive management of the
service to be addressed.
Over the years, AMA Victoria
members have often contacted
us to report mistreatment at
GV Health. However, in recent
times, there has been a rapid
escalation in the number of
calls and disputes being brough
to our attention. An alarming
number of practitioners have
been the subject of disputes
arising from management action
and have departed GV Health on
poor terms. Despite requests for
action by AMA Victoria to the
health service, it appears that
it is doing nothing to improve
the situation.
In addition to shining a
spotlight on this important
issue, we are assisting members
lodging formal complaints to
the AHRC and VEOHRC detailing
unaddressed incidences of
discrimination perpetuated by
senior figures at the service
by reviewing their applications.