Health Administration Act 1982

The relevant health services organisation in respect of an incident must appoint one or more persons as a serious adverse event review team to carry out a serious adverse event review of the incident if—

following the preliminary risk assessment, the organisation is satisfied—

the incident is a reportable incident, or

the incident is not a reportable incident but may be the result of a serious systemic problem and in the organisation’s opinion a serious adverse event review of the incident should be carried out, or

the Health Secretary—

considers the incident is a reportable incident, or may be the result of a serious systemic problem, and

directs the organisation to carry out a serious adverse event review of the incident.

Despite subsection (1), a relevant health services organisation may, but is not required to, appoint a serious adverse event review team to carry out a serious adverse event review of an incident—

in circumstances prescribed by the regulations, or

if the Health Secretary has informed the organisation that the Health Secretary intends to conduct a review of, or an inquiry into, the incident.

The persons appointed as a serious adverse event review team in respect of an incident must (subject to the regulations) be persons that the relevant health services organisation reasonably considers can properly carry out a serious adverse event review of the incident.

The relevant health services organisation may—

replace a member of a serious adverse event review team if the member is unable to complete the serious adverse event review, or

appoint one or more additional members to a serious adverse event team if satisfied the appointments are necessary to allow the team to complete the serious adverse event review in a timely and effective way.

The relevant health services organisation is to cause a written record to be kept of the persons appointed as a serious adverse event review team.

The Health Secretary may issue directions setting out the type of serious adverse event review, and the manner in which the serious adverse event review is to be carried out, in respect of an incident or a class of incidents.