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ELECTORAL AMENDMENT REGULATION 2013 (NO 1) (NO 13 OF 2013)
2013
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT
REGULATION 2013 (No 1)
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Presented by
Simon Corbell MLA
Attorney-General
OUTLINE
The purpose of these amendments to the Electoral Regulation 1993
is to allow the Electoral Commissioner to provide information from the Electoral
Roll to the ACT Health Directorate and the Public Trustee of the ACT for
specific purposes.
This amendment will authorise the ACT Health
Directorate to obtain information from the ACT Electoral Roll for the purpose of
contacting women to offer them breast cancer screening and prevention programs
as well as for the purpose of contacting people aged 45-49 to promote health
check programs.
This amendment will also authorise the Public Trustee of
the ACT to obtain extracts of the ACT Electoral Roll for the purpose of
administering deceased estates.
Section 36(1)(b) of the Legislation
Act 2001 states that a regulatory impact statement is not required for
matters that do not adversely affect people’s rights or impose
liabilities. This amending regulation is a regulation of this type and as such
a regulatory impact statement has not been prepared.
The provisions in
this regulation engage the right to privacy under the
Human Rights Act 2004. The use of the register for the
limited purposes specified in the legislation is a reasonable limitation on the
right to privacy given the benefits that flow to the health and wellbeing of
those people. Further, within the community, there is an expectation that
people will be contacted for the purposes specified by the amending
regulation.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 Name of regulation
States that the name of the
regulation is the Electoral Amendment Regulation 2013 (No 1).
States that the regulation commences on the day after its notification
day.
States that the regulation amends the Electoral Regulation
1993.
A new section 4 replaces the existing provision (which permitted the use
of the roll by the chief health officer to maintain a cancer register), with a
new provision that includes the existing purpose and two new purposes
(contacting women to offer breast screening and prevention services and
contacting people aged 45-49 to offer health assessments).
A new heading
for section 4 omits a specific reference to the cancer register and provides a
more general heading concerning public health.
Clause 4(1) provides that
the chief health officer is a prescribed authority.
Clause 4(2) lists the
3 prescribed purposes as:
• maintaining the cancer register under the
Public Health Regulation 2000, section 46;
• contacting
women to offer breast screening and prevention services;
and
• contacting people aged 45-49 for health assessment.
Clause
4(3) prescribes the limited circumstances in which the chief health officer may
give out roll information to another person or entity.
Clause 4(4)
prescribes that a person who is given information under subsection (3) may only
use it for a prescribed purpose under section 4.
This clause inserts new section 4AA ‘Use of roll information
– deceased estates – Act, s65.
Clause 4AA(1) makes the public
trustee a prescribed authority.
Clause 4AA(2) makes the administration of
deceased estates a prescribed purpose.
Clause 4AA(3) provides that the
public trustee may give roll information to another person or entity only if the
use of the information authorised by the public trustee is to administer a
deceased estate.
Clause 4AA(4) provides that a person or entity given roll
information under subsection (3) may only use the information for a prescribed
purpose.
This clause inserts the term ‘public trustee’ into the
dictionary, note 2.