South Australian Public Health Act 2011

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

appointed member of SAPHC means a member of

SAPHC other than the Chief Public Health Officer;

authorised officer means a person appointed to be a State or local authorised officer under

Part 3Division 5;

building includes a structure;

Chief Executive means the Chief Executive of the

Department and includes a person for the time being acting in that position;

Chief Public Health Officer includes a person for the time being acting in that position;

contaminant means any of the following prescribed by regulation:

an antibiotic;

a pathogen;

another thing that may contaminate food or any other prescribed substance or material;

controlled notifiable condition means a disease or medical condition that is a controlled notifiable condition, or taken to be a controlled notifiable condition, under

Part 10;

council means a council within the meaning of the Local Government

Act 1999;

council subsidiary means a subsidiary of a council established under the Local

Government Act 1999;

the Department means the administrative unit of the Public Service that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of this Act;

District Court means the Administrative and

Disciplinary Division of the District Court;

emergency has the same meaning as in the

Emergency Management

Act 2004;

emergency officer means a police officer or a person holding an appointment as an emergency officer under

Part 3Division 6;

food has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Food

Act 2001;

food business has the same meaning as in section 4 of the Food

Act 2001;

legal practitioner means a person admitted and enrolled as a practitioner of the Supreme Court of South

Australia;

LGA means the Local Government Association of

South Australia;

local authorised officer—see section 44;

local government area means the area of a council;

medical condition includes—

a medical symptom or pattern of medical symptoms, including symptoms discerned from any signs or results of investigations, that indicate a disease (whether defined or yet to be determined);

an illness or injury arising from a person being contaminated by 1 or more substances or biological pathogens;

an injury or any death that gives rise to a public health concern;

medical practitioner means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation

National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a student);

notifiable condition means a disease or medical condition that is a notifiable condition under

Part 9;

pathology service means a service in which human tissue, human fluids or human body products are subjected to analysis for the purposes of the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of disease in human beings;

premises means—

any land, building (including residential premises) or place (including a public place, or a movable building or structure);

or

a part of premises;

public authority means—

a department under the Public

Sector Act 2009; or

a body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, established for a public purpose by the State, regardless of the way in which it is established;

or

a council or council subsidiary; or

the Police Force of South Australia; or

a member or officer of a body referred to in a preceding paragraph;

or

a person or body, or a person or body of a class, brought within the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

public health means the health of individuals in the context of the wider health of the community;

public health emergency—see section 87;

Public Health Emergency Management Plan means a plan (or a series of plans) prepared by the Chief Executive and approved by the

Minister comprising strategies to be administered by the Department for the prevention of emergencies in this State and for ensuring adequate preparation for emergencies in this State, including strategies for the containment of emergencies, response and recovery operations and the orderly and efficient deployment of resources and services in connection with response and recovery operations;

[Note: NoteIt is contemplated that the Public Health Emergency Management Plan will form part of, or be recognised in, the State Emergency Management Plan prepared under the Emergency Management

Act 2004.]

public health incident—see section 86;

public notice means notice given in accordance with requirements prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition;

public place includes a place to which the public ordinarily has access;

recovery operations has the same meaning as in the Emergency Management

Act 2004;

response operations has the same meaning as in the Emergency Management

Act 2004;

SAPHC means the South Australian Public Health

Council established under Part 3Division 3;

State authorised officer—see section 43;

State Co‑ordinator means the person holding or acting in the position of State Co‑ordinator under the

Emergency Management

Act 2004;

Tribunal means the South Australian Civil and

Administrative Tribunal established under the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Act 2013;

vehicle includes an aircraft or vessel;

wastewater means water that has been used in any form of human activity and includes—

water containing any form of waste or other matter or substance that may detract from its safety or from public health; and

without limiting paragraph (a), human waste either alone or in combination with water;

wastewater system means a system for collecting and managing wastewater (including through treatment, reuse and disposal), whether or not connected to the undertaking within the meaning of the

Sewerage

Act 1929.

Without limiting the definition of public health in subsection (1), public health may involve a combination of policies, programs and safeguards designed—

to protect, maintain or promote the health of the community at large, including where 1 or more persons may be the focus of any safeguards, action or response; or

to prevent or reduce the incidence of disease, injury or disability within the community.

For the purposes of this Act, harm includes physical or psychological harm, or potential harm, to individuals, whether of long term or immediate impact or effect.

For the purposes of this Act, potential harm includes risk of harm and future harm.

For the purposes of this Act, a person may cause something if he or she—

contributes to something happening or proceeding, or allows or permits something to happen or proceed; or

contributes to the continuation of a condition for which the person is responsible, or allows or permits a condition for which the person is responsible to continue.