Submissions should be received by 14 April 2011.
All midwives in this country are registered and regulated through Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
The federal Opposition Health spokesman Peter Dutton MP has called for a Senate enquiry into the workings of AHPRA.
Many midwives, and women who employ us privately, are concerned about the process that has been implemented by AHPRA for midwives applying for notation on the Register as eligibile for Medicare provider numbers - a reform that was implemented by the government in November 2010. Submissions by midwives' organisations, individual midwives, and women who want midwives to attend them privately, will address the excessive and repeated delays in processing applications.
Women whose midwives are waiting for their notations of eligibility are, understandably, distressed. Clients of midwives who have Medicare Provider numbers are able to claim substantial rebate - estimated up to $1000 in total, on prenatal and postnatal care provided by the midwife. The failure of a midwife to achieve eligibility means that this amount of money, to which the women/clients are entitled, cannot be accessed.
Please note that there are Procedures to be observed by Senate Committees for the protection of witnesses.
Your comments here are welcome, as are your submissions to the Senate inquiry.
