New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HEALTH RECORDS AND INFORMATION PRIVACY ACT 2002 - SECT 25

25 Retention of health information: health service providers

(1) A private sector person who is a health service provider must retain health information relating to an individual as follows--

(a) in the case of health information collected while the individual was an adult--for 7 years from the last occasion on which a health service was provided to the individual by the health service provider,

(b) in the case of health information collected while the individual was under the age of 18 years--until the individual has attained the age of 25 years.

(2) A health service provider who deletes or disposes of health information must keep a record of the name of the individual to whom the health information related, the period covered by it and the date on which it was deleted or disposed of.

(3) A health service provider who transfers health information to another organisation and does not continue to hold a record of that information must keep a record of the name and address of the organisation to whom or to which it was transferred.

(4) A record referred to in subsection (2) or (3) may be kept in electronic form, but only if it is capable of being printed on paper.

(5) Nothing in this section authorises a health service provider to delete, dispose of or transfer health information in contravention of an Act (including an Act of the Commonwealth) or any other law.