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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
TASMANIA
__________
PERINATAL REGISTRY AMENDMENT BILL 2010
__________
CONTENTS
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Commencement
PART 2 - PERINATAL REGISTRY ACT 1994 AMENDED
3. Principal Act
4. Long title amended
5. Section 1 amended (Short title)
6. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
7. Section 6 amended (Functions of Council)
8. Section 6A inserted
6A. Information to coroner
9. Section 7 amended (Powers of Council)
10. Section 8 amended (Delegation)
11. Section 12 amended (Annual report)
12. Section 15 substituted
15. Confidentiality and use of information
15A. Restriction on dealing with information
13. Section 17 amended (Duty to provide information requested by
Council)
PART 3 - CORONERS RULES 2006 AMENDED
14. Principal Rules
[Bill 33]-I
15. Rule 26 amended (Access to coronial records)
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
16. Further amendment of Coroners Rules 2006 not affected by this
Act
17. Repeal of Act
2
PERINATAL REGISTRY AMENDMENT BILL 2010
This Public Bill originated in the House of Assembly, and, having this day passed, is
now ready for presentation to the Legislative Council for its concurrence.
P. M. BENNISON, for Clerk of the House
2 September 2010
(Brought in by the Minister for Health, the Honourable
Michelle Anne O'Byrne)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Perinatal Registry Act 1994 and the
Coroners Rules 2006
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Perinatal Registry
Amendment Act 2010.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
[Bill 33] 3
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 3 Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended
PART 2 - PERINATAL REGISTRY ACT 1994
AMENDED
3. Principal Act
In this Part, the Perinatal Registry Act 1994* is
referred to as the Principal Act.
4. Long title amended
The long title of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting ", to enable the Council to investigate
obstetric and paediatric mortality and
morbidity and to give, receive and retain
information in respect of such matters" after
"Morbidity".
5. Section 1 amended (Short title)
Section 1 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "Perinatal Registry" and substituting
"Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and
Morbidity".
6. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
*No. 31 of 1994
4
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended s. 6
(a) by inserting the following definitions
after the definition of "born alive":
"child death" means the death of a
person who has not attained the
age of 18 years;
"committee" means a committee
established under section 9;
(b) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of "function":
"information" means any
information -
(a) in, or derived from, a
document; or
(b) provided orally;
(c) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of "regulations":
"relevant Minister" means the
Minister administering the
Children, Young Persons and
Their Families Act 1997 or the
Minister administering the
Disability Services Act 1992, as
the case may require;
5
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 7 Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended
7. Section 6 amended (Functions of Council)
Section 6 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after paragraph (d) the following
paragraphs:
(da) to investigate and report to the Minister,
a relevant Minister or the Secretary of its
own motion on any matter relating to
obstetric and paediatric mortality and
morbidity that it considers necessary;
(db) to communicate to the Minister, or a
relevant Minister, the Secretary or a
prescribed body, information relating
to -
(i) a child death, maternal death or
late maternal death; or
(ii) the morbidity of a child or a
woman who is or has been
pregnant;
8. Section 6A inserted
After section 6 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Part 2:
6A. Information to coroner
(1) The Council may, of its own motion or at
the request of a coroner, make
recommendations and provide
information to a coroner that it considers
6
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended s. 9
relevant to a child death, a maternal
death or a late maternal death.
(2) Neither section 15 nor section 15A
precludes a coroner from admitting as
evidence information provided to the
coroner under subsection (1).
9. Section 7 amended (Powers of Council)
Section 7(a) of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting ", or any document in that person's
control," and substituting "in that person's
control".
10. Section 8 amended (Delegation)
Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "established under section 9".
11. Section 12 amended (Annual report)
Section 12(2)(a) of the Principal Act is amended
by omitting "established under section 9".
12. Section 15 substituted
Section 15 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following sections are substituted:
7
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 12 Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended
15. Confidentiality and use of information
(1) A person who is or has been a member of
the Council, a member of a committee or
an employee must not directly or
indirectly -
(a) make a record of, or disclose,
publish or communicate to any
other person, any information
gained by or conveyed to the
person as such a member or
employee; or
(b) make use of any such
information -
except to the extent necessary for the
performance of the Council's functions
or in the exercise of the Council's
powers.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 10 penalty
units.
(2) Information referred to in subsection (1)
is not admissible in any proceeding
before any court, tribunal, board, Agency
(within the meaning of the State Service
Act 2000) or person.
(3) The Council, a committee, a member of
the Council or a committee or an
employee may not be required to disclose
or produce the information before any
court, tribunal, board, Agency (within the
8
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended s. 12
meaning of the State Service Act 2000) or
person if -
(a) the information was provided to
the Council, a committee, a
member of the Council or a
committee or an employee under
this Act; or
(b) the information, not being a
report referred to in section 12,
was produced by the Council, a
committee, a member of the
Council or a committee or an
employee for the purposes of the
performance by the Council of its
functions or of facilitating that
performance or exercise of the
Council's powers.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person
who is a member of the Council, a
member of a committee or an employee
may disclose information with the
approval of the Council -
(a) to a medical practitioner, or a
registered nurse, enrolled nurse or
midwife, concerned in -
(i) the care of the pregnant
woman and her unborn
child; or
(ii) the birth of the child; or
9
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 12 Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended
(iii) the care of the child under
the age of 6 months; or
(iv) the care of the child born
with a congenital
abnormality, injury,
illness or defect; or
(b) to a person concerned in research.
(5) Any information disclosed under
subsection (4)(b) must not contain
information which enables the
identification of any person in respect of
whom information is kept in a register,
except where the person or the person's
parent or guardian has consented in
writing to that identification.
(6) A person to whom information is
disclosed under subsection (4) and any
person or employee under the control of
that person is subject in respect of that
information to the same rights,
privileges, obligations and liabilities
under this section as those to which a
member of the Council is subject.
(7) The Right to Information Act 2009 does
not apply in relation to -
(a) any information that was
provided to the Council, a
committee, a member of the
Council or a committee, an
employee or a person under this
Act; or
10
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended s. 12
(b) any information that was
produced by the Council, a
committee, a member of the
Council or a committee, an
employee or a person.
(8) This section does not preclude or
otherwise prevent a prescribed person,
within the meaning of section 14 of the
Children, Young Persons and Their
Families Act 1997, who is a member of
the Council or a committee from
complying with his or her obligations
under section 14 of that Act.
(9) If the Council believes, or suspects, on
reasonable grounds that an indictable
offence has been committed in relation to
a child or woman, this section does not
preclude or otherwise prevent the
Council from reporting that belief or
suspicion to the Commissioner of Police.
15A. Restriction on dealing with information
(1) The Council may, by notice in writing,
declare that disclosed information
specified in the notice is confidential
information.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) -
"disclosed information" means
information that is disclosed by
the Council, a committee, a
member of the Council or a
committee or employee in the
11
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 12 Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended
performance or exercise of the
Council's, committee's or that
person's functions or powers.
(3) A person who receives or is in possession
of information that has been declared by
the Council to be confidential
information and any person or employee
under the control of the first-mentioned
person must not, directly or indirectly -
(a) make a record of, or disclose,
publish or communicate to any
person, that information; or
(b) make use of that information -
except to the extent that it is necessary to
perform the obligations of, or carry out
the duties of, the office of the person.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 10 penalty
units.
(4) A person who receives or is in possession
of information that has been declared by
the Council to be confidential
information is not required to produce
before any court, tribunal, board, Agency
(within the meaning of the State Service
Act 2000) or person that information or
an extract of that information.
12
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 2 - Perinatal Registry Act 1994 Amended s. 13
13. Section 17 amended (Duty to provide information
requested by Council)
Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting ", or any document in that person's
control," and substituting "in that person's
control".
13
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
s. 14 Part 3 - Coroners Rules 2006 Amended
PART 3 - CORONERS RULES 2006 AMENDED
14. Principal Rules
In this Part, the Coroners Rules 2006* are
referred to as the Principal Rules.
15. Rule 26 amended (Access to coronial records)
Rule 26 of the Principal Rules is amended by
inserting after subrule (5) the following subrule:
(5A) A coronial authority may not under this
rule of court -
(a) give a person access to that part
of a coronial record; or
(b) provide a person with a copy of
that part of a coronial record -
that contains information provided by the
Council, within the meaning of the
Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and
Morbidity Act 1994, under section 6A of
that Act if the information has been
declared by that Council under section
15A of that Act to be confidential
information.
*S.R. 2006, No. 51
14
Perinatal Registry Amendment Act 2010
Act No. of
Part 4 - Miscellaneous s. 16
PART 4 - MISCELLANEOUS
16. Further amendment of Coroners Rules 2006 not
affected by this Act
Part 3 does not prevent rule 26 or any other
provision of the Coroners Rules 2006 from
being amended or rescinded by a later rule.
17. Repeal of Act
This Act is repealed on the ninetieth day from
the day on which it commences.
Government Printer, Tasmania 15