Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stott Despoja for her question. I can assure her that the MBS item will require the service to be nondirective. Practitioners and allied health professionals claiming the item will not be associated with clinics that provide termination services. That will be a requirement under that MBS item. Also, practitioners cannot provide termination services for the periods that they are claiming the counselling item. As is usual practice, a specific MBS item descriptor will be finalised in consultation with the profession.

In relation to the suggestion that at the moment some of the counselling services are in fact providing misleading and wrong information, I simply ask Senator Stott Despoja if she would provide whatever information she has. If she already has done that, I am sure that the Minister for Health and Ageing will be looking very seriously into any suggestions or allegations to that effect and I am sure that he will act properly and promptly on them.