Whole Act
37 provisions in continuous reading order
Loading the complete Act…
This is the Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Act 2014.
This Act comes into operation as follows —
sections 1 and 2 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;
the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation, and different days may be fixed for different provisions.
The purpose of this Act is to help ensure that a police officer or other public officer who, in the course of duty, is exposed to the risk of transmission of certain infectious diseases receives appropriate medical, physical and psychological treatment by authorising —
the taking of a sample from a person who, if carrying an infectious disease, might have transmitted it to the officer; and
the analysis of the sample to find out whether the person is carrying the infectious disease.
[Section 3 amended: No. 21 of 2020 s. 4.]
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
adult means a person who has reached 18 years of age;
affected public officer means a public officer in relation to whom there are reasonable grounds for disease testing;
bodily fluid includes semen, blood and saliva;
child means a person who is under 18 years of age;
Commissioner means the Commissioner of Police;
disease test authorisation means —
a disease test approval as defined in section 7(1); or
a disease test order as defined in section 15;
doctor means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession;
incapable person means a person who is not a child and —
who for any reason is unable to give consent to being tested for an infectious disease; or
who is unconscious, deceased or otherwise unable —
to understand a request made to give consent to being tested for an infectious disease; or
to communicate whether or not he or she consents to being tested for an infectious disease;
infectious disease means any of the following —
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection;
Hepatitis B;
Hepatitis C;
any other prescribed disease capable of being transmitted by the transfer of bodily fluid;
nurse means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the nursing profession;
police officer means a police officer acting in the course of duty;
police‑related officer means any of the following acting in the course of duty —
a person appointed under the Police Act 1892 Part III to be a special constable;
a person appointed under the Police Act 1892 Part IIIA to be an Aboriginal police liaison officer;
a person appointed under the Police Act 1892 Part IIIB to be a police auxiliary officer;
a police cadet within the meaning of the Police Act 1892;
police service employee means a person employed or engaged in the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister in the administration of the Police Act 1892 and acting in the course of duty;
prescribed means prescribed in regulations under this Act;
protected person means —
a child; or
an incapable person;
public officer means any of the following —
a police officer;
a police‑related officer;
a police service employee;
qualified person means —
the holder of —
a Certificate III in Pathology Collection from a college as defined in the Vocational Education and Training Act 1996 section 5(1); or
an equivalent qualification from an institution based in another State or Territory or overseas;
or
in relation to the taking of a sample of a particular type — a person, or class of persons, prescribed for the taking of that type of sample;
reasonable grounds for disease testing means reasonable grounds for suspecting that there has been a transfer of bodily fluid from a suspected transferor to a public officer as a result of —
an assault by the suspected transferor against the public officer; or
the lawful apprehension or detention of the suspected transferor by the public officer; or
any other prescribed circumstance involving the suspected transferor and the public officer;
responsible person —
in relation to a suspected transferor who is a child, means any of the following persons —
a parent of the child;
a guardian of the child;
another adult person who has responsibility for the day‑to‑day care of the child;
if no person mentioned in another subparagraph of this paragraph is available, a prescribed person, or a person in a prescribed class of persons;
in relation to a suspected transferor who is an incapable person other than a deceased person, means any of the following persons —
an adult relative of the incapable person;
a person who is a guardian of the incapable person under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990;
a person who is an enduring guardian of the incapable person under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 and is authorised to perform functions in relation to the incapable person in the circumstances in which this Act applies;
a person recognised as the incapable person’s advocate under the Disability Services Act 1993 section 32(2);
a person who is a carer (as defined in the Carers Recognition Act 2004 section 4) in relation to the incapable person;
if no person mentioned in another subparagraph of this paragraph is available, a prescribed person, or a person in a prescribed class of persons;
in relation to a suspected transferor who is a deceased person, the person who has lawful custody of the suspected transferor’s body;
sample means a sample of blood, saliva, mucus, respiratory secretions or other material taken from a person;
suspected transferor, where there are reasonable grounds for disease testing, means the person from whom it is suspected the bodily fluid was transferred;
transfer of bodily fluid means the transfer of bodily fluid from one person into the anus, vagina, mucous membrane or broken skin of another person.
[Section 4 amended: No. 4 of 2018 s. 113; No. 21 of 2020 s. 5.]
The Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act) does not apply to activities or records under this Act to the extent that the FOI Act would otherwise enable or require the disclosure of the identity of —
a suspected transferor; or
an affected public officer.
The purpose of this Part is to provide for the mandatory testing of a suspected transferor who is not a protected person.
In this Part —
application means an application under section 8;
approved form means a written form approved by the Commissioner;
disease test approval means an approval under this Part for the taking and testing of a sample from a suspected transferor;
remote communication means any way of communicating at a distance including by telephone, fax, email and radio;
senior police officer, in relation to an application, means a police officer who is an inspector or an officer of a rank more senior than an inspector.
A reference in this Part to making an application includes a reference to giving information in support of the application.
[Section 7 amended: No. 21 of 2020 s. 6.]
A public officer may apply to a senior police officer for a disease test approval if —
there are reasonable grounds for disease testing; and
the suspected transferor is not a protected person; and
the senior police officer is not involved in the investigation of any suspected offence to which the proposed disease test approval relates.
The application may be made by remote communication.
The application must —
if practicable be in writing; and
state the full name and official details of the applicant; and
state the full name and official details of the affected public officer; and
state the full name and address of the suspected transferor; and
state the grounds for suspecting that there has been a transfer of bodily fluid from the suspected transferor to the affected public officer; and
include any other information that is prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.
If it is not practicable to make the application in writing, the public officer making the application must, as soon as practicable after the application is made, make a written record of it, including all the information required under subsection (3).
If the suspected transferor is being detained under section 9, the application must be made —
as soon as practicable; and
in a manner that ensures the determination of the application as soon as practicable,
after the apprehension of the suspected transferor.
A police officer may apprehend and detain the suspected transferor for as long as is reasonably necessary to enable the determination of the application.
On an application, a senior police officer may give a disease test approval if satisfied —
there are reasonable grounds for disease testing; and
the suspected transferor is not a protected person.
The disease test approval must be in an approved form and must include a statement of all of the following —
the full name and address of the suspected transferor;
that a police officer may apprehend the suspected transferor and detain him or her for as long as is reasonably necessary to enable the taking of a sample from the suspected transferor;
that, for the purposes of paragraph (b), a police officer may enter any place where the police officer suspects on reasonable grounds the suspected transferor might be located;
that a police officer may take the suspected transferor to a place the police officer considers has appropriate facilities for taking the sample;
that a doctor, nurse or qualified person may take a sample from the suspected transferor.
The disease test approval may be given subject to any reasonable conditions that the senior police officer considers appropriate and specifies in the approval.
The disease test approval may be given by remote communication.
The senior police officer must, as soon as practicable after granting an approval orally by remote communication, make a record in writing of the particulars referred to in subsection (2) relating to the approval.
[Section 10 amended: No. 21 of 2020 s. 7.]
A copy of the disease test approval must be served personally on the suspected transferor.
The copy of the disease test approval must contain an explanation, in an approved form —
of the purpose and effect of the approval; and
that force may be used to enforce the approval; and
that failure to comply with a requirement made under the approval is an offence.
A disease test approval does not take effect until a copy of it is served in accordance with this section.
A disease test approval confers the powers referred to in section 10(2)(b), (c) and (d).
A disease test approval relating to a suspected transferor —
authorises a sample to be taken from the suspected transferor in accordance with the approval; and
authorises a police officer to require the suspected transferor to submit to the taking of the sample in accordance with the approval.
A disease test approval also authorises the sample to be tested for an infectious disease.
[Section 12 amended: No. 21 of 2020 s. 8.]