Governor‑General may declare that a human biosecurity emergency exists
475 Governor‑General may declare that a human biosecurity emergency exists
The Governor‑General may declare that a human biosecurity emergency exists if the Health Minister is satisfied that:
a listed human disease is posing a severe and immediate threat, or is causing harm, to human health on a nationally significant scale; and
the declaration is necessary to prevent or control:
the entry of the listed human disease into Australian territory or a part of Australian territory; or
the emergence, establishment or spread of the listed human disease in Australian territory or a part of Australian territory.
The declaration is a human biosecurity emergency declaration (see section 9).
For revocation, see subsections 33(3) and (3AA) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
A human biosecurity emergency declaration may be varied under section 476. Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 does not apply in relation to variation of a human biosecurity emergency declaration.
A human biosecurity emergency declaration is a legislative instrument, but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the declaration.
Requirements for human biosecurity emergency declaration
A human biosecurity emergency declaration must specify:
the listed human disease to which the declaration relates; and
the nature of the human biosecurity emergency and the conditions that gave rise to it; and
the period during which the declaration is in force.
The listed human disease specified under paragraph (3)(a) is the declaration listed human disease (see section 9).
The period specified under paragraph (3)(c) is the human biosecurity emergency period (see section 9).
A human biosecurity emergency period:
must not be longer than the period that the Health Minister considers necessary to prevent or control:
the entry of the declaration listed human disease into Australian territory or a part of Australian territory; or
the emergence, establishment or spread of the declaration listed human disease in Australian territory or a part of Australian territory; and
in any case, must not be longer than 3 months.
A human biosecurity emergency period may be extended under section 476.
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