Australian Capital Territory Numbered Regulations Australian Capital Territory Numbered Regulations(1) The cervical cytology register is established for the following purposes:
(a) after a woman has had her cervical smear taken and the test results recorded on the register—to remind the woman (after a reasonable time following the end of a period determined by the chief health officer after the smear was taken) that she should have another smear taken, if she has failed to do so;
(b) to establish a record of test results that links each woman on the register with her health practitioner and any laboratory that produces her test results;
(c) to monitor test results to encourage consistency of performance between laboratories;
(d) to provide data for the following purposes:
(i) to assess participation in the cervical cancer prevention program;
(ii) to assist in the design of strategies to educate women to take responsibility for having a cervical smear taken at appropriate intervals;
(iii) to assist in the design of strategies to encourage women to be included in the register;
(iv) for use in research programs approved under paragraph (4) (a) into the alleviation and prevention of cervical cancer;
(v) to increase public awareness by the publication of statistics;
(vi) to assist in the compilation of comparative data by national organisations approved under paragraph (4) (b).
(2) The chief health officer must notify a woman that she is overdue to have her next cervical smear taken if—
(a) the woman's last registered test results are normal; and
(b) an appropriate interval, decided by the management committee, has elapsed since the end of the period mentioned in paragraph (1) (a) after the taking of that smear; and
(c) the woman has not had another smear taken.
(3) The chief health officer must take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate action is taken to notify the health practitioner who took the last smear from a woman, or the woman herself, that the woman's next smear is overdue if—
(a) the woman's last registered test results are abnormal; and
(b) the registrable information for her last cervical smear recommended a time within which the next smear should be taken, or other follow-up action; and
(c) the woman has not had a further smear taken or other recommended follow-up action within a reasonable time after the time referred to in paragraph (b).
(4) The Minister may, by instrument, approve—
(a) research programs for subparagraph (1) (d) (iv); and
(b) national organisations for subparagraph (1) (d) (vi).
(5) The Minister may only approve a research program if satisfied that disclosure of the information for the program and its use would meet the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cwlth) for medical research, whether or not that Act applies to the research program of its own force.
(6) An approval under subregulation (4) is a disallowable instrument.