Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Cancer Act 1958 - SECT 60

Reporting of cancer

60. Reporting of cancer





(1) The proprietor of a hospital, private hospital, prescribed registered
funded agency or prescribed health service establishment must, within the
prescribed time and in the prescribed form, report to the Council on any
patient who, to the knowledge of the proprietor, is suffering or commences to
suffer from cancer.

(1A) The person in charge of an organisation that maintains a prescribed
register must, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed form, report
to the Council on any person whose information is included in that prescribed
register and who, to the knowledge of the person in charge, is suffering or
commences to suffer from cancer.

(2) The person in charge of any place where a cancer test is undertaken shall,
when the test indicates that a person is suffering from cancer, cause a report
on that test to be forwarded to the Council.

(2A) A report under subsection (2) must be-

   (a)  in the prescribed form; or

   (b)  if the person in charge of the place where the cancer test is
        undertaken has prepared for the person requesting the test a report of
        the test (whether or not the report also relates to any other tests
        undertaken)-

   (i)  a copy of that report; or

   (ii) an extract from that report that contains the material relevant to the
        cancer test.

(2B) An action does not lie against a person who forwards a report in
accordance with this section, by reason only that-

   (a)  the report is a copy of, or extract from, a report mentioned in
        subsection (2A)(b) and was forwarded to the Council without the
        consent of the person to whom it relates or the person for whom it was
        prepared; or

   (b)  the report contains information identifying the person to whom it
        relates; or





   (c)  the report is forwarded under subsection (2A)(b) and contains
        information that does not relate to a cancer test.

(3) Any person who-

   (a)  when required under subsection (1) or subsection (1A) to report to the
        Council upon any person who suffers or commences to suffer from
        cancer, fails to so report within the prescribed time;

   (b)  when required under subsection (2) to report to the Council upon a
        cancer test, fails to so report in accordance with that subsection
        subsection (2A) and the regulations made under this section; or

   (c)  knowingly includes in a report under subsection (1), subsection (1A)
        or subsection (2) any details which are false or misleading-

shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable to a
penalty of not more than $100.

(4) The Governor in Council may make regulations for or with respect to-

   (a)  prescribing the form of any report required to be made to the Council
        under this section;

   (b)  prescribing the time within which any report required to be made to
        the Council under this section shall be made; and

   (c)  generally prescribing any matter or thing which is by this section
        authorized or required to be prescribed or is necessary or expedient
        to be prescribed for giving effect to the provisions of this section.