EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

National Health Security Act 2007

National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025

Purpose and operation

Part 2 of the National Health Security Act 2007 (the Act) provides for protected information to be passed between the National Focal Point (NFP) and responsible Commonwealth, State or Territory bodies that are determined by the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Determination 2008 (Principal Determination).

The purpose of the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025 (Amending Instrument) is to amend the Principal Determination to update the list of responsible bodies in Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination.

The amendments include changes that are consequential to the Australian Centre for Disease Control Act 2025 (CDC Act) and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2025 (CDC C&T Act), commencing on 1 January 2026. The CDC Act establishes the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Australian CDC) as an independent, non-corporate Commonwealth entity, and the CDC C&T Act amends the Act to transfer the role of the NFP from the Secretary of the Department to the Director-General of the Australian CDC.

The Amending Instrument also makes a number of minor administrative changes, including updates to the names of some responsible State and Territory bodies.

Background

Part 2 of the Act aims to:

• provide for the exchange of public health surveillance information between the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions and with the World Health Organization (WHO) to enhance the early identification of, and timely responses to, public health events of national or international significance; and
• enhance Australia’s compliance with the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR), which aim to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways which avoid unnecessary interference with international trade and traffic.

Part 2 of the Act authorises the disclosure of protected information, including personal information, for public health surveillance purposes when required to support an effective national or international response. It sets out the permissible purposes for which information may be collected and provides authority for disclosure of the information in certain circumstances.

• Protected information is defined in section 18 of the Act.
• Personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988.
• Permissible purposes is defined in section 8 of the Act.

Part 2 enables the establishment of a NFP to liaise with Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies in relation to public health events of national significance and for the purposes of giving effect to the IHR, and to liaise with and be accessible at all times to the WHO and other countries. The NFP will consist of officials of the Australian CDC and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing National Incident Centre.

Part 2 also provides for protected information to be passed between the NFP and a responsible Commonwealth, State or Territory body. These responsible bodies are government agencies that have been nominated by each State and Territory Health Minister, and Commonwealth government agencies, each of which has been identified as an agency with which the NFP and the Minister can share protected information, including personal information, when required for a permissible purpose under the Act.

A ‘State or Territory Health Minister’ is defined in subsection 3(1) of the Act to mean a Minister of a State, or the Northern Territory, or the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), who is responsible, or principally responsible, for the administration of matters relating to health in the State, the Northern Territory, or the ACT.

The Act requires the Australian CDC to include in its Annual Report a report on the use of protected information (within the meaning of section 18) by the Commonwealth.

Authority

Subsection 3(2) of the Act provides that the Minister may determine, by legislative instrument, any of the following bodies to be a responsible Commonwealth, State or Territory body for the purposes of a provision of Part 2 of the Act:

• one or more bodies of the Commonwealth;
• one or more bodies nominated by a State or Territory Health Minister, of each State, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

Commencement

The Amending Instrument commences on 1 January 2026.

Consultation

The changes relating to the responsible bodies listed in Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination are minor and mechanical. The Department notified the bodies whose names were updated by the Amending Instrument.

The Amending Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

Details of the Amending Instrument are set out in Attachment A.

The Amending Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025

Section 1 – Name

Section 1 provides that the name of the instrument is the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025 (Amending Instrument).

Section 2 – Commencement

Section 2 provides that the Amending Instrument commences on 1 January 2026.

Section 3 – Authority

Section 3 provides that the Amending Instrument is made under subsection 3(2) of the

National Health Security Act 2007 (Act).

Section 4 – Schedules

Section 4 provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this Amending Instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Amending Instrument has effect according to its terms. The Schedule amends the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Determination 2008 (Principal Determination).

Schedule 1 – Amendments

National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Determination 2008

Item 1 – Part 1 of Schedule 1 (table)

Item 1 repeals and substitutes the table to Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination.

The new table includes the Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (Department) as responsible Commonwealth bodies.

These amendments are consequential to the Australian Centre for Disease Control Act 2025 (CDC Act) and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2025 (CDC C&T Act), commencing on 1 January 2026. The CDC Act establishes the Australian CDC as an independent, non-corporate Commonwealth entity, and the CDC C&T Act amends the Act to transfer the role of the National Focal Point (NFP) from the Secretary of the Department to the Director-General of the Australian CDC.

The NFP will consist of officials of the Australian CDC and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing National Incident Centre.

Item 1 has the effect of enabling protected information to be shared between the NFP, and the Australian CDC and the Department (as responsible Commonwealth bodies) for the purposes of Part 2 of the Act.

Item 2 – Part 3 of Schedule 1 (table)

Item 2 omits the words “and Human Services” from the table to Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination.

This amendment reflects the current name of the Victorian Department of Health.

Item 3 – Part 8 of Schedule 1 (cell at table item 801, column headed “Body”)

Item 3 repeals the cell at table item 801, under the column headed “Body” in Part 8 of Schedule 1 to the Principal Determination.

This amendment reflects the current name of the Australian Capital Territory Health and Community Services Directorate.

ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025

This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument

The National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Amendment Determination 2025 (Amending Instrument) updates the list of responsible bodies in Schedule 1 to the National Health Security (Responsible Bodies) Determination 2008 for the purposes of Part 2 of the National Health Security Act 2007 (Act).

The amendments include changes that are consequential to the Australian Centre for Disease Control Act 2025 and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2025, commencing on 1 January 2026.

The Amending Instrument also makes a number of minor administrative changes, including updates to the names of some responsible State and Territory bodies.

Human rights implications

The Amending Instrument engages and is consistent with Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) by assisting with the progressive realisation by all appropriate means of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including steps necessary for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases.

The Amending Instrument assists to protect public health in Australia by assisting with the exchange of information, including personal information, to support public health surveillance. The movement of information between State, Territory and Commonwealth bodies, facilitated by the National Focal Point, improves the coordination of public health surveillance information and responses to public health events of national or international significance. The Amending Instrument also supports Australia’s relationship with the World Health Organization, and compliance with the International Health Regulations 2005.

The Amending Instrument engages and is consistent with the right to privacy contained in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), related to protection from arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy.

The Act provides for certain information to be protected information, with an associated offence provision. The Act permits the lawful sharing of personal information to support public health surveillance. The Act ensures that the impact on individual privacy is not arbitrary and is proportionate to the protection of public health.

The Act also requires the Australian Centre for Disease Control to include in its Annual Report a report on the use of protected information (within the meaning of section 18) by the Commonwealth.

Conclusion

This Amending Instrument is compatible with Article 12 of the ICESCR and Article 17 of the ICCPR as it promotes the human right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and is consistent with the right to privacy.

Mark Butler

Minister for Health and Ageing