Health Services Act 2016

In this section —

is about a person who is receiving or has received a health service; and

could identify the person;

anything from which images, sounds or writings can be reproduced, with or without the aid of anything else; and

anything on which information is recorded or stored, whether electronically, magnetically, mechanically or by some other means.

For the purposes of section 175, the Department CEO may enter the premises of a health service provider (including any hospital or other facility controlled or managed by the health service provider) to investigate any matters relating to the operation or administration of the health service provider.

On entering premises under this section the Department CEO may do any one or more of the following —

inspect the premises;

generally make any investigation or inquiry that is relevant to the operation or administration of the health service provider;

examine any records of the health service provider, including records containing confidential information, that are relevant to the Department CEO’s functions;

make copies of records referred to in paragraph (c) or any part of them and, for that purpose, take away and retain any of those records or any part of them for any time that may be reasonably necessary;

require a person in or about the premises to provide information or answer questions in connection with the Department CEO’s functions;

require any person to produce any record or other thing in the possession or under the control of the person that relates to, or that the Department CEO believes on reasonable grounds relates to, the operation or administration of the health service provider;

require the owner or occupier of the premises to provide the Department CEO with such assistance and facilities as is or are reasonably necessary to enable the Department CEO to exercise functions under this section.