Health Services (Information) Regulations 2017

regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the Gazette;

the rest of the regulations — on the day after that day.

In this regulation —

The Department CEO must not disclose health information under section 216 unless —

the individual to whom the information relates consents to the disclosure; or

the Department CEO is satisfied that —

disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is to be disclosed; and

the purpose for which the information is to be disclosed cannot be achieved by providing information that is not personal information; and

it is impracticable to obtain the consent of the individual to whom the information relates.

In addition to the requirements of subregulation (2), the Department CEO must not disclose health information under section 216 for the purpose of health related research unless the research has been approved by an HREC.

the chief executive reasonably believes that disclosure of the information would pose a serious threat to —

the life, health or safety of any individual; or

public health or safety;

disclosure of the information would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of the patient or another person; or

the patient has requested that the information not be disclosed to the person.

For the purposes of section 220(1), the collection, use or disclosure of information is authorised in the following circumstances —

the collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary to lessen or prevent a serious risk to the life, health or safety of any individual;

the collection, use or disclosure is reasonably necessary to lessen or prevent a real or immediate risk of danger to the public;

the collection, use or disclosure is for a purpose specified in a written agreement between the State and the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory entered into by a Minister of the State or the Department CEO;

the collection, use or disclosure is for the purposes of, or in connection with, obtaining legal advice or representation on behalf of —

the Department CEO or the State; or

a health service provider; or

an individual who is or was a staff member of a health service provider if the individual is indemnified by the State in respect of liability incurred by the individual as a staff member of the health service provider;

the collection, use or disclosure is for the purposes of, or in connection with, an application to the State Administration Tribunal for a guardianship order or an administration order under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990.

For the purposes of section 220(1), the disclosure of information is also authorised in the following circumstances —

the disclosure is to an individual who is or was a staff member of a health service provider for the purposes of the individual’s compliance with reporting requirements under another law;

the information relates to an individual who is deceased and the disclosure is in response to a written request from —

a coroner, a coroner’s registrar, a coroner’s investigator or a member of the staff of a coroner’s court in connection with an investigation into the death of the individual; or

a medical practitioner who is performing a post mortem on the body of the individual at the direction of a coroner.

The disclosure of information under Part 17 of the Act is subject to the following conditions —

the information must not be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was disclosed unless —

the Department CEO or the chief executive of a health service provider who discloses the information authorises its use, in accordance with the Act, for that other purpose; or

in the case of personal information — the individual to whom it relates consents to its use for that other purpose;

the person to whom the information is disclosed must take all reasonable steps to ensure that it is transported and stored in a way that protects it from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access or modification;

in the case of information that is not personal information — the person to whom the information is disclosed must not modify or use it, or link it to other information, in a way that identifies, or might lead to the identification of, an individual to whom it relates.

A person to whom information is disclosed under Part 17 of the Act must not contravene a condition to which the disclosure is subject.