Health Legislation Amendment (eHealth) Act 2015 (157 of 2015)

Schedule 1   Healthcare identifiers and health records

Part 1   Amendments

Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records Act 2012

64   After section 7

Insert:

7A Duties of authorised representative or nominated representative

Duty to ascertain will and preferences

(1) An authorised representative or a nominated representative (a representative ) of a healthcare recipient must make reasonable efforts to ascertain the recipient's will and preferences in relation to the recipient's My Health Record.

(2) If it is not possible to ascertain the healthcare recipient's will and preferences, the representative must make reasonable efforts to ascertain the recipient's likely will and preferences in relation to the recipient's My Health Record.

(3) The healthcare recipient's likely will and preferences may be ascertained from sources including the following:

(a) if the representative is a nominated representative - the agreement appointing the representative;

(b) to the extent legally possible, from consultation with people who may be expected to be aware of the recipient's will and preferences.

Duty to give effect to will and preferences

(4) The representative must give effect to the healthcare recipient's will and preferences, or likely will and preferences, ascertained in accordance with subsection (1) or (2).

(5) However, if to do so would pose a serious risk to the healthcare recipient's personal and social wellbeing, the representative must instead act in a manner that promotes the personal and social wellbeing of the healthcare recipient.

Duty if will and preferences cannot be ascertained

(6) If the healthcare recipient's will and preferences, or likely will and preferences, cannot be ascertained, the representative must act in a manner that promotes the personal and social wellbeing of the healthcare recipient.