Health Administration Act 1982

This Act may be cited as the Health Administration Act 1982.

Sections 1, 2, 33 and 34 and Schedule 3 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act.

Except as provided by subsection (1), this Act shall commence on such day as may be appointed by the Governor in respect thereof and as may be notified by proclamation published in the Gazette.

In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires—

Corporation means the Health Administration Corporation constituted by section 9.

Foundation means the New South Wales Health Foundation constituted by section 16.

Health Secretary means the Secretary of the Ministry.

health service means any medical, hospital, ambulance, paramedical, community health or environmental health service or any other service (including any service of a prescribed class or description) relating to the maintenance or improvement of the health, or the restoration to health, of persons or the prevention of disease in or injury to persons.

local health district means a local health district constituted under the Health Services Act 1997.

Ministry means the Ministry of Health.

regulations means regulations under this Act.

The expression “NSW Health” may be used to describe the Corporation, the Ministry and any other body and organisation under the control and direction of the Minister or the Health Secretary.

A reference in this Act to an ambulance service is a reference to a service relating to the work of rendering first aid to, and the transport of, sick and injured persons.

A reference in this Act to—

a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and

the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

The Minister may formulate general policies, in accordance with which the functions of the Minister, Ministry, Health Secretary, Corporation and Foundation are to be exercised, for the purpose of promoting, protecting, developing, maintaining and improving the health and well-being of the people of New South Wales to the maximum extent possible having regard to the needs of and financial and other resources available to the State.

The Minister may—

provide, conduct, operate and maintain and, where necessary, improve and extend any health service or any ancillary or incidental service and arrange for the construction of any buildings or works necessary for or in connection with any such service,

enter into any agreement or arrangement for any other person to provide, conduct, operate and maintain any health service, and

do such supplemental, incidental or consequential acts as may be necessary or expedient for the exercise of the functions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection.

Nothing in this section takes away or affects any function that the Minister has apart from this section.

A function of the Minister may, if the Minister so determines, be exercised—

by the Corporation, or

by the Minister (or by the Corporation) in a partnership, joint venture or other association with other persons or bodies.

A function of the Minister that is exercisable in relation to anything belonging to, or controlled by, the Minister is also exercisable in relation to anything belonging to, or controlled by, the Corporation.

Nothing in this section prevents the Minister from exercising a function in his or her capacity as the Minister and entering into contracts or doing other things on behalf of the Crown.

The Health Secretary shall have and may exercise such functions as are conferred or imposed on the Health Secretary by or under this or any other Act.

The Health Secretary shall have and may exercise the following functions—

to initiate, promote, commission and undertake surveys and investigations into—

the health needs of the people of New South Wales,

the resources of the State available to meet those needs, and

the methods by which those needs should be met,

to inquire into the nature, extent and standards of the health services, facilities and personnel required to meet the health needs of the people of New South Wales and to determine the cost of meeting those needs,

to plan the provision of comprehensive, balanced and co-ordinated health services throughout New South Wales,

to formulate the programs and methods by which the health needs of the people of New South Wales may be met,

to undertake, promote and encourage research in relation to any health service,

to facilitate the provision of health services by any local council or by any other body or person,

to facilitate the provision by any Public Service agency, statutory authority, other body or person of social welfare services necessary or desirable to complement any health service,

to promote and facilitate the provision of the professional, technical or other education or training of any persons employed or to be employed in the provision of any health service,

to promote and facilitate a system of health care for the people of New South Wales provided by private bodies, institutions, associations and persons, as well as by the State and public bodies,

to do such supplemental, incidental or consequential acts as may be necessary or expedient for the exercise of the Health Secretary’s functions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection.

The Health Secretary is, in the exercise of functions conferred or imposed on the Health Secretary by or under any Act administered by the Minister for Health, subject to the control and direction of the Minister, except in relation to the contents of a recommendation or report made by the Health Secretary to the Minister.

A function of the Health Secretary may, if the Health Secretary so determines, be exercised—

by the Corporation, or

by the Health Secretary (or by the Corporation) in a partnership, joint venture or other association with other persons or bodies.

A function of the Health Secretary that is exercisable in relation to anything belonging to, or controlled by, the Health Secretary is also exercisable in relation to anything belonging to, or controlled by, the Corporation.

Nothing in this section prevents the Health Secretary from exercising a function in his or her capacity as the Health Secretary and entering into contracts or doing other things on behalf of the Crown.

The Health Secretary is, for the purpose of exercising the functions expressed to be conferred or imposed on the Corporation by or under this or any other Act, hereby incorporated as a corporation sole with the corporate name “Health Administration Corporation”.

The Corporation—

has perpetual succession,

shall have an official seal,

may take proceedings, and be proceeded against in its corporate name,

subject to this Act, may, for the purposes for which it is constituted, purchase, exchange, take on lease, hold, dispose of and otherwise deal with property,

may do and suffer all other things that a body corporate may, by law, do and suffer and that are necessary for or incidental to the purposes for which the Corporation is constituted, and

is, for the purpose of any Act, a statutory body representing the Crown.

However, the Corporation cannot employ any staff.

Note.

Staff may be employed under Part 1 of Chapter 9 of the Health Services Act 1997 in the NSW Health Service to enable the Corporation to exercise its functions under this or any other Act.

The regulations may make provision for or with respect to—

the custody and use of the seal of the Corporation, and

the keeping of records concerning the acts, decisions and proceedings of the Corporation.

All courts and persons acting judicially—

shall take judicial notice of the seal of the Corporation that has been affixed to any instrument or document, and

shall, until the contrary is proved, presume that the seal was properly affixed.

The Corporation is subject to the control and direction of the Minister.

The Corporation, with the approval of the Minister and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may attach to the approval, may, for the purpose of the exercise by the Minister, Ministry, Health Secretary, Corporation or Foundation of their functions, acquire land (including an interest in land) by agreement or by compulsory process in accordance with the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Corporation may acquire in any manner authorised by subsection (1)—

any land of which that proposed to be acquired under this section forms part, and

any land adjoining or in the vicinity of any land proposed to be acquired under this section.

For the purposes of the Public Works Act 1912, any such acquisition of land is taken to be for an authorised work and the Corporation is, in relation to that authorised work, taken to be the Constructing Authority.

Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Public Works Act 1912 do not apply in respect of works constructed under this Act.

(Repealed)

Nothing in this section affects any operation that the Public Works Act 1912 would have if this section had not been enacted and the Corporation had not been constituted.

The Corporation may, with the approval of the Minister and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may attach to the approval, sell, lease, exchange or otherwise deal with or dispose of land that has been acquired by the Corporation under this or any other Act, or any part thereof, and may, with the like approval and subject to the like terms and conditions, grant easements or rights-of-way over any such land so acquired or any part thereof.

The Corporation may request the Minister to give approval to (and the Minister may approve) a disposition of land, being a disposition—

that is contrary to a provision of, or a trust arising under, the Crown grant of that land, or

that, if this section had not been enacted, may make the land liable to be forfeited to the Crown.

If the Minister has given an approval under this section to a disposition of land, the disposition of the land—

is not to be regarded as a breach of any provision of, or any trust arising under, the Crown grant of that land, and

does not make the land liable to be forfeited to the Crown.

The Corporation may acquire, for any purpose connected with—

the provision of any health service, or

any of the functions of the Minister, Ministry, Health Secretary or Corporation,

any property by gift, devise or bequest and may agree to and carry out the conditions of any such gift, devise or bequest.

The rule of law against remoteness of vesting shall not apply to any such condition to which the Corporation has agreed.