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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Statutes Amendment (Health Information)
Bill 2013
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Health
Care Act 2008 and the Mental
Health Act 2009.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1Short
title
2Commencement
3Amendment
provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Health Care
Act 2008
4Amendment of section 93—Confidentiality
and disclosure of information
5Insertion of sections 94 and
94A
94Requirement to attend medical
examination or provide medical information
94AEmployer not to be present at
examination
Part 3—Amendment of Mental Health
Act 2009
6Amendment of section 106—Confidentiality
and disclosure of information
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Statutes Amendment (Health Information)
Act 2013.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Health Care
Act 2008
4—Amendment
of section 93—Confidentiality and disclosure of
information
(1) Section 93—after subsection (5) insert:
(5a) For the avoidance of doubt, a person engaged or formerly engaged in
connection with the operation of this Act must not disclose personal information
relating to a person obtained while so engaged to the person's employer except
to the extent that he or she may be authorised or required to disclose that
information under this section.
(2) Section 93(6)—before the definition of personal
information insert:
employer of a person includes a person who has engaged the
person to perform work as an independent contractor;
5—Insertion
of sections 94 and 94A
After section 93 insert:
94—Requirement to attend medical examination or
provide medical information
(1) An employer must not direct an employee to attend a medical
examination unless the employer believes on reasonable grounds that, because of
an injury or illness, the employee is not fit to perform, or there will be a
risk to the employee's health or safety if he or she continues to
perform—
(a) if the employee is undertaking the normal duties of his or her
position at the time the direction is given—the inherent requirements of
his or her position; or
(b) if the employee is undertaking modified duties at the time the
direction is given—the requirements of those duties.
Maximum penalty: $2 500.
(2) If an employer directs an employee to attend a medical
examination—
(a) the employer must give the employee written notice of the direction
setting out the grounds on which the employer believes the examination is
necessary; and
(b) the direction must not include a requirement for the employee to
attend a particular medical practitioner for the purposes of the
examination.
Maximum penalty: $2 500.
(3) An employer must not request an employee to provide medical
information about the employee to the employer unless the employer has
reasonable grounds for believing that, because of an injury or illness, the
employee is not fit to perform, or there will be a risk to the employee's health
or safety if he or she continues to perform—
(a) if the employee is undertaking the normal duties of his or her
position at the time the request is made—the inherent requirements of that
position; or
(b) if the employee is undertaking modified duties at the time the request
is made—the requirements of those duties.
Maximum penalty: $2 500.
(4) For the purposes of this section, an employer does not have reasonable
grounds for believing that an employee is not fit to perform the inherent
requirements of his or her position, or the requirements of any modified duties,
or that there is a risk to an employee's health or safety, because of an injury
or illness unless—
(a) the employee has stated to the employer that an injury or illness is
affecting his or her ability to perform the inherent requirements of his or her
position or any modified duties; or
(b) the employee appears to the employer to be unable to perform the
inherent requirements of his or her position, or any modified duties, because of
an injury or illness; or
(c) the belief is supported by medical information lawfully obtained from
the employee; or
(d) the belief is otherwise supported by evidence.
(5) This section does not, however, derogate from a provision of or under
any other Act that authorises the issue of a direction of a kind to which this
section applies.
(6) In this section—
employee includes a person who is engaged to perform work as
an independent contractor;
employer includes a person who engages another to perform
work as an independent contractor;
medical examination means an examination of the physical or
mental health of a person by a medical practitioner registered under the
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law to practise in the medical
profession (other than as a student).
94A—Employer not to be present at
examination
(1) An employer or his or her representative must not be present at a
medical examination of an employee unless the employee consents to the presence
of the employer or representative at the examination.
Maximum penalty: $2 500.
(2) In this section—
employee, employer and medical
examination have the same respective meanings as in
section 94.
Part 3—Amendment
of Mental Health
Act 2009
6—Amendment
of section 106—Confidentiality and disclosure of
information
(1) Section 106—after subsection (4) insert:
(4a) For the avoidance of doubt, a person engaged or formerly engaged in
the administration of this Act must not disclose personal information relating
to a person obtained in the course of administration of this Act to the person's
employer except to the extent that he or she may be authorised or required to
disclose that information under this section.
(2) Section 106(5)—before the definition of personal
information insert:
employer of a person includes a person who has engaged the
person to perform work as an independent contractor;