Mr McClelland asked the Minister for Health and Aged Care, upon notice, on 24 November 1998:

(1) Has the Rockdale Medicare office been closed: if so, (a) was the decision to close made by (i) himself, (ii) the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) or (iii) himself in conjunction with the HIC and (b) what facts and circumstances were considered in reaching the decision.

(2) How well was the office patronised and how did it compare to similar offices which have not been closed.

(3) If he consulted the HIC on the decision, (a) what was the nature of consultation, (b) when did the consultations occur and (c) did the consultations occur in the context of a predetermined Government policy as to which Medicare offices should be closed.

Dr Wooldridge (Health and Aged Care) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Yes, the Rockdale Medicare office closed on 10 October 1997.

(a) The decision to close the Rockdale Medicare office was made by the Health Insurance Commission. I endorsed this decision.

(b) The criteria which were taken into consideration when identifying Medicare branch offices for closure included:

. Claiming patterns including cash service workloads (ie less than 400 daily average Medicare cash services);

. Proximity to other branch offices (within 12 kms);

. Capacity to redeploy staff; and

. Leasing and other property issues.

(2) The answer is at Attachment A.

(3) (a) The HIC advised me that it proposed closing the Rockdale Medicare Office along with 42 other metropolitan offices, all of which met each of the selection criteria.

(b) The consultation occurred prior to my announcement of the closures on 13 May 1997.

(c) The Government decided that no Medicare offices in rural Australia would be closed. The HIC determined the selection criteria based on this decision.

ATTACHMENT A

NEW SOUTH WALES