Compulsory blood tests
47I Compulsory blood tests
If a motor vehicle is involved in an accident and, within 8 hours after the accident, a person apparently of or above the age of
10 years who suffered injury in the accident attends at, or is admitted into, a hospital for the purpose of receiving treatment for that injury, it is, subject to Schedule 1, the duty of the medical practitioner by whom that patient is attended to ensure that, as soon as practicable, a sample of that patient's blood (despite the fact that the patient may be unconscious), is taken in accordance with this section.
If a motor vehicle is involved in an accident and a person apparently of or above the age of 10 years who suffered injury in the accident is dead on arrival at the hospital, or dies before a sample of blood has been taken in accordance with this section and within
8 hours after admission to the hospital, it is the duty of the medical practitioner who, under Part 5 of the Coroners
Act 2003, notifies the State Coroner or a police officer of the death—
to ensure that a sample of blood from the body of the deceased is taken in accordance with this section; or
to notify the State Coroner as soon as practicable that, in view of the circumstances in which the death of the deceased occurred, a sample of blood should be taken from the body under this section.
A sample of blood under subsection (1) or (2) may be taken by a medical practitioner or a registered nurse.
The
State Coroner, on receiving a notification under subsection (2), may authorise and direct a pathologist to take a sample of blood from the body of the deceased in accordance with this section.
If—
a motor vehicle is involved in an accident; and
a child under the age of 16 years was present in or on the vehicle at the time of the accident; and
the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident refuses or fails to comply with a request that the person submit to the taking of a sample of blood under this section; and
the person—
fails to assign any reason based on genuine medical grounds for that refusal or failure; or
assigns a reason for that refusal or failure that is false or misleading; or
makes any other false or misleading statement in response to the request, the person is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty:
for a first offence—a fine of not less than $1 100 and not more than $1 600;
for a subsequent offence—a fine of not less than $1 900 and not more than $2 900.
If a person is charged with an offence against subsection (7) but the court is not satisfied that an offence against that subsection has been established beyond reasonable doubt, the person may be convicted, on that charge, of an offence against subsection (14) if the court is satisfied that an offence against subsection (14) has been so established.
If a court convicts a person of an offence against subsection (7), the provisions of subsection (14a) apply.
A person who, on being requested to submit to the taking of a sample of blood under this section, refuses or fails to comply with that request and who—
fails to assign any reason based on genuine medical grounds for that refusal or failure; or
assigns a reason for that refusal or failure that is false or misleading; or
makes any other false or misleading statement in response to the request, is guilty of an offence.
Penalty:
if the convicted person was the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the accident—
for a first offence—a fine of not less than $1 100 and not more than $1 600;
for a subsequent offence—a fine of not less than $1 900 and not more than $2 900;
in any other case—$500.
If a court convicts a person of an offence against subsection (14) in which the person was the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the accident, the following provisions apply:
the court must order that the person be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver's licence—
in the case of a first offence—for such period, being not less than twelve months, as the court thinks fit; or
in the case of a subsequent offence—for such period, being not less than three years, as the court thinks fit;
the disqualification prescribed by paragraph (a) cannot be reduced or mitigated in any way or be substituted by any other penalty or sentence unless, in the case of a first offence, the court is satisfied, by evidence given on oath, that the offence is trifling, in which case the court may order a period of disqualification that is less than the prescribed minimum period but not less than one month;
if the person is the holder of a driver's licence—the disqualification operates to cancel the licence as from the commencement of the period of disqualification;
the court may, if it thinks fit to do so, order that conditions imposed by section 81A or 81AB of the Motor
Vehicles Act 1959 on any driver's licence issued to the person after the period of disqualification be effective for a period greater than the period prescribed by that section.
In determining whether an offence is a first or subsequent offence for the purposes of this section, any previous drink driving offence or drug driving offence for which the defendant has been convicted will be taken into account, but only if the previous offence was committed within the prescribed period immediately preceding the date on which the offence under consideration was committed.
In this section—
hospital means any institution at which medical care or attention is provided for injured persons, declared by regulation to be a hospital for the purposes of this section.
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