Australian Capital Territory
Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000
A2000-25
Republication No 1
Effective:  15 June 2000 – 11 September 2001
Republication date:  29 July 2013
Act not amended

Unauthorised version prepared by ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office

About this republication
The republished law
This is a republication of the Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000 effective 15 June 2000 to 11 September 2001.  
Kinds of republications
The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):
•	authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies
•	unauthorised republications.
The status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.
Editorial changes
The Legislation (Republication) Act 1996, part 3, division 2 authorised the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial amendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.  Editorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation (Republication) Act 1996, s 14 and s 16).  The changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.  
In preparing this republication, amendments have not been made under section 13.

Australian Capital Territory
Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000
CONTENTS
	
	1	Name of Act
	3	Definitions for Act
	4	Notes
	5	Declaration of a special event
	6	Meaning of visitor
	7	Meaning of visiting health professional
	8	Provision of health care services by visiting health
professionals
	9	Conditions on practice by visiting health professionals
	10	Issue of prescriptions and supply of certain substances
	11	Exemptions relating to offences
	12	Complaints about visiting health professionals
	13	Regulation-making power
1.	ENDNOTES
	1	About this republication
	2	Abbreviation key
	3	Table of legislation
	4	Table of amendments
	5	Table of earlier republications

Australian Capital Territory

Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000
An Act to allow visiting health professionals to provide health services in connection with certain special events without being registered under Territory laws
1 	Name of Act
	This Act is the Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000.
3 	Definitions for Act
	In this Act:
Drug Regulation Act means any of the following Acts:
	(a)	the Poisons Act 1933;
	(b)	the Poisons and Drugs Act 1978;
	(c)	the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989.
exemption period—see subsection 5 (2).
health care services means—
	(a)	services ordinarily provided by doctors, nurses, dentists, dental technicians, dental prosthetists, pharmacists, podiatrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, optometrists, physiotherapists or psychologists; or
	(b)	any other service prescribed by the regulations.
Health Registration Act means any of the following Acts:
	(a)	Chiropractors and Osteopaths Act 1983;
	(b)	Dental Technicians and Dental Prosthetists Registration Act 1988;
	(c)	Dentists Act 1931;
	(d)	Medical Practitioners Act 1930;
	(e)	Nurses Act 1988;
	(f)	Optometrists Act 1956;
	(g)	Pharmacy Act 1931;
	(h)	Physiotherapists Act 1977;
	(i)	Podiatrists Act 1994;
	(j)	Psychologists Act 1994.
notification procedure, for a special event—see subsection 5 (4).
registered includes licensed and enrolled.
restricted substance means—
	(a)		a Schedule 4 substance for the Poisons and Drugs Act 1978, subsection 3 (3); or 
	(b)	a restricted substance for the Poisons Act 1933, subsection 5 (1); or
	(c)	a drug of dependence for the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989, subsection 3 (1).
special event—see subsection 5 (1).
special event notice means a notice under subsection 5 (1).
supply has the same meaning as in the Poisons and Drugs Act 1978.
visiting health professional, for a visitor to a special event—see section 7.
visitor, to a special event—see section 6.
4 	Notes
	A note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act.
Note 	See Interpretation Act 1967, s 12 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes.
5 	Declaration of a special event
(1) 	The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare an event to be a special event for this Act if the Minister is satisfied that a significant number of persons from outside Australia will come to the Territory to participate in, or to prepare, train, practice, rehearse or acclimatise for, the event.
(2) 	The notice must specify, for the special event, the period or periods (the exemption period) during which an exemption under this Act will apply.
(3) 	An exemption period may include periods before or after the special event takes place.
(4) 	The notice must specify a notification procedure for giving notice within the Territory that a person will be a visiting health professional for a visitor to the special event.
(5) 	The notice is a disallowable instrument for the Subordinate Laws Act 1989.
Note 	See Interpretation Act 1967, s 26A, s 27 and s 27A, for provisions on how a power of this kind may be exercised.
6 	Meaning of visitor
	A person is a visitor to a special event if—
	(a)	the person is a resident of another country who is in the Territory for the purpose of officially participating in, or preparing, training, practising, rehearsing or acclimatising for, a special event; or
	(b)	the person is a resident of Australia who—
	(i)	is in the Territory for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (a); and
	(ii)	is a member of a group the majority of which is comprised of persons who are residents of other countries and are in the Territory for the same purpose.
7 	Meaning of visiting health professional
	A person is a visiting health professional for a visitor, if—
	(a)	the person is a resident of another country; and
	(b)	notice has been given, in accordance with the notification procedure for the relevant special event, that the person will be providing health care services to the visitor, or to a group that includes the visitor; and
	(c)	the person is currently appointed, employed, contracted or otherwise engaged to provide health care services to the visitor.
Note 	A visiting health professional may provide services to other visitors to the event only after giving a further notification in accordance with the notification procedure. 
8 	Provision of health care services by visiting health professionals
(1) 	A visiting health professional for a visitor is authorised by this section to provide health care services to the visitor.
(2) 	This section—
	(a)	applies only during the exemption period for the relevant special event; and
	(b)	ceases to apply if the health professional does not comply with conditions imposed under this Act.
(3) 	This section does not authorise a visiting health professional to possess, or supply to a visitor, a prohibited substance for the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989, subsection 3 (1). 
9 	Conditions on practice by visiting health professionals
(1) 	The regulations may impose conditions on the provision of health care services by a visiting health professional.
(2) 	A special event notice may impose further conditions on the provision of health care services by a visiting health professional.
10 	Issue of prescriptions and supply of certain substances
(1) 	A visiting health professional may be authorised under this section to issue a written prescription for a restricted substance.
(2) 	An authorisation under this section does not authorise a visiting health professional to issue a prescription that could not be issued by an appropriate person under a Drug Regulation Act.
(3) 	The Minister may, in a special event notice—
	(a)	authorise an individual visiting health professional, or a class of visiting health professionals, whom he or she is satisfied should be regarded as qualified to issue prescriptions, to issue written prescriptions for a restricted substance in the course of providing health care services in accordance with this Act; and
	(b)	authorise a particular supplier or class of suppliers to supply a restricted substance on such a prescription.
(4) 	The Minister may, in a special event notice, specify requirements for a visiting health professional to be regarded by the Minister as being qualified to issue prescriptions.
(5) 	The Minister must not make a notice containing an authorisation under this section unless satisfied that adequate arrangements are in place to ensure that the substances concerned will be prescribed for and supplied only to visitors to whom visiting health professionals are authorised to provide health care services under this Act.
(6) 	A special event notice may impose conditions on any authorisation made under this section.
(7) 	In this section:
supplier, of a substance, means a person who is authorised under a Drug Regulation Act to supply the substance to a doctor.
11 	Exemptions relating to offences
(1) 	A visiting health professional does not commit an offence under a Health Registration Act, a Drug Regulation Act or the Skin Penetration Procedures Act 1994, by—
	(a)	providing health care services authorised under this Act; or
	(b)	possessing or supplying any substance in the course of providing such health care services; or
	(c)	prescribing any substance in accordance with this Act; or
	(d)	holding himself or herself out as being able to provide such health care services; or
	(e)	using any name, initials, description, word, symbol, addition or title that he or she ordinarily uses.
(2) 	A visitor does not commit an offence under a Drug Regulation Act by doing any thing, or possessing any substance, as a result of being provided with health care services in accordance with this Act.
(3) 	A person does not commit an offence under a Drug Regulation Act by supplying a restricted substance in accordance with a written prescription issued by a visiting health professional if—
	(a)	the health professional is authorised under this Act to issue the prescription; and
	(b)	the person is authorised under this Act to supply the substance on such a prescription.
(4) 	The regulations may prescribe other offences to which exemptions under this section apply.
Note 	A visiting health professional who provides health care services otherwise than in accordance with this Act loses the exemption.
12 	Complaints about visiting health professionals
(1) 	A complaint may not be made about a visiting health professional, and no disciplinary action may be taken against him or her, under the Community and Health Services Complaints Act 1993 or a Health Registration Act in relation to anything done by him or her in—
	(a)	providing health care services authorised under this Act; or
	(b)	possessing or supplying any substance in the course of providing such health care services; or
	(c)	prescribing any substance in accordance with this Act; or
	(d)	holding himself or herself out as being able to provide such health care services; or
	(e)	using any name, initials, description, word, symbol, addition or title that he or she ordinarily uses. 
(2) 	This section does not prevent the bringing of proceedings for an offence under the Community and Health Services Complaints Act 1993 or a Health Registration Act.
(3) 	This section does not apply to a complaint about a person who is registered under a Health Registration Act.
13 	Regulation-making power
(1) 	The Executive may make regulations for this Act.
(2) 	The regulations may create offences punishable by maximum  penalties of not more than 10 penalty units.

ENDNOTES
1	About this republication
This is a republication of the Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000 as in force on 24 July 2000.  The Act had not been amended up to that date.
Amending laws are annotated in the table of legislation and table of amendments.
The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office currently prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws:  authorised printed republications to which the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 applies and unauthorised electronic republications.  The status of a republication appears on its cover and is indicated by its republication number.
A republication number without a letter (eg 1, 2, 3 etc) indicates that the republication is an authorised printed republication.  A number with a letter (eg 1A, 1B, 1C etc) indicates that the republication is an unauthorised electronic republication.
Section 13 of the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel, in preparing a law for republication, to make textual amendments of a formal nature which the Parliamentary Counsel considers desirable in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  The amendments do not effect a substantive change in the law.
In preparing this republication, amendments have not been made under section 13.
Not all amendments made under section 13 are annotated in the table of amendments.  Full details of any amendments can be obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
2	Abbreviation key
Key to abbreviations in tables

am = amended
amdt = amendment
ch = chapter
cl = clause
def = definition
dict = dictionary
div = division
exp = expires/expired
Gaz = Gazette
hdg = heading
ins = inserted/added
LR = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996
mod = modified
No = number
notfd = notified
o = order
om = omitted/repealed
orig = original
p = page
par = paragraph
pres = present
prev = previous
(prev...) = previously
prov = provision
pt = part
r = rule/subrule
reg = regulation/subregulation
renum = renumbered
reloc = relocated
R[X] = Republication No
s = section/subsection
sch = schedule
sdiv = subdivision
sub = substituted
SL  = Subordinate Law
sp = spent
*    SL unless otherwise stated
†   Act or Ordinance unless otherwise stated

3	Table of legislation

Act†	Year and number†	Gazette
Notification	Commencement	Transitional provisions	

Health Professionals (Special Events Exemptions) Act 2000
	2000 No 25	15 June 2000	15 June 2000		
4	Table of amendments

Provision	How affected†

s 2	om R1 (LR s 15 (1) (o) (iv))

©  Australian Capital Territory 2013