The Public Health Act 2016 (‘the Public Health Act’), together with the supporting Public Health (Consequential Provisions) Act 2016 (‘the Consequential Act’), received Royal Assent on the 25th July 2016.  These Acts facilitate a comprehensive reform of public health regulation in Western Australia and are a substantial step towards preventing illness and better protecting and promoting the health of all Western Australians.

The Public Health Act provides a flexible and proactive framework for the regulation of public health.  The Public Health Act is supported by the Consequential Act which provides for the consequential amendment of the Health Act 1911 and a range of other Acts.

Copies of both Acts will be able to be downloaded from www.slp.wa.gov.au over the coming week.

Implementation

There is a significant amount of work required to transition to the new regulatory framework and implementation is to occur in a staged manner over the next 3 to 5 years.  To assist local governments, a preliminary overview of each stage of implementation is provided in the “Local Government Implementation of the Public Health Act 2016 Guideline”.

Supporting resources

The Public Health Division will progressively release resources to assist local government to interpret and administer the Act.

These resources will be available on the Public Health Act webpage of the WA Health website and the Department will also be hosting seminars, webinars and focus groups over the coming years.