Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I just wanted to make a few short comments on behalf of the opposition in relation to the matter of complementary medicines raised by both Senator Siewert and Senator Xenophon. The opposition did have discussions with the government because it was our understanding from the outset that this bill did not have any specific impact on complementary medicines. We just want to place on record that the government reassured us, in advice to the opposition, that the bill will have no specific impact on complementary medicines, that schedule 1 deals with scheduling of substances and is the subject of all the proposed amendments. The criteria for substances to be scheduled imply that there is some level of risk to their use. Complementary medicines are included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods using the electronic listing facility, which involves a requirement that the substances in these medicines are low risk and hence not covered by scheduling. Furthermore, we were advised that there is no impact in the other schedules to the bill on complementary medicines beyond a minor change in schedule 3 to the rules around false advertising and medicine. Given those reassurances from the government, we just wanted to place on record that we do not share the concerns that were raised by Senators Siewert and Xenophon.