Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Health Records Act 2001 - SECT 3

Definitions

3. Definitions



(1) In this Act-

child means a person under the age of 18 years;

consent means express consent or implied consent;

correct, in relation to health information, means to alter that information by
way of amendment, deletion or addition;

Council has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 1989;

disability has the same meaning as in the Disability Services Act 1991;
domestic partner of a person means-

   (a)  a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or

   (b)  an adult person to whom the person is not married but with whom the
        person is in a relationship as a couple where one or each of them
        provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic
        nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their
        genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but
        does not include a person who provides domestic support and personal
        care to the person-

   (i)  for fee or reward; or

   (ii) on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government
        or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent
        organisation);

enactment means an Act or a Commonwealth Act or an instrument of a legislative
character made under an Act or a Commonwealth Act;

Federal Privacy Commissioner means Privacy Commissioner appointed under the
Privacy Act 1988 of the Commonwealth;

generally available publication means a publication (whether in paper or
electronic form) that is generally available to members of the public and
includes information held on a public register;

health information means-

   (a)  information or an opinion about-

   (i)  the physical, mental or psychological health (at any time) of an
        individual; or

   (ii) a disability (at any time) of an individual; or

   (iii) an individual's expressed wishes about the future provision of health
        services to him or her; or

   (iv) a health service provided, or to be provided, to an individual- that
        is also personal information; or

   (b)  other personal information collected to provide, or in providing, a
        health service; or

   (c)  other personal information about an individual collected in connection
        with the donation, or intended donation, by the individual of his or
        her body parts, organs or body substances; or

   (d)  other personal information that is genetic information about an
        individual in a form which is or could be predictive of the health (at
        any time) of the individual or of any of his or her descendants- but
        does not include health information, or a class of health information
        or health information contained in a class of documents, that is
        prescribed as exempt health information for the purposes of this Act
        generally or for the purposes of specified provisions of this Act;

Health Privacy Principle means any of the Health Privacy Principles set out in
Schedule 1;

HPP means Health Privacy Principle;

health service means-

   (a)  an activity performed in relation to an individual that is intended or
        claimed (expressly or otherwise) by the individual or the organisation
        performing it-

   (i)  to assess, maintain or improve the individual's health; or

   (ii) to diagnose the individual's illness, injury or disability; or

   (iii) to treat the individual's illness, injury or disability or suspected
        illness, injury or disability; or

   (b)  a disability service, palliative care service or aged care service; or

   (c)  the dispensing on prescription of a drug or medicinal preparation by a
        pharmacist; or

   (d)  a service, or a class of service, provided in conjunction with an
        activity or service referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that is
        prescribed as a health service- but does not include a health service,
        or a class of health service, that is prescribed as an exempt health
        service for the purposes of this Act generally or for the purposes of
        specified provisions of this Act or to the extent that it is
        prescribed as an exempt health service;

health service provider means an organisation that provides a health service
in Victoria to the extent that it provides such a service but does not include
a health service provider, or a class of health service provider, that is
prescribed as an exempt health service provider for the purposes of this Act
generally or for the purposes of specified provisions of this Act or to the
extent that it is prescribed as an exempt health service provider;

Health Services Commissioner means Health Services Commissioner appointed
under the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987 and includes the
Acting Health Services Commissioner under that Act;

Health Services Review Council means the Health Services Review Council
established under the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987;





identifier means an identifier (which is usually, but need not be, a number
and does not include an identifier that consists only of the individual's
name) that is-

   (a)  assigned to an individual in conjunction with or in relation to the
        individual's health information by an organisation for the purpose of
        uniquely identifying that individual, whether or not it is
        subsequently used otherwise than in conjunction with or in relation to
        health information; or

   (b)  adopted, used or disclosed in conjunction with or in relation to the
        individual's health information by an organisation for the purpose of
        uniquely identifying that individual;

illness means a physical, mental or psychological illness, and includes a
suspected illness;

immediate family member of an individual means a person who is-

   (a)  a parent, child or sibling of the individual; or

   (b)  a spouse or domestic partner of the individual; or

   (c)  a member of the individual's household who is a relative of the
        individual; or

   (d)  a person nominated to a health service provider by the individual as a
        person to whom health information relating to the individual may be
        disclosed;

individual means a natural person;

law enforcement agency means-

   (a)  the police force of Victoria or of any other State or of the Northern
        Territory; or

   (b)  the Australian Federal Police; or

   (c)  the Australian Crime Commission; or

   (d)  the Commissioner appointed under section 8A of the
        Corrections Act 1986; or

   (e)  a commission established by a law of Victoria or the Commonwealth or
        of any other State or a Territory with the function of investigating
        matters relating to criminal activity generally or of a specified
        class or classes; or

   (f)  an agency responsible for the performance of functions or activities
        directed to the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or
        punishment of criminal offences or breaches of a law imposing a
        penalty or sanction for a breach; or

   (g)  an agency responsible for the performance of functions or activities
        under an Act directed to the prevention, detection, investigation or
        remedying of, or the imposing of sanctions in relation to, seriously
        improper conduct; or

   (h)  an agency responsible for the holding of a person in custody or for
        the execution, enforcement or implementation of an order or decision
        made by a court or tribunal, including an agency that-

   (i)  executes warrants; or

   (ii) provides correctional services, including a contractor within the
        meaning of the Corrections Act 1986 or a sub-contractor of that
        contractor, but only in relation to a function or duty or the exercise
        of a power conferred on it by or under that Act; or

   (iii) makes decisions relating to the release of persons from custody; or

   (i)  an agency responsible for the protection of the public revenue under a
        law administered by it; or

   (j)  the Australian Security Intelligence Organization; or

   (k)  the Australian Secret Intelligence Service; or

   (l)  a prescribed body;

law enforcement function means one or more of the following-

   (a)  the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of
        criminal offences or breaches of a law imposing a penalty or sanction;

   (b)  a function or activity under an Act directed to the prevention,
        detection, investigation or remedying of, or the imposing of sanctions
        in relation to, seriously improper conduct;

   (c)  the prevention, detection or investigation of conduct that could found
        an application for a family violence intervention order under the
        Family Violence Protection Act 2008;

   (ca) the prevention, detection or investigation of conduct that could found
        an application for an intervention order under the
        Stalking Intervention Orders Act 2008;

   (d)  the preparation for, or conduct of, proceedings before any court or
        tribunal, or execution, enforcement or implementation of the orders or
        decisions made by a court or tribunal;

   (e)  the holding of a person in custody or the provision of correctional
        services, including by a contractor within the meaning of the
        Corrections Act 1986 or a sub-contractor of that contractor, but only
        in relation to a function or duty or the exercise of a power conferred
        on it by or under that Act;

   (f)  in the case of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization or
        the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the performance of a
        function directed to the protection of the national security;

legal representative, in relation to a deceased individual, means a person-

   (a)  holding office as executor of the will of the deceased individual
        where probate of the will has been granted or resealed in Victoria or
        any other State or Territory; or

   (b)  holding office in Victoria or any other State or Territory as
        administrator of the estate of the deceased individual;

news activity means-

   (a)  the gathering of news for the purposes of dissemination to the public
        or any section of the public; or

   (b)  the preparation or compiling of articles or programs of or concerning
        news, observations on news or current affairs for the purposes of
        dissemination to the public or any section of the public; or

   (c)  the dissemination to the public or any section of the public of any
        article or program of or concerning news, observations on news or
        current affairs;

news medium means any organisation whose business, or whose principal
business, consists of a news activity;

organisation means a person or body that is an organisation to which this Act
applies by force of Division 1 or 2 of Part 2;

parent, in relation to a child, includes-

   (a)  a step-parent;

   (b)  an adoptive parent;

   (c)  a foster parent;

   (d)  a guardian;

   (e)  a person who has custody or daily care and control- of the child;



personal information means information or an opinion (including information or
an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether
recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is
apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion,
but does not include information about an individual who has been dead for
more than 30 years;

Privacy Commissioner means Privacy Commissioner appointed under Part 7 of the
Information Privacy Act 2000;

private sector organisation means a person or body that is referred to in
Division 2 of Part 2;

public register means a document held by a public sector agency or a Council
and open to inspection by members of the public (whether or not on payment of
a fee) by force of a provision made by or under an Act other than the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Public Records Act 1973 containing
information that-

   (a)  a person or body was required or permitted to give to that public
        sector agency or Council by force of a provision made by or under an
        Act; and

   (b)  would be health information if the document were not a generally
        available publication; public sector agency means a public service
        body or public entity within the meaning of the
        Public Administration Act 2004;



public sector organisation means a person or body that is referred to in
Division 1 of Part 2;

registered health service provider has the same meaning as registered provider
has in the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987;

registered medical practitioner means a medical practitioner registered under
the Health Professions Registration Act 2005;



registration board means a body that is-

   (a)  listed in the Schedule to the
        Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987; or

   (b)  prescribed as a registration board for the purposes of that Act;

relative of an individual means a grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew
or niece of the individual;

sibling of an individual includes a half-brother, half-sister, adoptive
brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister of the individual;

spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;



State contract means a contract between-

   (a)  a public sector organisation; and

   (b)  another person or body that is not a public sector organisation-
under which services are to be provided to one (the outsourcing organisation)
by the other (the outsourced service provider) in connection with the
performance of functions of the outsourcing organisation, including services
that the outsourcing organisation is to provide to other persons or bodies;

the Tribunal means the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established
by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998. Note Document is
defined by section 38 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984.

(2) A reference in this Act to an outsourced service provider is a reference
to a person or body in the capacity of outsourced service provider and
includes a reference to a subcontractor of the outsourced service provider (or
of another such subcontractor) for the purposes (whether direct or indirect)
of the outsourcing contract.

(3) For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)-

   (a)  registered relationship has the same meaning as in the
        Relationships Act 2008; and

   (b)  in determining whether persons who are not in a registered
        relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the
        circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account,
        including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2)
        of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case;
        and

   (c)  a person is not a domestic partner of another person only because they
        are co-tenants.