Health service directives

Fees and charges for healthcare services

Directive number: QH-HSD-045

Effective date: 28 June 2024

Review date: 28 June 2027

Supersedes: Version 5

On this page:

Purpose
Scope
Principles
Outcomes
Mandatory requirements
Related or governing legislation, policy and agreements
Supporting documents
Business area contact
Review
Approval and implementation
Definitions of terms used in this directive
Version control

Fees and charges (XLSX 1681 kB)

Purpose

The purpose of this Health Service Directive is to ensure consistent application of fees and charges for health care services across the public health system in Queensland.

Scope

This Health Service Directive applies to all Hospital and Health Services.

Principles

Consistency: Fees and charges contained in the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register are applied consistently across all Hospital and Health Services.
Transparency: Fees and charges are applied across all Hospital and Health Services in a transparent way, including transparency to the public.

Outcomes

Hospital and Health Services shall achieve the following outcomes:

Compliance with the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register.

Mandatory requirements

In applying the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register, Hospital and Health Services must:

Ensure Service Fees for Granted Private Practice Retention Arrangements are levied in accordance with those contained within the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register.
Ensure all other fees raised do not exceed amounts contained in the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register.
Ensure there are no costs directly charged to Medicare-ineligible asylum seekers for public health services. Costs should be indirectly recovered from a third party (such as the International Health and Medical Services and Status Resolution Support Service Providers – Red Cross, Access Community Services and MDA), with the service provider arranging this.
Ensure Medicare-ineligible victim-survivors of domestic and family violence (DFV) and/or sexual assault are provided access to public healthcare for assessment, diagnostic investigations, treatment, and other supportive care, relating to their experience without any costs to the individual. Where possible, costs can be indirectly recovered from a third party, such as private health insurers, travel insurers and/or asylum seeker support agencies.
Note: the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register does not apply to Medical Officers’ Licensed Private Practice arrangements. Hospital and Health Services will ensure appropriate fees and charges are levied on Medical Officers’ Licensed Private Practice arrangements.

Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 (Qld)

Section 20 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act provides Hospital and Health Services with the power to charge for service they provide.

Financial Accountability Act 2009
Financial and Performance Management Standard 2019
National Health Reform Agreement
Queensland Government – Principles for Fees and Charges
Private Health Insurance (Benefit Requirements) Rules 2011 (Cwth)
Hospital Services Arrangement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission and the State of Queensland
Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Insurance Hospital and Emergency Service Levy Confirmation

Supporting documents

Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register (XLSX 1681 kB)
Qld Workers’ Compensation Medical Table of Costs. Schedule of Fees
Qld Workers’ Compensation Public Health Service Table of Costs
QHEALTH Acute Inpatient Cost Calculator
Queensland Health Service Directives:
- QH-HSD-056:2023 Co-payment waiver for HIV medication
- QH-HSD-055:2023 HIV treatment and care for people not eligible for Medicare
- QH-HSD-057:2024 Medication copayments subsidy for First Nations peoples
- QH-HSD-044 Private practice in the Queensland public sector
- QH-HSD-040 Tuberculosis control
- QH-HSD-051 Caring for people disclosing sexual assault
Guideline - Access to public health care for Medicare-ineligible victim-survivors of Domestic and Family Violence and/or Sexual Assault (QH-HSDGDL-045-1)

Business area contact

Director, Revenue Strategy and Support Unit, Corporate Services Division

Review

This Health Service Directive will be reviewed at least every three years.

Next review due by: 28 June 2027

Approval and implementation

Directive Custodian

Chief Finance Officer, Finance Branch, Corporate Services Division

Approval by Chief Executive

Director-General, Queensland Health

Approval date: 28 June 2024

Issued under section 47 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011.

Definitions of terms used in this directive

Term	Definition / explanation / details	Source
Domestic and Family Violence	Domestic and Family Violence is behaviour, or a pattern of behaviour, that is physically, sexually, emotionally, psychologically or economically abusive, threatening, coercive or aimed at controlling or dominating a person through fear within a relevant relationship. A relevant relationship includes an intimate personal relationship, a family relationship or an informal care relationship.	DFV and Women’s Health Policy Unit
Fees and Charges	Fees and Charges are payable by private patients, compensable patients or Medicare ineligible persons accessing health care services provided through the Queensland public health system. Fees and charges are also payable for administrative services for example Right to Information applications and requests for clinical records and services utilised by doctors under private practice.	Revenue Strategy and Support Unit.
Medicare-ineligible asylum seekers	A person who has applied for a refugee protection visa onshore (866, 785 or 790) and is waiting for a decision on this application or appeal or a cohort of people residing in Queensland who are fleeing conflict and are temporarily deemed an asylum seeker for the purposes of this Health Service Directive by the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services.	Disability and Multicultural Health Unit, System Policy Branch
Victim-survivor	Any person who experiences sexual assault and/or domestic and family violence.	DFV and Women’s Health Policy Unit

Version control

Version	Date	Prepared by	Comments
1.0	July 2014	Finance Branch
2.0	August 2015	Revenue Strategy and Support Unit, Finance Branch	The following changes were made: ‘Mandatory requirements’ section information in relations to Licenced Private Practice arrangements added ‘Definition of terms used in the directive’ section old terminology ‘Freedom of Information’ replaced by ‘Right to Information’
3.0	March 2016	Revenue Strategy and Support Unit, Finance Branch	Reviewed Document
4.0	August 2017	Legislative Policy Unit, Strategic Policy and Legislation Branch	Amended document – under the ‘mandatory requirements’ the following was added: Ensure Medicare-ineligible asylum seekers are provided access to public health services with no costs charged directly to the patient.
5.0	June 2021	Revenue Strategy and Support Unit, Finance Branch	Reviewed document with minor changes, including: “DRG 7” was deleted from “Acute Inpatient Cost Calculator” in “Supporting documents” section as the DRG version changes within the HSD validity.
6.0	June 2024	Revenue Strategy and Support Unit, Finance Branch DFV and Women’s Health Reform Unit Disability and Multicultural Health Unit, System Policy Branch	Dates and version number changed. Under Mandatory requirements section: References to third party funding agencies updated Inclusion of dot point 4 Under Supporting Documents section: Addition of QH-HSD that impact this HSD. Under definition of terms used in this directive: Definition of fees and charges updated Definition of Medicare ineligible asylum seekers updated Definition of victim/survivor added

Last updated: 20 March 2023