National Health Security Amendment Act 2012

For the purposes of this Act, an entity needs to undertake emergency maintenance of a facility if:

the entity needs to undertake unscheduled or unplanned repairs or maintenance of the facility because of, or to prevent, any of the following events:

damage to the facility;

damage, failure or breakdown of any equipment at the facility;

any other event prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph; and

the event significantly impacts, or is likely to significantly impact, on one or more of the following:

the secure handling of a security‑sensitive biological agent that is included on the National Register in relation to the entity and the facility;

any other matter prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph.

If a registered entity needs to undertake emergency maintenance of a facility, the entity may give a report (an emergency maintenance report), for the facility, that complies with subsection (3) to the Secretary.

The emergency maintenance report:

must be in a form approved by the Secretary; and

must contain the following information:

the name of the entity;

the name and address of the facility;

details of the emergency maintenance that the entity needs to undertake;

an estimate of the period during which the emergency maintenance will be undertaken;

if, because of the emergency maintenance, a security‑sensitive biological agent that is included on the National Register in relation to the entity and the facility has been, or is to be, taken outside the perimeter (within the meaning of the SSBA Standards) of the facility by the entity—details of the location the security‑sensitive biological agent has been, or is to be, taken to;

any other information required by the approved form; and

must be given to the Secretary:

within 2 business days after the entity becomes aware that it needs to undertake the emergency maintenance; or

if a longer period is specified in a written notice given to the entity by the Secretary—within that longer period.