Development of the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009

Page content : Government response | Draft regulations | Regulatory Impact Statement

The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations were made by the Governor in Council on 15 December 2009.

Prior to making the final regulations the Victorian Government developed draft regulations and a regulatory impact statement was prepared. These documents were released for public comment on 16 September 2009.

Government response to submissions on the draft Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009

The Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) and proposed regulations were released for public comment on 16 September 2009. They were advertised in the Victorian Government Gazette Special Number s21 on 16 September 2009 and in the Victorian 'Herald Sun' on 17 and 18 September 2009. A copy of the RIS and proposed regulations were emailed to 268 stakeholders and the Minister for Health wrote to over 450 stakeholders enclosing copies of the RIS and proposed regulations and inviting comment. In addition, the RIS and proposed regulations were posted on the department’s Public Health and Wellbeing Act website.

Forty-four submissions were received in response to the Regulatory Impact Statement on the proposed Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations. The Department of Health has analysed the comments received in submissions and drafted a response to each of the comments. These responses are contained in the Statement of Reasons document.

After considering the submissions, the Minister for Health has decided that the regulations will be made with a number of amendments. A detailed list of amendments is provided in the Statement of Reasons document below.
 'Statement of Reasons' (198kb, pdf).

The amended regulations were made by the Governor in Council on 15 December 2009 and are now available on the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website .

Draft regulations

As of 1 January 2010, the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (PHWA) will repeal the ten sets of regulations made under the Health Act 1958 including the:

• Health (Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity) Regulations 2002
• Health (Exempt Businesses) Regulations 2005
• Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1999
• Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 2001
• Health (Legionella) Regulations 2001
• Health (Pest Control) Regulations 2002
• Health (Prescribed Accommodation) Regulations 2001
• Health (Prescribed Consultative Councils) Regulations 2002
• Health (Registration of Premises) Regulations 2002
• Health (Seizure) Regulations 2003

A single set of regulations, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009, were drafted and proposed to replace the above ten sets of regulations and support the new Act.  It was proposed that the draft Regulations would cover:

• aquatic facilities
• nuisances
• pest control
• immunisation
• notification of high lead levels in blood
• prescribed accommodation and registered premises
• cooling tower systems and Legionella risks in certain premises
• governance and management of a number of consultative councils established under the Act
• notification, management and control of infectious diseases, micro-organisms and medical conditions

Regulatory Impact Statement

In accordance with the requirements of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, a regulatory impact statement (RIS) was prepared in regards to the draft regulations. The purpose of the RIS was to explain the likely impact of the draft regulations and to facilitate the process of public consultation.

The RIS explained the objectives of the draft regulations, identified feasible alternatives and analysed the likely benefits and costs of the proposed regulations and each alternative.

A copy of the RIS is available below:
Regulatory Impact Statement on the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations (complete) (1.1mb, pdf)

In accordance with requirements under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994, the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission independently assessed the RIS as adequately meeting the requirements of the legislation. A copy of their assessment letter is available below:
VCEC Assessment Letter (145kb, pdf)

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