NSW Fines for Pressuring Health Workers, New Search Powers for Tobacco Inspectors, and Organ Donor Info Sharing

Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2023

21 Nov 2023: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

Share this bill

Email Facebook X Bluesky

Topics

criminal penalties healthcare healthcare regulation information sharing medical ethics medical practitioners mental health organ donation patient safety professional licensing public health tobacco control tobacco regulation +8 more

Introduced by: The Hon Courtney Houssos MLC (ALP); The Hon Ryan Park MP (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

It is a criminal offence for a person to direct or incite a registered health practitioner to engage in unsatisfactory professional conduct; individuals face fines up to $60,000 and companies up to $120,000. This does not apply to owners or operators of public health facilities.
Tobacco inspectors can search rooms, cupboards, and containers if they believe tobacco products, e-cigarettes, or smoking accessories are stored there. Inspectors can also order the person in charge of the premises to let them in at any reasonable time.
Information about a deceased organ or tissue donor can be disclosed if the next of kin consents.
Health services organisations must appoint a review team to investigate serious adverse events if the organisation or Health Secretary determines a review is necessary, or decides the incident is reportable or suggests a serious systemic problem.
The Health Secretary can order that goods seized under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 be forfeited to the State if the owner is convicted of a crime, cannot be found, or if returning the goods is unsafe.
Prohibition orders now include decisions made by tribunals in other participating states or by the Queensland Health Ombudsman to stop a person from providing health services or using a professional title.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

The Hon. BRONNIE TAYLOR

“On behalf of the Opposition, I support the Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2023. The bill proposes a range of amendments to various health‑related Acts, including the Health Administration Act, Health Care Complaints Act, Health Practitioner Regulation (Adoption of National Law) Act, Human Tissue Act, Mental Health Act, and Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act, among others.”

Official source →

Amanda Cohn GRN

“The Greens support the Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2023. The bill makes amendments to eight Acts. Some are as small as updating terminology, which I will not spend any time talking about. Let us talk about the changes in the bill that make a material difference to the people who we are here to represent.”

Official source →

Mark Buttigieg ALP

“I thank the Hon. Bronnie Taylor and Dr Amanda Cohn for their contributions to debate. I briefly address some of the points that have been raised. The bill makes minor amendments to the Health Administration Act to give the health secretary the ability to require a health services organisation to conduct a serious adverse event review when a sufficiently serious incident has occurred.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2023

Mr RYAN PARK, Minister for Health — 2023-09-12

First, in relation to the Health Administration Act 1982, the amendments in schedule 1 to the bill will ensure the health secretary can require a health services organisation to conduct a serious adverse event review, or SAER, where the secretary considers that an incident has occurred that is sufficiently serious to warrant investigation. Those reviews are important to ensure that hospitals can understand what went wrong when an incident happens and consider how to mitigate the risk of the incident happening again. Currently, a serious adverse event review must be conducted if the chief executive of the organisation, many times the local health district, considers that the incident was a reportable incident or the incident is one that may be the result of system issues.