South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts(a) a medical practitioner; or
(b) a pathology service; or
(c) a person of a class prescribed by regulation,
suspects that a person has, or has died from, a notifiable condition, the responsible person must as soon as practicable and, in any event, within 3 days of that suspicion being formed, report the case to the Chief Public Health Officer.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(2) A report under subsection (1) must be—
(a) made in a manner and form determined by the Chief Public Health Officer; and
(b) accompanied by the information required by the Chief Public Health Officer to be furnished in connection with the provision of the report.
(3) On the receipt of a report under subsection (1) that relates to a person in a local government area, the Chief Public Health Officer must, if there is an immediate threat to public health in the area, as soon as is reasonably practicable, communicate the contents of the report to the council for the area.
(4) A medical practitioner who suspects that a person is suffering from a notifiable condition is not required to make a report under subsection (1) with respect to that case if the practitioner knows or reasonably believes that a report has already been made to the Chief Public Health Officer by another medical practitioner who is, or has been, responsible for the treatment of the person.
(5) Following receipt of a report made under this section, the Chief Public Health Officer may from time to time require additional information about the person or the person's condition from—
(a) the person who provided the report; and
(b) any other person who the Chief Public Health Officer reasonably believes could furnish the Chief Public Health Officer with information relevant to preventing, monitoring or controlling the notifiable condition.
(6) A person must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with a requirement imposed on the person under subsection (5).
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(7) No civil liability arises from a statement made honestly and without malice in, or in connection with, a report under this section.
(8) A person who furnishes information under this section cannot, by virtue of doing so, be held to have breached any law or any principle of professional ethics.
(9) A document held or produced by the Chief Public Health Officer for the purposes of this section that relates to a particular person is not subject to access under the Freedom of Information Act 1991 .
(10) In this section—
"responsible person" means—
(a) in relation to a medical practitioner—the medical practitioner;
(b) in relation to a pathology service—the pathologist responsible for the day to day operation of the pathology laboratory;
(c) in the case of a person of a class prescribed by regulation—a person identified under the regulations.