New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT 2010 - SECT 56

56 Protection of patient's identity

(cf 1991 Act, s 17)

(1) A registered medical practitioner must not include a patient's name or address in a certificate under section 54 or in information provided under section 54 or 55 if the condition to which the certificate or information relates is a Category 5 condition.

(3) A person who, in the course of providing a service, including the conduct of a pathology test under section 55, acquires information that another person (
"the person concerned" )--

(a) has been, is to be or is required to be tested for a Category 5 condition, or

(b) has, or has had, a Category 5 condition,

must take all reasonable steps to prevent that information from being disclosed to any other person.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to the disclosure of such information--

(a) with the consent of the person concerned, or

(b) to a person who is involved in the provision of care, treatment or counselling to the person concerned, or

(c) to the Secretary, if a person has reasonable grounds to suspect that failure to disclose the information would be likely to be a risk to public health, or

(d) in connection with the administration of this Act or the regulations, or

(e) for the purposes of any legal proceedings arising out of this Act or the regulations, or of any report of any such proceedings, or

(f) in accordance with a requirement imposed under the Ombudsman Act 1974 , or

(f1) in accordance with the Mandatory Disease Testing Act 2021 , or

(g) in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

Note : The Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 limits the use and disclosure of health information.

(5) A registered medical practitioner or other person must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with the requirements of this section.

: Maximum penalty--100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.