Legislation is created by parliament. Therefore two sources of legislation can impact on your workplace responsibilities. They are the Commonwealth Parliament (federal laws) and the Queensland Parliament (state laws).
There are numerous legislations and acts that apply to healthcare workers and the staff that work in them. The following provides some information about various pieces of legislation commonly used in the healthcare environment:
Health Services legislation
- Health Insurance Act 1973
- Health Services Act 1991
- Aged Care Act 1997
- Health Ombudsman Act 2013
- My Health Records Act 2012
- Therapeutic Goods Legislation
- Health (drugs and poisons) Regulation 1996
- National Code of Conduct for Health Care Workers (Qld)
- diseases-infection/notifiable-conditions
Community Services and Disability services legislation
- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
- Carer Recognition Act
- Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld)
- Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 (Qld)
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cwlth)
- Disability Services Act 1986 (Cwlth)
- Disability Services Act 2006 (Qld)
- Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld)
- Juvenile Justice Act 1992 (Qld)
- Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld)
- Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld)
- The Children’s Court Act 1992 (Qld)
General employment legislation
- Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld)
- Age Discrimination Act 2004
- Fair Work Act 2009
- Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 (Qld)
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984
- Whistleblowers Protection Act 1994 (Qld)
- Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
- Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cwlth)
- Trade Practices Act 1974
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010
Legislation with confidentiality provisions
- Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld)
- Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth)
- Right to Information and Information Privacy Legislation replacing the Freedom of Information Act 1992:
- Juvenile Justice Act 1992 (Qld)
- Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld)
- Powers of Attorney 1998 (Qld)
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cwlth)