Public Health Act 2016

This is the Public Health Act 2016.

Sound public health practices and procedures should be adopted as a basis for sustainability for the benefit of all people and the community today, while consideration is given to the public health, social, economic and environmental needs of future generations.

Public health, social, economic and environmental factors should be considered in decision‑making, with the objective of improving community wellbeing and the benefit to future generations.

Public health practices and procedures should be cost effective and in proportion to the significance of the public health risks and consequences being addressed.

If there is a public health risk, lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent, control or abate that risk.

In the application of the precautionary principle, decision‑making should be guided by —

a careful evaluation to avoid, where practicable, harm to public health; and

an assessment of the risk‑weighted consequences of the options.

Decisions made and actions taken in the administration of this Act to prevent, control or abate a public health risk should be proportionate to the public health risk sought to be prevented, controlled or abated.

In the application of the principle of proportionality, decision‑making and action should be guided by the aim that, where measures that adversely impact on an individual’s or business’s activities or a community’s functioning are necessary, measures that have the least adverse impact are taken before measures with a greater adverse impact.

The present generation should ensure that public health is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations.

The functions of local governments in relation to public health should be acknowledged and respected.

Persons involved in the administration of this Act must perform their functions with due regard to the objects and principles of this Act.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

activity licence has the meaning given in section 64;

appropriate enforcement agency, in relation to the provision in which the term is used, means the enforcement agency prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of that provision;

approved form means a form approved by the Chief Health Officer;

authorised officer has the meaning given in subsection (2);

CEO has the meaning given in the Health Legislation Administration Act 1984 section 3;

certificate of registration has the meaning given in section 64;

Chief Health Officer means the person designated as the Chief Health Officer under section 11;

child care service —

means —

an education and care service as defined in the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) section 5(1); or

a child care service as defined in the Child Care Services Act 2007 section 4;

but

does not include a child care service prescribed for the purposes of this definition;

Commissioner of Police means the person holding or acting in the office of Commissioner of Police under the Police Act 1892;

community kindergarten means a kindergarten registered under the School Education Act 1999 Part 5;

compulsory education period has the meaning given in the School Education Act 1999 section 6;

Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;

departmental officer —

means a public service officer employed in the Department; and

includes a public service officer appointed for the purposes of, or to assist in the administration of, an Act to which the Health Legislation Administration Act 1984 applies under section 4 of that Act;

emergency area means the area or areas to which a public health state of emergency declaration applies;

emergency management means the management of the adverse effects of a public health emergency, including —

prevention — the mitigation or prevention of the probability of the occurrence of a public health emergency, and of the potential adverse effects of a public health emergency; and

preparedness — the preparation for the response to a public health emergency; and

response — the combating of the effects of a public health emergency, provision of emergency assistance for casualties, reduction of further damage and help to speed recovery; and

recovery — the support of communities affected by a public health emergency in the reconstruction and restoration of physical infrastructure, the environment and community, psychosocial and economic wellbeing;

emergency officer means —

the Chief Health Officer; or

an authorised officer or other person who is authorised by the Chief Health Officer under section 174(2);

emergency power means a power provided for in Part 12 Division 5;

employed in the Department includes seconded to perform functions or services for, or duties in the service of, the Department;

enforcement agency means —

the Chief Health Officer; or

a local government; or

a person or body, or a person or body within a class of persons or bodies, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition;

enforcement order means an enforcement order issued under Part 14 Division 3;

environmental health officer means an environmental health officer appointed under section 17;

general public health duty means the requirement imposed by section 34(1);

harm includes physical or psychological harm to individuals, whether of long‑term or immediate impact or effect;

health profession has the meaning given in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) section 5;

IDEC declaration has the meaning given in section 202A(1);

improvement notice means an improvement notice issued under Part 14 Division 2;

judicial officer means a JP or a magistrate;

material public health risk —

means a public health risk involving potential harm to public health that is neither trivial nor negligible; and

includes a public health risk declared by the regulations to be a material public health risk; but

does not include a public health risk declared by the regulations not to be a material public health risk;

medical examination includes —

the taking of a sample of blood, urine, tissue or hair, or another biological specimen; and

the performance of any diagnostic examination or diagnostic procedure;

medical practitioner means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession (other than as a student);

midwife means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the midwifery profession (other than as a student);

needle and syringe programme means a programme to do one or more of the following principally for the purpose of preventing the spread of infectious diseases that are carried in the blood —

to supply people with any of the following —

sterile hypodermic syringes;

sterile hypodermic needles;

things that may be used in connection with the administration, by injection, of prohibited drugs (as defined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 section 3(1)), for example, swabs and spoons;

to facilitate the safe disposal, after use, of any of the things mentioned in paragraph (a);

to advise, counsel or disseminate information to people;

notifiable infectious disease means an infectious disease declared under section 90 to be a notifiable infectious disease;

notifiable infectious disease‑related condition means a medical condition declared under section 91 to be a notifiable infectious disease‑related condition;

nurse means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the nursing profession (other than as a student);

nurse practitioner means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the nursing profession (other than as a student) whose registration under that Law is endorsed as nurse practitioner;

personal details, in relation to a person, means —

the person’s full name; and

the person’s date of birth; and

the address where the person is residing; and

the address where the person usually resides, if that is different from the address referred to in paragraph (c);

premises includes —

land (whether vacant or not); and

land covered by water, whether permanently or temporarily or from time to time; and

the whole or any part of a building or other structure, of whatever type and whether of a permanent or temporary nature; and

a vehicle;

prescribed condition of health has the meaning given in section 148;

public authority means —

an agency as defined in the Public Sector Management Act 1994 section 3(1); or

a body, corporate or unincorporate, that is established or continued for a public purpose by the State, regardless of the way it is established; or

a local government; or

a regional local government, but only in Part 12 and section 299; or

a regional subsidiary; or

the Police Force of Western Australia; or

a person or body, or a person or body within a class of persons or bodies, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph;

public health means the health of individuals in the context of —

the wider health and wellbeing of the community; and

the combination of safeguards, policies and programmes designed to protect, maintain, promote and improve the health of individuals and their communities and to prevent and reduce the incidence of illness and disability;

public health emergency means an event or circumstance, or a series of events or circumstances, that is causing or contributing to, has caused or contributed to or may cause or contribute to serious adverse effects on public health;

public health emergency management plan means a public health emergency management plan prepared under section 165;

public health official means —

a departmental officer; or

a person employed or engaged in a health service provider (as defined in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6);

public health order means a public health order made under section 116;

public health risk means a risk of harm to public health;

public health risk activity means —

an activity declared by the regulations to be a public health risk activity; or

an activity within a class of activities declared by the regulations to be public health risk activities;

public health state of emergency means a public health state of emergency declared under section 167;

public health state of emergency declaration means a declaration of a public health state of emergency under section 167;

quarantine direction, in relation to a person, means a direction under Part 11 Division 2 or Part 12 Division 5, or under the Emergency Management Act 2005 Part 6 Division 1, the effect of which is that the person must remain —

at premises for quarantine‑related purposes; or

in an area for quarantine‑related purposes; or

quarantined from other persons;

remote communication means any way of communicating at a distance, including by telephone, fax, email and radio;

sample, except in section 240(1)(f), means a sample taken, in accordance with accepted medical practice, from any part of the body of a person, including a sample of blood, urine, tissue or hair, or another biological specimen;

school means a government school, or a non‑government school, as defined in the School Education Act 1999 section 4;

senior next of kin, in relation to a deceased person, has the meaning given in the Coroners Act 1996 section 37(5);

senior police officer means a police officer who is, or is acting as, a Superintendent or an officer of a rank more senior than a Superintendent;

serious public health incident power means a power provided for in section 157(1);

serious public health risk —

means a public health risk involving potential harm to public health that is irreversible, of a high impact or on a wide scale; and

includes a public health risk declared by the regulations to be a serious public health risk; but

does not include a public health risk declared by the regulations not to be a serious public health risk;

student, in relation to a health profession, has the meaning given in section 202MA;

test order means an order made under section 100;

urgently notifiable infectious disease means a notifiable infectious disease declared under section 90 to be an urgently notifiable infectious disease;

urgently notifiable infectious disease-related condition means a notifiable infectious disease‑related condition declared under section 91 to be an urgently notifiable infectious disease‑related condition;

vaccine preventable notifiable infectious disease means a notifiable infectious disease declared under section 90 to be a vaccine preventable notifiable infectious disease;

vehicle —

means any means of transport, whether self‑propelled or not, and whether used on land or sea or in the air; and

without limiting paragraph (a), includes —

a caravan, trailer or other land vehicle; and

a vessel;

vessel —

means any thing used, or capable of being used, in navigation by water, of whatever size and whether or not it has any means of propulsion; and

without limiting paragraph (a), includes the following —

a houseboat, pontoon or raft;

a hovercraft, seaplane or other similar craft;

a submarine or other submersible;

working day means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday.

A reference in a provision of this Act to an authorised officer —

is a reference to a person who is an authorised officer by virtue of a designation under section 24, but (except in a provision listed in the Table) only if that designation has effect for the purposes of the provision in which that reference occurs; and

includes a reference to the Chief Health Officer; and

includes a reference to an authorised officer exercising powers as an emergency officer.

Table

This Act binds the State and, so far as the legislative power of the State permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

Nothing in this Act makes the Crown in any capacity liable to be prosecuted for an offence.

Subsection (1) is subject to Part 17.

The Chief Health Officer has the following functions in relation to the administration of this Act —

to initiate, support and manage public health planning for the State;

to develop and implement policies and programmes to achieve the objects of this Act;

to provide advice or recommendations to the Minister or to any other person or body or to the community generally on matters relevant to public health;

to provide advice or recommendations to the Minister on possible changes to this Act or the regulations that the Chief Health Officer considers appropriate or necessary;

to perform the functions that are conferred on the Chief Health Officer by or under this Act;

to administer this Act in accordance with its objects and principles.

[7, 8. Have not come into operation.]

The Chief Health Officer may delegate any function of the Chief Health Officer under another provision of this Act to a public health official.

A delegation must be in writing signed by the Chief Health Officer.

A delegation may expressly authorise the delegate to further delegate the function to another public health official.

A person performing a function that has been delegated to the person under, or as authorised under, this section is to be taken to do so in accordance with the terms of the delegation unless the contrary is shown.

Nothing in this section limits the ability of the Chief Health Officer to act through an officer or agent.

Without limiting subsection (1), the Chief Health Officer may, under this section, delegate any function of the Chief Health Officer under Part 12B to a public service officer employed in a department of the Public Service.

[Section 9 amended: No. 33 of 2020 s. 5.]

The Health Legislation Administration Act 1984 section 9 does not apply to or in relation to any function of the Chief Health Officer under this Act.