Australian Capital Territory
Explanatory Statement
Public Health (Reporting of Notifiable Conditions) Code of Practice 2006 (No 1)
Disallowable Instrument DI2006-5
made under the
Public Health Act 1993, s 133 (Code of Practice)

Part 6 of the Public Health Act 1997 (the Act) provides for the monitoring and investigation of notifiable conditions so that public health action may be carried out in order to minimise the adverse public health effects of such conditions.

Division 6.2 of the Act (subsections 102-105) requires Doctors, Authorised Nurse Practitioners, Pathologists, Hospitals and people responsible for the care, support or education of someone else to notify notifiable conditions to the Chief Health Officer.

A notification under the Act needs to be made in accordance with the applicable code of practice. This Public Health (Reporting of Notifiable Conditions) code of practice has been developed to outline the process for reporting notifiable conditions in order to provide direction for those obligated to notify to comply with the Act. 

This code of practice only applies to those functioning in clinical and/or diagnostic roles who are obliged to report notifiable conditions under the act, such as Doctors, Authorised Nurse Practitioners, Pathologists, and Hospitals. The requirements for people responsible for the care, support or education of someone else, who are also obliged to notify under the Act may be the subject of a future code of practice.

This code is an enforceable code of practice under the Act. It is an objective of this code of practice to provide a set of standards for reporting notifiable conditions in the ACT.

This determination is a disallowable instrument.