Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

MY HEALTH RECORDS ACT 2012 - SECT 6

Healthcare recipients aged under 14

  (1)   For the purposes of this Act, each person who the System Operator is satisfied has parental responsibility for a healthcare recipient aged under 14 is the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient.

  (1A)   Despite subsection   (1), a person who has parental responsibility for a healthcare recipient aged under 18 is not the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient if the System Operator is satisfied that:

  (a)   under a court order or a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, the person must be supervised while spending time with the healthcare recipient; or

  (b)   the life, health or safety of the healthcare recipient or another person would be put at risk if the person were the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient.

  (2)   If there is no person who the System Operator is satisfied has parental responsibility for a healthcare recipient aged under 14, or the only such persons are covered by subsection   (1A), the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient is:

  (a)   a person who the System Operator is satisfied is authorised to act on behalf of the healthcare recipient for the purposes of this Act under the law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory, or a decision of an Australian court or tribunal; or

  (b)   if there is no such person--a person:

  (i)   who the System Operator is satisfied is otherwise an appropriate person to be the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient; or

  (ii)   who is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

Healthcare recipients aged between 14 and 17

  (3)   For the purposes of this Act, a person is the authorised representative of a healthcare recipient aged between 14 and 17 years if the healthcare recipient, by written notice given to the System Operator in the approved form, nominates the person to be his or her authorised representative.

Healthcare recipients aged at least 18

  (4)   For the purposes of this Act, if the System Operator is satisfied that a healthcare recipient aged at least 18 is not capable of making decisions for himself or herself, the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient is:

  (a)   a person who the System Operator is satisfied is authorised to act on behalf of the healthcare recipient under the law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory or a decision of an Australian court or tribunal; or

  (b)   if there is no such person--a person:

  (i)   who the System Operator is satisfied is otherwise an appropriate person to be the authorised representative of the healthcare recipient; or

  (ii)   who is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

  (5)   An authorisation referred to in paragraph   (2)(a) or (4)(a) may be conferred by specific reference to the purposes of this Act, or conferred by words of general authorisation that are broad enough to cover that purpose.

  (6)   A person cannot be the authorised representative of a healthcare recipient unless:

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

  (b)   the My Health Records Rules provide that a healthcare identifier is not required to have been so assigned.

Effect of being an authorised representative

  (7)   At a time when a healthcare recipient has an authorised representative:

  (a)   the authorised representative is entitled to do any thing that this Act authorises or requires the healthcare recipient to do; and

  (b)   the healthcare recipient is not entitled to do any thing that this Act would, apart from this subsection, authorise or require the healthcare recipient to do; and

  (c)   this Act has effect for all purposes, in relation to a thing done by an authorised representative, as if the healthcare recipient had done the thing.

  (8)   At a time when a healthcare recipient has one or more authorised representatives, any thing that this Act authorises or requires to be done in relation to the healthcare recipient is to be done in relation to at least one of the healthcare recipient's authorised representatives. This Act has effect for all purposes as if the thing had been done in relation to the healthcare recipient.