Definitions
5 Definitions
In this Act:
approved form means a form approved by the System Operator, in writing, for the purposes of the provision in which the expression occurs.
approved registered repository operator means a healthcare provider organisation that:
is a registered repository operator; and
satisfies the requirements (if any) specified in the My Health Records Rules.
Australia, when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.
authorised representative of a healthcare recipient has the meaning given by section 6.
Chief Executive Medicare has the same meaning as in the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973.
cinematograph film has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968.
civil penalty provision has the same meaning as in the Regulatory Powers Act.
contracted service provider of a healthcare provider organisation means an entity that provides:
information technology services relating to the My Health Record system; or
health information management services relating to the My Health Record system;
to the healthcare provider organisation under a contract with the healthcare provider organisation.
data custodian means the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
date of birth accuracy indicator means a data element that is used to indicate how accurate a recorded date of birth is.
date of death accuracy indicator means a data element that is used to indicate how accurate a recorded date of death is.
Defence Department means the Department that:
deals with matters arising under section 1 of the Defence Act 1903; and
is administered by the Minister who administers that section.
designated privacy law means a law determined under section 110 to be a designated privacy law.
employee of an entity includes the following:
an individual who provides services for the entity under a contract for services;
an individual whose services are made available to the entity (including services made available free of charge).
entity means:
a person; or
a partnership; or
any other unincorporated association or body; or
a trust; or
a part of an entity (under a previous application of this definition).
finally determined: see section 10C.
genetic relative of an individual (the first individual) means another individual who is related to the first individual by blood, including a sibling, a parent or a descendant of the first individual.
healthcare means health service within the meaning of subsection 6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988.
healthcare provider means:
an individual healthcare provider; or
a healthcare provider organisation.
healthcare provider organisation means an entity that has conducted, conducts, or will conduct, an enterprise that provides healthcare (including healthcare provided free of charge).
Because of paragraph (e) of the definition of entity, a healthcare provider organisation could be a part of an entity.
healthcare recipient means an individual who has received, receives, or may receive, healthcare.
healthcare recipient‑only notes, in relation to a healthcare recipient, means health information included by the healthcare recipient in his or her My Health Record and described in the My Health Record system as healthcare recipient‑only notes (whether using that expression or an equivalent expression).
Health Chief Executives Forum means a body (however described) that consists of:
the Secretary of the Department; and
each head (however described) of the Health Department of a State or Territory.
Health Department of a State or Territory means a Department of state that:
deals with matters relating to health; and
is administered by the State/Territory Health Minister of the State or Territory.
health information has the meaning given by subsection 6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988.
identifying information has the meaning given by section 9.
index service means the index service maintained by the System Operator for the purposes of the My Health Record system, as mentioned in paragraph 15(a).
individual healthcare provider means an individual who:
has provided, provides, or is to provide, healthcare; or
is registered by a registration authority as a member of a particular health profession.
Ministerial Council means a body (however described) that consists of the Minister of the Commonwealth, and the Minister of each State and Territory, who is responsible, or principally responsible, for matters relating to health.
My Health Record of a healthcare recipient means the record of information that is created and maintained by the System Operator in relation to the healthcare recipient, and information that can be obtained by means of that record, including the following:
information included in the entry in the Register that relates to the healthcare recipient;
health information connected in the My Health Record system to the healthcare recipient (including information included in a record accessible through the index service);
other information connected in the My Health Record system to the healthcare recipient, such as information relating to auditing access to the record;
back‑up records of such information.
My Health Records Rules has the meaning given by section 109.
My Health Record system means a system:
that is for:
the collection, use and disclosure of information from many sources using telecommunications services and by other means, and the holding of that information, in accordance with the healthcare recipient’s wishes or in circumstances specified in this Act; and
the assembly of that information using telecommunications services and by other means so far is it is relevant to a particular healthcare recipient, so that it can be made available, in accordance with the healthcare recipient’s wishes or in circumstances specified in this Act, to facilitate the provision of healthcare to the healthcare recipient or for purposes specified in this Act; and
that involves the performance of functions under this Act by the System Operator.
National Law means:
for a State or Territory other than Western Australia—the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 of Queensland, as it applies (with or without modification) as a law of the State or Territory; or
for Western Australia—the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) Act 2010 of Western Australia, so far as that Act corresponds to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 of Queensland.
National Repositories Service means the service referred to in paragraph 15(i).
nominated healthcare provider: a healthcare provider is the nominated healthcare provider of a healthcare recipient if:
an agreement is in force between the healthcare provider and the healthcare recipient that the healthcare provider is the healthcare recipient’s nominated healthcare provider for the purposes of this Act; and
a healthcare identifier has been assigned to the healthcare provider under paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010; and
the healthcare provider is an individual registered by a registration authority as one of the following:
a medical practitioner within the meaning of the National Law;
a registered nurse within the meaning of the National Law;
an Aboriginal health practitioner, a Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner within the meaning of the National Law who is included in a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph;
an individual, or an individual included in a class, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph.
nominated representative of a healthcare recipient has the meaning given by section 7.
parental responsibility: a person has parental responsibility for a healthcare recipient (the child) if, and only if:
the person:
is the child’s parent (including a person who is presumed to be the child’s parent because of a presumption (other than in section 69Q) in Subdivision D of Division 12 of Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975); and
has not ceased to have parental responsibility for the child because of an order made under the Family Law Act 1975 or a law of a State or Territory; or
under a parenting order (within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975):
the child is to live with the person; or
the child is to spend time with the person; or
the person is responsible for the child’s long‑term or day‑to‑day care, welfare and development; or
the person is entitled to guardianship or custody of, or access to, the child under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
The presumptions in the Family Law Act 1975 include a presumption arising from a court finding that a person is the child’s parent, and a presumption arising from a man executing an instrument under law acknowledging that he is the father of the child.
participant in the My Health Record system means any of the following:
the System Operator;
a registered healthcare provider organisation;
the operator of the National Repositories Service;
a registered repository operator;
a registered portal operator;
a registered contracted service provider, so far as the contracted service provider provides services to a registered healthcare provider.
personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
prescribed healthcare provider organisation means a healthcare provider organisation that is:
a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies; and
of a kind specified in the My Health Records Rules.
prohibited purpose has the meaning given by section 70A.
record includes a database, register, file or document that contains information in any form (including in electronic form).
Register has the meaning given by section 56.
registered contracted service provider means a contracted service provider that is registered under section 49.
registered healthcare provider organisation means a healthcare provider organisation that is registered under section 44.
registered healthcare recipient means a healthcare recipient who is registered under section 41.
registered portal operator means a person that:
is the operator of an electronic interface that facilitates access to the My Health Record system; and
is registered as a portal operator under section 49.
registered repository operator means a person that:
holds, or can hold, records of information included in My Health Records for the purposes of the My Health Record system; and
is registered as a repository operator under section 49.
registration authority means an entity that is responsible under a law for registering members of a particular health profession.
Regulatory Powers Act means the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014.
share by default provision: each of the following is a share by default provision:
section 41A (prescribed healthcare provider organisations must be registered);
section 78A (some information must be shared with the My Health Record system unless exception applies);
section 78C (record keeping requirements in relation to sharing information with the My Health Record system);
section 78D (prescribed healthcare provider organisations must display notice when not sharing information with the My Health Record system);
section 19AD (medicare benefits not payable in respect of certain professional services) of the Health Insurance Act 1973;
section 19AF (record keeping requirement) of the Health Insurance Act 1973;
section 19AG (advance payment before information is shared with the My Health Record system) of the Health Insurance Act 1973;
section 19AH (recovery of payments) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
shared health summary has the meaning given by section 10.
shares with the My Health Record system: see section 10A.
sound recording has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968.
State or Territory authority has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
State/Territory Health Minister means:
the Minister of a State; or
the Minister of the Australian Capital Territory; or
the Minister of the Northern Territory;
who is responsible, or principally responsible, for the administration of matters relating to health in the State or Territory, as the case may be.
System Operator has the meaning given by section 14.
this Act includes:
regulations made under this Act; and
the My Health Records Rules.
upload exception applies: see section 10B.
use health information included in a healthcare recipient’s My Health Record includes the following:
access the information;
view the information;
modify the information;
delete the information.
Veterans’ Affairs Department means the Department administered by the Minister administering section 1 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
Veterans’ Affairs Department file number means a number allocated to a healthcare recipient by the Veterans’ Affairs Department.
work has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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