Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.

Overview of Bill

The object of this Bill is to amend various health Acts and regulations so as:

(a) to allow the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of a health professional
disciplinary tribunal to continue to sit on the Tribunal after the expiry of the
person’s term of appointment in certain circumstances, and

(b) to extend the existing power of disciplinary tribunals, professional standards
committees and Boards established under health professional legislation may
issue orders precluding the disclosure of particular types of information that
are capable of identifying a person to include orders in respect of information,
pictures and other material, and

(c) to increase the maximum penalty for a breach by a corporation of a
non-disclosure order imposed by the Nurses and Midwives Tribunal or a
professional standards committee under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991 to
150 penalty units, and

(d) to require the Medical Board and the Dental Board (as appropriate) to be
notified if a registered medical student or a registered dental student becomes
a mentally incapacitated person, and

(e) to remove a restriction on registered dental therapists carrying out dental
auxiliary activities other than as an officer or employee of or a contractor to a
public sector agency or prescribed body, and

(f) to make provision with respect to payments out of the accounts of health
professional boards, and

(g) to enable the Director-General of the Department of Health to delegate
functions relating to the provision of ambulance services to a public sector
body appointed for the purpose of exercising those functions, and

(h) to enable a Committee of Review under the Health Services Act 1997 to refer
matters to the Medical Board or the Dental Board (as appropriate) to be dealt
with as a complaint where the Committee is of the opinion that serious
concerns exist in relation to the performance or competence of an appellant,
that the appellant has engaged in conduct that may constitute professional
misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct, or the appellant may suffer
from an impairment, and
        (i) to provide that no liability attaches to a person in connection with the conduct
of a disciplinary review of a member of the NSW Health Service, and

(j) to make it clear that the supply or fitting of a prosthesis or therapeutic device
is a health service within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1997, and

(k) to entitle persons with medical qualifications granted overseas to be registered
as a medical practitioner in certain circumstances, and

(l) to enable the Medical Board to order a medical practitioner who is the subject
of a complaint or inquiry to be examined by a specified registered health
practitioner, and

(m) to make it clear that the Medical Board and the Registrar can delegate
functions to groups of persons, including committees established under the
Medical Practice Act 1992, and

(n) to provide that certain senior employees and executives may be appointed as
a member of the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry, and

(o) to provide that no personal liability attaches to a person in connection with the
exercise of the person’s functions as a performance assessor under the Nurses
and Midwives Act 1991, and

(p) to enable fees to be charged in connection with an application for an
optometrists drug authority, and

(q) to enable regulations to be made setting infection control standards to be
followed in the practice of pharmacy, and

(r) to enable the Director-General to make an order to prohibit or restrict certain
persons from possessing, supplying or prescribing poisons in certain
circumstances, and

(s) to authorise the Director-General to require a medical practitioner involved in
the treatment of a person the subject of a report notifying a Category 3 medical
condition to provide information to complete or correct the report, and

(t) to enable the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products with a distinctive
fruity, sweet or confectionery-like character, and

(u) to prohibit the sale of tobacco products by a vendor carrying the products for
sale on his or her person or from a mobile or temporary structure, and
        (v) to empower authorised inspectors to issue penalty notices for offences under
the Smoke-free Environment Act 2000.

Outline of provisions

Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.

Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on the date of assent
to the proposed Act, except for Schedule 2.1 [1] (which is to commence on 1 July
2008), and Schedule 2.13 [4] (which is to commence on proclamation).

Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Acts set out
in Schedule 1.

Clause 4 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Acts and
instruments set out in Schedule 2.

Clause 5 provides for the repeal of the proposed Act after all the amendments made
by the proposed Act have commenced. Once the amendments have commenced the
proposed Act will be spent and section 30 of the Interpretation Act 1987 provides
that the repeal of an amending Act does not affect the amendments made by that Act.

Schedule 1 Amendments relating to disciplinary
tribunals
Schedule 1.1 [1], 1.2 [1], 1.3 [1], 1.4 [1], 1.5 [1], 1.6 [1], 1.8 [1], 1.9 [1], 1.10 [1] and
1.11 [1] amend the Chiropractors Act 2001, the Dental Practice Act 2001, the
Medical Practice Act 1992, the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991, the Optometrists Act
2002, the Osteopaths Act 2001, the Pharmacy Practice Act 2006, the
Physiotherapists Act 2001, the Podiatrists Act 2003 and the Psychologists Act 2001,
respectively, to give effect to the object set out in paragraph (a) of the Overview. The
effect of each amendment is that, following the expiry of a person’s term of
appointment as Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson, the person will be able to
continue to sit on the relevant health professional disciplinary tribunal to complete
the conduct or hearing of an inquiry or appeal that commenced before the person’s
appointment expired. The person will be taken to be, and will be able to exercise the
functions of, a Deputy Chairperson in respect of such an inquiry or appeal.

Schedule 1.1 [2], 1.2 [2], 1.3 [2], 1.4 [2], 1.5 [2], 1.6 [2], 1.7, 1.8 [2], 1.9 [2], 1.10 [2]
and 1.11 [2] amend the Chiropractors Act 2001, the Dental Practice Act 2001, the
Medical Practice Act 1992, the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991, the Optometrists
Act 2002, the Osteopaths Act 2001, the Pharmacy Act 1964, the Pharmacy Practice
Act 2006, the Physiotherapists Act 2001, the Podiatrists Act 2003 and the
Psychologists Act 2001, respectively, to give effect to the object set out in paragraph

(b) of the Overview.

Schedule 1.4 [3] amends the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991 to give effect to the
object set out in paragraph (c) of the Overview. The effect of the amendment is to
make the maximum penalty for a breach by a corporation of a non-disclosure order
consistent with the corresponding penalty under the other health professional
registration Acts.

Schedule 2 Other amendments
Schedule 2.1 [1] amends the Dental Practice Act 2001 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (e) of the Overview with effect from 1 July 2008.

Schedule 2.1 [2] amends the Dental Practice Act 2001 and Schedule 2.6 [5] amends
the Medical Practice Act 1992 to give effect to the object set out in paragraph (d) of
the Overview. Schedule 2.2 and Schedule 2.7 contain consequential amendments to
regulations under those Acts.

Schedule 2.4 amends the Health Administration Act 1982 to give effect to the object
set out in paragraph (f) of the Overview. The effect of the amendment is that the
Health Administration Corporation will be able to apply funds held in the accounts
of individual health professional registration boards to pay any amounts required to
meet the costs associated with the employment of NSW Health Service staff for the
purposes of those boards.

Schedule 2.5 [1] and [2] amend the Health Services Act 1997 to give effect to the
object set out in paragraph (g) of the Overview. The effect of the amendments is that
the functions of the Director-General of providing, conducting, operating and
maintaining ambulance services, and the associated functions set out in section 67B
of that Act, will be able to be delegated to a body appointed under proposed section
67AB of that Act. Schedule 2.5 [3] makes a consequential amendment.

Schedule 2.5 [4] amends the Health Services Act 1997 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (h) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.5 [5] amends the Health Services Act 1997 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (i) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.5 [6] amends the Health Services Act 1997 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (j) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.6 [1] amends the Medical Practice Act 1992 to give effect to the object
set out in paragraph (k) of the Overview. The effect of the amendment is that a person
with medical qualifications granted overseas will be entitled to be registered as a
medical practitioner if the person has received a certificate or other qualification in
accordance with a procedure approved by the Medical Board for the purpose of
qualifying a person for registration as a medical practitioner.

Schedule 2.6 [2] amends the Medical Practice Act 1992 to give effect to the object
set out in paragraph (l) of the Overview. Schedule 2.6 [3], [4], [6]–[9], [11]–[14]
and 16 make consequential amendments.

Schedule 2.6 [10] amends the Medical Practice Act 1992 to give effect to the object
set out in paragraph (m) of the Overview, and Schedule 2.6 [15] makes a
consequential amendment validating delegations already made.

Schedule 2.8 amends the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry Act 1964 to give
effect to the object set out in paragraph (n) of the Overview. The effect of the
amendment is that a senior employee of a statutory health corporation constituted
under the Health Services Act 1997 or a member of the Health Executive Service
within the meaning of that Act will be able to be appointed as a member of the
Institute.

Schedule 2.9 [1] and [2] amend the Nurses and Midwives Act 1991 to give effect to
the object set out in paragraph (o) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.10 amends the Optometrists Act 2002 to give effect to the object set out
in paragraph (p) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.11 amends the Pharmacy Practice Act 2006 to give effect to the object
set out in paragraph (q) of the Overview.

Schedule 2.12 [1] and [2] amend the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (the
Act) to give effect to the object set out in paragraph (r) of the Overview. The effect
of the amendment is that the Director-General will be able to make an order
prohibiting or restricting a medical practitioner, nurse, midwife, dentist, optometrist,
pharmacist, podiatrist or veterinary practitioner from possessing, supplying or
prescribing a substance specified in Schedule 2, 3 or 4 of the Poisons List. Such an
order will be able to be made if the person is convicted of an offence under the Act
or the regulations made under it (or if an order is made in respect of such an offence
under section 10 (1) the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999), if the person has
failed to comply with any other requirement of an order imposed under the Act, or if
the Director-General is of the opinion that the person should be so restricted or
prohibited for the purpose of protecting life or health.

Schedule 2.13 [1] amends the Public Health Act 1991 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (s) of the Overview. The effect of the amendment will be to enable
the Director-General to seek information to ensure the integrity of data held in the
NSW Cancer Registry.

Schedule 2.13 [3] amends the Public Health Act 1991 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (t) of the Overview. The amendment will enable the Minister to
publish a notice in the Gazette declaring a tobacco product, or a class of tobacco
products, with a distinctive fruity, sweet or confectionery-like character to be a
prohibited tobacco product. Schedule 2.13 [2] makes a consequential amendment.

Schedule 2.13 [4] amends the Public Health Act 1991 to give effect to the object set
out in paragraph (u) of the Overview. Under new section 57A of that Act it will be
an offence:

(a) for a vendor to carry tobacco products on his or her person on any premises for
the purpose of selling the products by retail on the premises. The offence will
extend to a person who employs or pays the vendor to undertake such an
activity. It will also be an offence for a person who has control of premises to
cause or permit such an activity on the premises, and

(b) for a person to sell tobacco products by retail from mobile or temporary
premises. It will also be an offence for a person who has control of premises,
and for a person organising a concert or other event on premises, to cause or
permit such sales on the premises.

Schedule 2.14 amends the Smoke-free Environment Act 2000 to give effect to the
object set out in paragraph (v) of the Overview. Schedule 2.3 makes a consequential
amendment to the Fines Act 1996.

Note: If this Bill is not modified, these Explanatory Notes would reflect the Bill as passed in the House. If the Bill has been amended by Committee, these Explanatory Notes may not necessarily reflect the Bill as passed.

 

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