How the abatement system works
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The Australian government has given International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) over $1.6bn in contracts to provide healthcare for asylum seekers on Manus Island, Nauru, Christmas Island and in mainland detention centres.
- IHMS prepares a monthly report for the immigration department based on its own internal assessments.
- IHMS must meet performance thresholds for the timely completion of: GP appointments, health and other assessments of detainees, and completion of reports about critical and other incidents. It is also required to ensure certain staff meet police and medical board background checks.
- If an IHMS site does not meet a performance threshold, it is subject to a financial penalty called an abatement. For example, in June 2013, there was a potential penalty of $43,786 applied due to late incident reports from the Christmas Island clinic.