Medical Practitioners Act 1995

                                PART VI

                      Quality Assurance Activities

            66. Interpretation---(1) In this Part of this Act, unless the
  context otherwise requires,---
     ``Declared quality assurance activity'' means a quality assurance
         activity in respect of which a declaration made under section 68
         of this Act is in force when the activity is engaged in:
     ``Health service'' includes any administrative or other service
         related to a health service:
     ``Judicial proceeding'' means any proceeding that is a judicial
         proceeding within the meaning of section 108 of the Crimes Act
         1961:
     ``Ministerial authority'' means an authority given by the Minister
         under section 72 of this Act and for the time being in force:
     ``Quality assurance activity'' means an activity that consists of,
         or includes, or results in, an assessment or evaluation of any
         health services provided by a medical practitioner (whenever
         those services are or were provided), where the assessment or
         evaluation is carried out for the purpose of improving the
         practices or competence of the medical practitioner; and,
         without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes---
           (a) Any study of the incidence or causes of conditions or
         circumstances that may affect the quality of health services
         provided by a medical practitioner:
           (b) The making of recommendations about the provision of such
         services as a result of such an assessment, evaluation, or
         study:
           (c) The monitoring of the implementation of any such
         recommendations:
     ``Serious offence'' means an offence punishable by imprisonment for
         a term of 2 years or more.

   (2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act,---
   (a) Information about a matter is not to be taken to have become known
         merely because of the existence or dissemination of suspicions,
         allegations, or rumours about that matter:
   (b) Information may be taken to have become known solely as a result
         of a declared quality assurance activity even though the
         information was previously known to a person whose conduct has
         been or is being investigated by the persons engaging in the
         declared quality assurance activity.
     Cf. Health Insurance Act 1973 (Aust.), s. 124W