SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ACT 2011 - SECT 73
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ACT 2011 - SECT 73
73—Power to require a person to undergo an examination or test
(1) The
Chief Public Health Officer may impose a requirement under this section if
subsection (2) or (3) applies.
(2) This subsection
applies if the Chief Public Health Officer has reasonable grounds to
believe—
(a) that
a person has a controlled notifiable condition and the person presents, has
presented, or is likely to present, a risk to health through the transmission
of a disease constituting that condition; or
(b) that
an incident has occurred or a circumstance has arisen in which a person could
have been exposed to, or could have contracted, a controlled
notifiable condition.
(3) This subsection
applies if—
(a) an
incident has occurred or a circumstance has arisen, while a
caregiver or custodian is acting in that capacity, in which, if any of those
involved were infected by a disease constituting a controlled notifiable
condition, the disease could be transmitted to the caregiver or custodian; and
(b) the
Chief Public Health Officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the
imposition of a requirement under this section is necessary in the interests
of a rapid diagnosis and, if appropriate, treatment of any person involved in
the incident or connected with the circumstance (whether or not as a caregiver
or custodian).
(4) However, the
Chief Public Health Officer should not act under this section unless the Chief
Public Health Officer considers—
(a) that
the person has been given a reasonable opportunity to undertake an examination
or testing of the kind that will be subject to a requirement under this
section but has failed to do so; or
(b) that
the imposition of a requirement under this section is reasonably necessary for
the purposes of a rapid diagnosis and, if appropriate, treatment of the
relevant person.
(5) A requirement that
may be imposed on a person under this section is that the person—
(a)
present himself or herself at such place and time as may be specified by the
Chief Public Health Officer in order to undergo a clinical examination or to
undertake (or be the subject of) tests, or both; and
(b)
comply with any requirement imposed by a person who may conduct the
examination or carry out the tests.
(6)
Subsection (4)(a) does not apply if the person is unconscious or the
Chief Public Health Officer considers that the person does not have the
capacity to consent to an examination or testing of the relevant kind.
(7) If the person is
unconscious, subsection (5) is modified so as to allow the
Chief Public Health Officer to arrange a clinical examination or tests (or
both) for the person.
(8) A requirement will
be imposed by service of an order on the person unless—
(a) the
person is unconscious; or
(b) the
Chief Public Health Officer considers that urgent action is required in the
circumstances of the particular case, in which case an oral order may be
given.
(8a) If an oral order
is given under subsection (8)(b), the Chief Public Health Officer must
confirm the order by notice in writing served on the person as soon as
practicable, but in any event within 72 hours, after giving the order
(and a failure to serve a notice in accordance with this subsection will not
affect the validity of the order).
(9) The testing that
may be undertaken under this section may include the provision or taking of a
sample of blood, urine or other biological specimen.
(a) a
person is examined or subject to any test under this section; and
(b) the
examination and any test disclose that the person does not have a
controlled notifiable condition,
the person is entitled to reasonable reimbursement from the Department for
costs and expenses directly incurred by the person in attending for the
examination and any test.
(11) An amount payable
under subsection (10) may be recovered as a debt.
(12) The
Chief Public Health Officer is entitled to be provided with a report on the
outcome of any examination or test conducted under this section (and a person
who conducted the examination or test must, at the request of the
Chief Public Health Officer, furnish the Chief Public Health Officer with such
a report).
(13) In this
section—
"caregiver or custodian" means—
(a) a
person who is employed by, or performs work at, a health service; or
(b) a
person who provides, or who is associated with the provision of, any medical
service or other form of service designed to benefit human health; or
(c) a
person who is employed by, or performs work at, a pathology service; or
(d) a
person who—
(i)
removes human tissue from a person, whether alive or
dead; or
(ii)
handles human tissue,
under the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1983 ; or
(e) a
police officer; or
(f) a
legal custodian of a person who is in legal or protective custody and any
person who is employed or engaged by a legal custodian in the course of
keeping that person in legal or protective custody; or
(g) a
person who is within a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of
this definition;
"health service" means a health service within the meaning of the
Health Care Act 2008 .