1Short title
This Act is the National Cancer Screening Register Act 2016.
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Bill homepage (APH)This Act is the National Cancer Screening Register Act 2016.
Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information | ||
|---|---|---|
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. Sections 1 to 12 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 21 October 2016 |
2. Section 13 | 1 May 2017. | 1 May 2017 |
3. Sections 14 to 28 | At the same time as the provisions covered by table item 1. | 21 October 2016 |
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
This Act establishes a register of information about screening associated with certain types of cancer.
The purposes of the register relate to:
supporting cancer screening programs; and
providing access to information about cancer screening and diagnoses; and
cancer screening matters more broadly.
There are protections for sensitive information.
In this Act:
approved form means a form approved under subsection 25(1).
child protection officer means an officer or employee of a State or Territory, or of a State or Territory authority, who has functions, powers or duties in relation to the care, protection or welfare of children.
civil penalty provision has the same meaning as in the Regulatory Powers Act.
claims information means information about:
claims for medicare benefit under Part II of the Health Insurance Act 1973; or
treatment, other than information that relates to compensation or benefits, provided under any of the following Acts:
the Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests and British Commonwealth Occupation Force (Treatment) Act 2006;
the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004;
the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988;
the Treatment Benefits (Special Access) Act 2019;
section 1 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
commercial‑in‑confidence has the meaning given by section 5.
contracted service provider has the meaning given by subsection 22A(10).
designated cancer means one of the following types of cancer:
bowel cancer;
cervical cancer;
lung cancer.
enforcement body has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
entity means:
a person; or
a partnership; or
any other unincorporated association or body; or
a trust; or
a part of another entity (under a previous application of this definition).
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 part of an entity.
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.
key information for an individual means the following:
the individual’s name, address, contact details, date of birth and gender;
the individual’s healthcare identifier (within the meaning of the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010) if any;
the individual’s medicare number (within the meaning of Part VII of the National Health Act 1953) if any;
the number allocated to the individual by the Veterans’ Affairs Department if any;
if applicable, the individual’s date of death;
if the register includes information relating to the individual in connection with screening associated with cervical cancer:
the individual’s sex; and
the individual’s Human Papillomavirus vaccination status and number of doses of the vaccine administered to the individual;
the individual’s Indigenous status;
the individual’s country of origin or cultural identity;
the individual’s preferred language and whether an interpreter is required to facilitate communication with the individual;
the name and contact details of a personal representative of the individual if any;
if applicable, information on assistance required by the individual for the purposes of this Act because of a medical condition or disability;
any other information of a kind relevant to the purposes of the register and prescribed by the rules for the purposes of this definition.
nominated healthcare provider of an individual, for screening associated with a designated cancer, means the healthcare provider the individual requested be recorded for screening associated with the designated cancer in a request in effect under section 14.
parent: without limiting who is a parent of anyone for the purposes of this Act, a person is the parent of another person if the other person is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975.
participating State or Territory means a State or Territory that has agreed with the Commonwealth to participate in the register.
personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
personal representative, of an individual, means:
a parent or guardian of the individual, if the individual is incapable of managing his or her health affairs; or
a trustee of an estate of the individual, if the individual is under a legal disability; or
a person who holds an enduring power of attorney granted by the individual; or
a person nominated by the individual for the purpose of managing the individual’s affairs in relation to screening associated with a designated cancer.
professional disciplinary authority means:
a registration authority; or
the Health Care Complaints Commission established by the Health Care Complaints Act 1993 (NSW); or
the Health Ombudsman appointed under the Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Qld); or
any other authority that is responsible for investigating complaints about the professional conduct of individual healthcare providers.
protected information means personal information or information that is commercial‑in‑confidence, to the extent that the information is:
included in the register or otherwise obtained under, or in accordance with, this Act; or
derived from a record of information that was included in the register or was otherwise obtained under, or in accordance with, this Act; or
derived from a disclosure or use of information that was included in the register or was otherwise obtained under, or in accordance with, this Act.
purposes of the register means the purposes set out in section 12.
register means the National Cancer Screening Register established under section 9.
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.
rules means the rules made under section 28.
screening means a process in which an individual undergoes testing or procedures in order to determine whether the individual has:
a designated cancer or a precursor to a designated cancer; or
any indicator, including genetic markers or cell abnormalities, that may lead to a designated cancer.
screening test means a test or procedure as part of screening.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Department.
State or Territory authority has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
Veterans’ Affairs Department means the Department administered by the Minister administering the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.
Information is commercial‑in‑confidence if a person demonstrates to the Minister that:
release of the information would cause competitive detriment to the person; and
the information is not in the public domain; and
the information is not required to be disclosed under a law of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory; and
the information is not readily discoverable.
This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities. However, it does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence.
See subsection 24(5) in relation to civil penalties.
This Act extends to every external Territory.
The National Cancer Screening Register is established to keep information about cancer screening and diagnoses associated with particular types of cancer.
The purposes of the register relate to:
supporting cancer screening programs; and
providing access to information about cancer screening and diagnoses; and
cancer screening matters more broadly.
Certain healthcare providers are required to notify the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer about certain types of screening test or diagnosis. In most circumstances, this information will be included on the register.
Individuals can make a number of requests in relation to the register. For example, an individual can opt out of receiving information from the register. An individual can also request that information notified by healthcare providers relating to the individual not be included in the register.
The Commonwealth must establish and keep a register to be called the National Cancer Screening Register.
Parts of the register may be kept separate from each other, and be called different names.
The register is not a legislative instrument.
The register may include information relating to individuals in connection with screening associated with bowel cancer.
The register may include information relating to individuals in connection with screening associated with cervical cancer.
The register may include information relating to individuals in connection with screening associated with lung cancer.
The register may include the following for each individual:
the individual’s key information;
details of the individual’s nominated healthcare provider for screening associated with a designated cancer, if any, including the healthcare provider’s healthcare identifier (within the meaning of the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010);
information about screening tests undergone or to be undergone by the individual;
if the individual is diagnosed with a designated cancer or a precursor to a designated cancer, that diagnosis;
claims information which may indicate whether or not the individual has undergone or should undergo screening associated with a designated cancer;
details of any request or withdrawal made by the individual under section 14;
any other information relevant to the purposes of the register and prescribed by the rules.
The purposes of the register are to facilitate the following:
establishing and keeping an electronic database of records relating to screening and diagnoses associated with the designated cancers;
collecting, analysing and publishing statistics and other information relating to screening and diagnoses associated with the designated cancers;
monitoring the effectiveness, quality and safety of screening and diagnoses associated with the designated cancers;
providing an individual with an invitation to undergo screening;
providing an individual with a test kit for screening;
advising an individual when the individual is due to undergo a screening test or when action may need to be taken after a screening test;
advising an individual’s nominated healthcare provider for screening associated with a designated cancer (if any) when the individual is due to undergo, or when action may need to be taken after, a screening test associated with the designated cancer;
advising a participating State or Territory when action may need to be taken after a screening test for an individual residing in the State or Territory;
providing an individual access to information relating to the individual about screening and diagnoses associated with a designated cancer;
providing healthcare providers access to information about screening and diagnoses associated with a designated cancer in relation to an individual, for the purposes of providing healthcare to the individual in relation to the designated cancer;
providing a participating State or Territory with access to information relating to individuals residing in the State or Territory in connection with screening and diagnoses associated with the designated cancers;
planning, delivering and promoting healthcare and services in relation to the designated cancers;
reporting to international organisations in relation to the designated cancers;
research relating to healthcare, screening or a designated cancer.
For an individual who has a personal representative:
paragraphs (1)(d) and (e) also apply to providing the representative with an invitation or test kit for the individual; and
paragraph (1)(f) also applies to advising the representative; and
paragraph (1)(i) also applies to providing the representative access to information relating to the individual.
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