Western Australian Current Acts

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HEALTH AND DISABILITY SERVICES (COMPLAINTS) ACT 1995 - SECT 3

3 .         Terms used

        (1)         In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

        carer means a person who is a carer as defined in section 4 of the Carers Recognition Act 2004 in relation to a user;

        code of conduct means a code of conduct prescribed under section 77A;

        conciliator means a person to whom the task of conciliation is assigned under section 36 and includes persons assigned to be joint conciliators;

        Director means a person appointed as Director under section 7(1);

        Director-initiated investigation has the meaning given in section 44A;

        excluded service means a health service that is provided without remuneration in a rescue or emergency situation;

        health care worker means an individual who provides a health service (whether or not the individual is a registered provider);

        Health Department has the meaning given to Department by section 3 of the Health Legislation Administration Act 1984 ;

        health service means any service provided by way of —

            (a)         diagnosis or treatment of physical or mental disorder or injury, or suspected disorder or injury; and

            (b)         health care, including —

                  (i)         palliative health care; and

                  (ii)         voluntary assisted dying as defined in the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 section 5;

                and

            (ba)         prescribing or dispensing a drug or medicinal preparation; and

            (bb)         prescribing or dispensing an aid for therapeutic use; and

            (c)         a preventive health care programme, including a screening or immunization programme; and

            (d)         medical or epidemiological research,

        and includes any —

            (e)         ambulance service; and

            (ea)         surgical or related service; and

            (f)         welfare service that is complementary to a health service; and

            (g)         service coming within paragraph (a), (b), (ba), (bb) or (c) that is provided by a person who advertises or holds himself or herself out as a person who provides any health care or treatment; and

            (ga)         service that —

                  (i)         is ancillary to any other service to which this definition applies; and

                  (ii)         affects or may affect persons who are receiving any other service to which this definition applies;

                and

            (h)         prescribed service,

        but does not include an excluded service;

        industrial tribunal means —

            (a)         the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; or

            (b)         The Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 and each constituent authority under that Act;

        interim prohibition order has the meaning given in section 52B(2);

        member of the staff means an officer or person referred to in section 14 or 15 and any person whose services are used under section 16;

        Office means the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office continued by section 6(1);

        Office’s website means a website maintained by or on behalf of the Office;

        prohibition order has the meaning given in section 52H(2);

        provide , in relation to a health service, includes the carrying out of medical or epidemiological research;

        provider includes —

            (a)         an individual or a group of individuals or a body that renders or provides any health service;

            (b)         a person who manages or is the chief executive of —

                  (i)         a body by which or an institution in which any health service is rendered or provided; or

                  (ii)         a body or institution that provides a health service and that is prescribed or belongs to a class that is prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;

            (c)         the chief executive officer of the Health Department in respect of any health services provided or rendered by persons carrying out the functions of the Health Department, but not including a health service provided or rendered in a public hospital as defined in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6;

            (d)         a body or a group of individuals that provides a health service and that is prescribed as a provider;

            (e)         an individual or group of individuals or a body that provides a health service and that is included in a class that is prescribed as providers;

        public health warning statement means a statement published under section 52R(1) or (2);

        public provider means a provider that represents the Crown, and includes any person acting on behalf of a representative of the Crown;

        registered provider means a person licensed, registered or certificated by a registration board;

        registration board means a National Health Practitioner Board established under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) ;

        user means a person who —

            (a)         uses or receives a health service; or

            (b)         is the subject of medical or epidemiological research,

        but a person is not within this definition merely because he or she has arranged a health service for a user.

        [(2)         deleted]

        (3)         The fact that the definition of provider in subsection (1) —

            (a)         in paragraph (b) refers to a person who manages or is the chief executive of a body or institution; and

            (b)         in paragraph (c) refers to the chief executive officer of the Health Department,

                is not to be read as limiting the exercise of any power that the person or chief executive officer has to delegate the performance of his or her functions.

        [Section 3 amended: No. 37 of 2004 s. 31; No. 28 of 2006 s. 257; No. 33 of 2010 s. 7; No. 11 of 2016 s. 292; No. 4 of 2018 s 112(2); No. 27 of 2019 s. 172; No. 35 of 2022 s. 4.]



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