Kate Carnell MLA

A.C.T. Chief Minister, Treasurer and Minister for Health and Community Care, Canberra

19 May 1997

This document is at http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/ACTHlthRecs.html

ACT to Legislate Access to Personal Health Records

Health Minister Kate Carnell has today unveiled details of the ACT Government's proposal to protect the privacy of health records and ensure that consumers have reasonable rights of access to their own records.

Mrs Carnell said the ACT would be the first jurisdiction in Australia to legislate for the right of consumers to have access to both public and private health records under strict guidelines.

The government has released a position paper for community consultation until mid-July which will then be followed by the introduction of legislation into the Legislative Assembly later this year.

Mrs Carnell said the paper had been developed by the ACT Commissioner for Health Complaints and the Department of Health and Community Care, following extensive consultation with key medical and consumer organisations such as the Consumers Health Forum and the Australian Medical Association.

She said the government had maintained a long standing interest in ensuring that the privacy of health records of Canberrans was adequately protected and that people also had access to their own files.

"Currently, access and privacy protection for records varies greatly, depending upon where records are held. At the moment, only some public hospital patients and users of other government health services are able to see their files.

"The legislation we plan to introduce will establish a series of privacy principles, relating to the collection, storage and use of information, which are consistent with those already contained in the Commonwealth's Privacy Act.

"Disclosures of any information would be limited to the patient and members of a treating team. It may take the form of physical access, an explanation of a person's records, or the provision of a copy of a records.

"There will be some limited exceptions to access, such as where information on a health record is provided in confidence by a third party, or where access is considered likely to result in harm to the consumer or another person.

"There will also be restrictions on access to records prepared prior to the passage of this new legislation".

Mrs Carnell said the ACT Government had decided to act on the inconsistent treatment of private and public health records in the wake of the High Court judgement that no common law right of access existed and that any change was up to parliaments. [See Breen v. Williams]

"This is a major issue that all governments, the health industry and consumer groups need to address in as co-operative a manner as is possible".

The Commissioner for Health Complaints, Mr Ken Patterson, said any person or organisation wishing to provide feedback on the position paper could do so by 18 July by fax on (06) 207 1034 or by mail to:

Commissioner for Health Complaints, P.O. Box 1321, Canberra City ACT 2601

Mr Patterson said copies of the paper were available from the Department of Health and Community Care on (06) 205 0836.

For further information, please contact:

Ken Patterson, Health Complaints Commissioner, (06) 205 2222

Gary Dawson, Health Minister's Office, (06) 205 0013, 0412 487 504

Note: The case that established that no common law right of access existed was Breen v. Williams, at http://www.austlii.edu.au/do/sinodisp.pl/au/cases/cth/high_ct/unrep277.html?query=Breen%20Williams.

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Created: 20 May 1997

Last Amended: 20 May 1997

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