Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

HEALTHCARE IDENTIFIERS ACT 2010 - SECT 31

  (1)   The service operator must establish and maintain a record (the Healthcare Provider Directory ) of the professional and business details of identified healthcare providers.

  (2)   The service operator is authorised to:

  (a)   collect and use personal information for the purposes of establishing and maintaining the Healthcare Provider Directory; and

  (b)   disclose personal information on the Healthcare Provider Directory to an identified healthcare provider;

but, except in the circumstances dealt with in section   31A, only with the consent of the individual to whom the personal information relates.

  (3)   The professional and business details of a healthcare provider disclosed on the Healthcare Provider Directory may include information sufficient to allow the person to whom the information is disclosed to determine any of the following:

  (a)   the healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider;

  (b)   identifying information of a healthcare provider;

  (c)   whether an individual healthcare provider is linked to a particular healthcare provider organisation;

  (d)   whether a healthcare provider organisation is a registered healthcare provider organisation for the purposes of the My Health Records Act;

  (e)   whether an individual healthcare provider is registered with a registration authority and the status of that registration (such as conditional, suspended, cancelled or lapsed);

  (f)   the type of healthcare provider that an individual is.

  (4)   A person to whom the professional and business details of a healthcare provider is disclosed on the Healthcare Provider Directory is authorised to collect, use and disclose that information:

  (a)   for the purpose of communicating or managing health information, as part of providing healthcare to a healthcare recipient; or

  (b)   in any other circumstances in which the collection, use or disclosure of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order; or

  (c)   in any other circumstances in which the collection, use or disclosure of the information would not be an interference with privacy under the Privacy Act 1988 .