EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 289
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES (CONFIDENTIALITY) ACT 1981
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES (CONFIDENTIALITY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Health
Section 13 of the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1981 (‘the Act’) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The purpose of the Act is to provide for the confidentiality of information collected in prescribed epidemiological studies conducted by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth.
Sub-section 3(1) of the Act defines a ‘prescribed study’ as, inter alia, a Commonwealth epidemiological study declared by the regulations to be a study to which the Act applies. Sub-section 3(1) also defines a ‘Commonwealth epidemiological study’ as an epidemiological study conducted by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth.
The purpose of the regulations is to declare the epidemiological study in relation to Acquired
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Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which commenced in 1983 and is being conducted on behalf of the Commonwealth by the National Health and Medical Research Council, to be a prescribed study under sub-section 3(1) of the Act.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NH & MRC) is a research body constituted by an Order-in-Council pursuant to sub-section 9(1) of the National Health Act 1953. One of NH & MRC’s functions, as provided for under paragraph 9(a) of the establishing Order-in-Council is to enquire into, advise and make recommendations to the Commonwealth and the States on matters of public health legislation and administration and on any matters relating to health, medical and dental care and medical research.
AIDS in Australia was initially examined by NH & MRC at its 95th Session in June 1983. As a consequence, the NH & MRC established the Working Party on AIDS in order to ensure that AIDS is kept under constant review.
The purpose of the Commonwealth study into AIDS is that details of cases of AIDS, AIDS-related complex and Lymphadenopathy Syndrome are reported to the NH & MRC Working Party on AIDS thus enabling it effectively to monitor any spread of AIDS and advise on containment of the disease. Information provided
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includes details of patients’ medical condition and information on their travel, sexual activities and intravenous drug abuse. Because of the nature of the information sought from patients and the publicity that cases of AIDS attract, it was regarded as desirable that the study be prescribed in regulations under the Act.
Regulation 3 of the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulations was repealed and a new regulation 3 made which has included AIDS in the categories to which sub-section 3(1) of the Act applies.