Public Health Act 1997

This part shall be construed and administered in accordance with the following principles:

the investigation of notifiable conditions, and any actions taken as a consequence, must be carried out in order to minimise the adverse public health effects of such conditions;

a person who engages in activities that are known to carry a potential risk of exposure to a transmissible notifiable condition, and any person responsible for the care, support or education of such a person, has the following responsibilities:

to take all reasonable precautions to avoid the contracting of the condition by the person who engages in such activities;

if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person who engages in such activities has been exposed to the condition—to ascertain whether the condition has been contracted, and what precautions should reasonably be taken to avoid exposing others to the condition;

if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person who engages in such activities has contracted, or is likely to have contracted the condition—to comply with preventative measures or treatment that will minimise the risk to others of exposure to the condition;

if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person who engages in such activities has contracted, or is likely to have contracted the condition—to take reasonable measures to ensure that others are not unknowingly placed at risk through any action or inaction of the person or any person responsible for the care, support or education of the person;

a person who has, or may have, a notifiable condition, or who engages in activities that are known to carry a potential risk of exposure to a notifiable condition, must be accorded the following rights, to the extent that their exercise does not conflict with the requirements of this part and does not infringe unduly on the wellbeing of others:

the right to privacy;

the right to receive all reasonably available information about the medical and social consequences of the condition and any proposed treatment.