Patient obligations #
Section 51 of the Public Health Act 1997 (Tas) states that a person who is aware of having a notifiable disease must take all reasonable measures and precautions to prevent the transmission of the disease, and must not knowingly or recklessly place another person at risk of acquiring the disease. This is a unique structure for a reasonable precautions duty in Australia. Breach of this provision is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or imprisonment of 12 months, or both.
For the purposes of the Act, the director of public health has declared that HIV is a notifiable disease.
There is little guidance in Tasmania surrounding what constitutes ‘reasonable measures and precautions’.
It is a defence in proceedings for this offence if the other person ‘knew of, and voluntarily accepted, the risk of getting the disease’.
Healthcare provider obligations (pre-contact tracing) #
Under s 50 of the Public Health Act 1997 (Tas), if a medical practitioner believes their patient has, or may have, or may have been exposed to HIV, the medical practitioner must provide the patient with information regarding transmission and prevention of HIV, and any information specified in the relevant guidelines. The director of public health may issue guidelines for any matter under the Public Health Act 1997 (Tas). There are a number of guidelines published by the Department of Health that relate to notifiable diseases: Public Health Act and associated guidelines.
Where a medical practitioner has failed to provide the above information, they are subject to a fine (not exceeding 25 penalty units). A defence is available if the required information was provided to the patient by the medical practitioner on a previous occasion, a person acting on behalf of the medical practitioner, or another medical practitioner or person acting on behalf of another medical practitioner.
