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MY HEALTH RECORDS ACT 2012 - SECT 5

Definitions

    In this Act:

"approved form" means a form approved by the System Operator, in writing, for the purposes of the provision in which the expression occurs.

"Australia" , when used in a geographical sense, includes the external Territories.

"authorised representative" of a healthcare recipient has the meaning given by section   6.

"Chief Executive Medicare" has the same meaning as in the Human Services (Medicare) Act 1973 .

"cinematograph film" has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968 .

"civil penalty provision" has the same meaning as in the Regulatory Powers Act.

"contracted service provider" of a healthcare provider organisation means an entity that provides:

  (a)   information technology services relating to the My Health Record system; or

  (b)   health information management services relating to the My Health Record system;

to the healthcare provider organisation under a contract with the healthcare provider organisation.

"data custodian" means the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

"date of birth accuracy indicator" means a data element that is used to indicate how accurate a recorded date of birth is.

"date of death accuracy indicator" means a data element that is used to indicate how accurate a recorded date of death is.

"Defence Department" means the Department that:

  (a)   deals with matters arising under section   1 of the Defence Act 1903 ; and

  (b)   is administered by the Minister who administers that section.

"designated privacy law" means a law determined under section   110 to be a designated privacy law.

"employee" of an entity includes the following:

  (a)   an individual who provides services for the entity under a contract for services;

  (b)   an individual whose services are made available to the entity (including services made available free of charge).

"entity" means:

  (a)   a person; or

  (b)   a partnership; or

  (c)   any other unincorporated association or body; or

  (d)   a trust; or

  (e)   a part of an entity (under a previous application of this definition).

"genetic relative" of an individual (the first individual ) means another individual who is related to the first individual by blood, including a sibling, a parent or a descendant of the first individual.

"healthcare" means health service within the meaning of subsection   6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988 .

"healthcare provider" means:

  (a)   an individual healthcare provider; or

  (b)   a healthcare provider organisation.

"healthcare provider organisation" means an entity that has conducted, conducts, or will conduct, an enterprise that provides healthcare (including healthcare provided free of charge).

Note:   Because of paragraph   (e) of the definition of entity , a healthcare provider organisation could be a part of an entity.

"healthcare recipient" means an individual who has received, receives, or may receive, healthcare.

"healthcare recipient-only notes" , in relation to a healthcare recipient, means health information included by the healthcare recipient in his or her My Health Record and described in the My Health Record system as healthcare recipient - only notes (whether using that expression or an equivalent expression).

"Health Department" of a State or Territory means a Department of state that:

  (a)   deals with matters relating to health; and

  (b)   is administered by the State/Territory Health Minister of the State or Territory.

"health information" has the meaning given by subsection   6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988 .

"identifying information" has the meaning given by section   9.

"index service" means the index service maintained by the System Operator for the purposes of the My Health Record system, as mentioned in paragraph   15(a).

"individual healthcare provider" means an individual who:

  (a)   has provided, provides, or is to provide, healthcare; or

  (b)   is registered by a registration authority as a member of a particular health profession.

"Ministerial Council" means the council (however described) established by the Council of Australian Governments that has responsibility for health matters.

"My Health Record" of a healthcare recipient means the record of information that is created and maintained by the System Operator in relation to the healthcare recipient, and information that can be obtained by means of that record, including the following:

  (a)   information included in the entry in the Register that relates to the healthcare recipient;

  (b)   health information connected in the My Health Record system to the healthcare recipient (including information included in a record accessible through the index service);

  (c)   other information connected in the My Health Record system to the healthcare recipient, such as information relating to auditing access to the record;

  (d)   back - up records of such information.

"My Health Records Rules" has the meaning given by section   109.

"My Health Record system" means a system:

  (a)   that is for:

  (i)   the collection, use and disclosure of information from many sources using telecommunications services and by other means, and the holding of that information, in accordance with the healthcare recipient's wishes or in circumstances specified in this Act; and

  (ii)   the assembly of that information using telecommunications services and by other means so far is it is relevant to a particular healthcare recipient, so that it can be made available, in accordance with the healthcare recipient's wishes or in circumstances specified in this Act, to facilitate the provision of healthcare to the healthcare recipient or for purposes specified in this Act; and

  (b)   that involves the performance of functions under this Act by the System Operator.

"National Law" means:

  (a)   for a State or Territory other than Western Australia--the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 of Queensland, as it applies (with or without modification) as a law of the State or Territory; or

  (b)   for Western Australia--the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) Act 2010 of Western Australia, so far as that Act corresponds to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 of Queensland.

"National Repositories Service" means the service referred to in paragraph   15(i).

"nominated healthcare provider" : a healthcare provider is the nominated healthcare provider of a healthcare recipient if:

  (a)   an agreement is in force between the healthcare provider and the healthcare recipient that the healthcare provider is the healthcare recipient's nominated healthcare provider for the purposes of this Act; and

  (b)   a healthcare identifier has been assigned to the healthcare provider under paragraph   9(1)(a) of the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 ; and

  (c)   the healthcare provider is an individual registered by a registration authority as one of the following:

  (i)   a medical practitioner within the meaning of the National Law;

  (ii)   a registered nurse within the meaning of the National Law;

  (iii)   an Aboriginal health practitioner, a Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner within the meaning of the National Law who is included in a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph;

  (iv)   an individual, or an individual included in a class, prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph.

"nominated representative" of a healthcare recipient has the meaning given by section   7.

"parental responsibility" : a person has parental responsibility for a healthcare recipient (the child ) if, and only if:

  (a)   the person:

  (i)   is the child's parent (including a person who is presumed to be the child's parent because of a presumption (other than in section   69Q) in Subdivision D of Division   12 of Part   VII of the Family Law Act 1975 ); and

  (ii)   has not ceased to have parental responsibility for the child because of an order made under the Family Law Act 1975 or a law of a State or Territory; or

  (b)   under a parenting order (within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 ):

  (i)   the child is to live with the person; or

  (ii)   the child is to spend time with the person; or

  (iii)   the person is responsible for the child's long - term or day - to - day care, welfare and development; or

  (c)   the person is entitled to guardianship or custody of, or access to, the child under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.

Note:   The presumptions in the Family Law Act 1975 include a presumption arising from a court finding that a person is the child's parent, and a presumption arising from a man executing an instrument under law acknowledging that he is the father of the child.

"participant in the My Health Record" system means any of the following:

  (a)   the System Operator;

  (b)   a registered healthcare provider organisation;

  (c)   the operator of the National Repositories Service;

  (d)   a registered repository operator;

  (e)   a registered portal operator;

  (f)   a registered contracted service provider, so far as the contracted service provider provides services to a registered healthcare provider.

"personal information" has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988 .

"prohibited purpose" has the meaning given by section   70A.

"record" includes a database, register, file or document that contains information in any form (including in electronic form).

"Register" has the meaning given by section   56.

"registered contracted service provider" means a contracted service provider that is registered under section   49.

"registered healthcare provider organisation" means a healthcare provider organisation that is registered under section   44.

"registered healthcare recipient" means a healthcare recipient who is registered under section   41.

"registered portal" operator means a person that:

  (a)   is the operator of an electronic interface that facilitates access to the My Health Record system; and

  (b)   is registered as a portal operator under section   49.

"registered repository operator" means a person that:

  (a)   holds, or can hold, records of information included in My Health Records for the purposes of the My Health Record system; and

  (b)   is registered as a repository operator under section   49.

"registration authority" means an entity that is responsible under a law for registering members of a particular health profession.

"Regulatory Powers Act" means the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 .

"shared health summary" has the meaning given by section   10.

"sound recording" has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968 .

"State or Territory authority" has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act 1988 .

"State/Territory Health Minister" means:

  (a)   the Minister of a State; or

  (b)   the Minister of the Australian Capital Territory; or

  (c)   the Minister of the Northern Territory;

who is responsible, or principally responsible, for the administration of matters relating to health in the State or Territory, as the case may be.

"System Operator" has the meaning given by section   14.

"this Act" includes:

  (a)   regulations made under this Act; and

  (b)   the My Health Records Rules.

"use" health information included in a healthcare recipient's My Health Record includes the following:

  (a)   access the information;

  (b)   view the information;

  (c)   modify the information;

  (d)   delete the information.

"Veterans' Affairs Department" means the Department that:

  (a)   deals with matters arising under section   1 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 ; and

  (b)   is administered by the Minister who administers that section.

"Veterans' Affairs Department file number" means a number allocated to a healthcare recipient by the Veterans' Affairs Department.

"work" has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act 1968 .


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