{"id":"consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014","name":"Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014","slug":"consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235312,"registerId":"sa-consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014","content":"South Australia\nConsent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014\nunder the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tHealth practitioners\n5\tConsent of person responsible\n6\tResolution of disputes by Public Advocate\n7\tReferral of matters to Tribunal or Public Advocate\n8\tFees\nSchedule 1—Fees\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995.\n4—Health practitioners\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of the definition of health practitioner in section 14(1) of the Act, the following professions and practices are declared to be included in the ambit of that definition:\n\t(a)\tthe provision of an ambulance service and medical treatment by a member of the staff of SAAS or other person or body authorised to provide ambulance services under the Health Care Act 2008;\n\t(b)\tparamedic.\n\t(2)\tIn this regulation—\nambulance service, medical treatment and SAAS have the same meanings as in the Health Care Act 2008.\n5—Consent of person responsible\nPursuant to section 14B(2) of the Act, the following provisions apply in relation to the giving of consent by a person responsible for a patient for the purposes of the Act:\n\t(a)\tthe person responsible must make and keep such records relating to the giving of consent as may be required under a scheme determined from time to time by the Minister and published in the Gazette;\n\t(b)\ta person responsible for a patient contemplated by paragraph (d) of the definition of person responsible in section 14(1) of the Act cannot consent to the administration of medical treatment consisting of the administration of drugs (whether of a sedating nature or otherwise) principally for the purpose of controlling the behaviour of the patient.\nNote—\nThis practice is commonly referred to as the chemical restraint of a patient.\n6—Resolution of disputes by Public Advocate\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of section 18C of the Act, and despite section 23 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993, the Public Advocate may only delegate a function or power under that section relating to mediation to a person if the Public Advocate is satisfied that the person has suitable qualifications and expertise in mediation.\n\t(2)\tA mediator to whom the Public Advocate has delegated a function or power under section 18C of the Act has, for the purposes of that section, the same privileges and immunities as a member of the Tribunal under the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013.\n7—Referral of matters to Tribunal or Public Advocate\n\t(1)\tIf the Public Advocate decides to refer a matter to the Tribunal under section 18D(1) of the Act, the following provisions apply:\n\t(a)\tthe referral must be made within 7 business days of the Public Advocate bringing a mediation to an end or refusing to determine an application, as the case may be;\n\t(b)\tthe Public Advocate must notify the Tribunal whether any or all parties have consented to the matter being referred to the Tribunal;\n\t(c)\tthe Public Advocate must provide the Tribunal with written reasons for its decision to refer the matter to the Tribunal;\n\t(d)\tthe Public Advocate must provide the Tribunal with a summary of the dispute between the parties, the contact details of the parties and all other information relevant to the matter that is in the possession of the Public Advocate when the referral is made;\n\t(e)\tif the matter was the subject of mediation under section 18C of the Act and the mediator was a delegate of the Public Advocate—the Public Advocate must provide the Tribunal with the name of the mediator.\n\t(2)\tIf the Tribunal decides to refer a matter to the Public Advocate under section 18F(1) of the Act, the following provisions apply:\n\t(a)\tthe referral must be made within 7 business days of the Tribunal making the decision to refer;\n\t(b)\tthe Tribunal must notify the Public Advocate whether any or all parties have consented to the matter being referred to the Public Advocate;\n\t(c)\tthe Tribunal must provide the Public Advocate with written reasons for its decision to refer the matter to the Public Advocate;\n\t(d)\tthe Tribunal must provide the Public Advocate with a summary of the dispute between the parties, the contact details of the parties and all other information relevant to the matter that is in the possession of the Tribunal when the referral is made.\n\t(3)\tFor the purposes of section 18F of the Act, the Tribunal may not refer a matter to the Public Advocate if the matter has already been the subject of mediation under section 18C of the Act.\n8—Fees\nThe fees for the purposes of the Act are as set out in Schedule 1.\nSchedule 1—Fees\n\nDescription of fee\nFee\nApplication under section 18C of the Act\nnil\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of these regulations (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation revoked by principal regulations\nThe Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014 revoked the following:\nConsent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2004\nPrincipal regulations and variations\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2014\n78\nGazette 12.6.2014 p2498\n1.7.2014: r 2\n2015\n17\nGazette 5.3.2015 p889\n29.3.2015: r 2\n2015\n47\nGazette 14.5.2015 p1763\n14.5.2015: r 2\n2015\n51\nGazette 28.5.2015 p2301\n28.5.2015: r 2\nProvisions varied\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nr 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n29.3.2015\nr 4\n\n\nr 4(1)\nvaried by 51/2015 r 4\n28.5.2015\nr 6\n\n\nr 6(2)\nvaried by 17/2015 r 4\n29.3.2015\nr 7\nsubstituted by 17/2015 r 5\n29.3.2015\nr 7(1)\nvaried by 47/2015 r 4\n14.5.2015\nSch 1\nsubstituted by 17/2015 r 6\n29.3.2015\nSch 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n29.3.2015\nHistorical versions\n29.3.2015\n\n14.5.2015\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available for review. No comparison between original intent and final form is possible from the information provided."},"complexity_factors":["No substantive legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Analysis is impossible without the actual regulatory content","Complexity score of 1 reflects the absence of content to evaluate, not the inherent simplicity of the subject matter (which would likely score 5-7)"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Document Unavailable\n\nThe legislation requested — the **Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Regulations 2014 (SA)** — could not be retrieved. The link provided returned a **\"Page Not Found\" error** from the South Australian legislation website, likely due to a website update that occurred on **24 March 2026** which broke older hyperlinks.\n\n### What we do know about this legislation generally:\nThis instrument is a set of **regulations** (detailed rules made under a parent Act — the *Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995 (SA)*). That Act broadly governs:\n- Who can consent to medical treatment on behalf of a person who cannot consent themselves (e.g. someone unconscious or with a serious illness)\n- The rights of patients to refuse treatment\n- Rules around **palliative care** (comfort-focused care for people at the end of life)\n- Advance care directives (documents where you record your medical wishes in advance)\n\nThe **Regulations** would typically deal with procedural and administrative details supporting that Act — such as prescribed forms, fees, or specific procedural requirements.\n\n### What you should do:\n- Visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) directly and search for the regulation by name\n- Email the SA Office of Parliamentary Counsel at **OPCWeb@sa.gov.au** if you cannot locate it\n- Consult a lawyer if you need urgent advice about medical consent or end-of-life care decisions in South Australia"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: operationalising the 1995 Act by specifying who qualifies as a health practitioner, setting record-keeping requirements for substitute decision-makers, restricting chemical restraint consent, and establishing procedural frameworks for dispute resolution between the Public Advocate and Tribunal. No significant scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Short document (8 substantive regulations plus schedule)","Minimal defined terms (only 3 explicit definitions in regulation 3 and 2 in regulation 4(2))","Straightforward conditional logic — mostly procedural requirements rather than nested exceptions","Heavy cross-referencing to parent Act (Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995) and other statutes (Health Care Act 2008, Guardianship and Administration Act 1993, SACAT Act 2013), requiring external knowledge to fully understand context","Single substantive prohibition (regulation 5(b)) with clear scope limitation","Procedural rules in regulations 6-7 follow predictable patterns (notification, documentation, time limits)"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out the practical rules for how medical consent works in South Australia when patients can't make decisions for themselves. They cover four main areas:\n\n**Who can provide medical treatment**\n- Expands the definition of \"health practitioner\" to include ambulance officers and paramedics from SA Ambulance Service, so they can make decisions about patient care in emergencies\n\n**Rules for substitute decision-makers**\n- People making medical decisions on behalf of someone else (called a \"person responsible\") must keep proper records as required by the Minister\n- **Important restriction**: Certain decision-makers (specifically those appointed under guardianship laws) **cannot** consent to giving patients drugs mainly to control their behaviour — what's commonly called \"chemical restraint\"\n\n**Dispute resolution process**\n- Sets out how the Public Advocate (an independent official who protects vulnerable people's rights) handles disagreements about medical treatment decisions\n- The Public Advocate can only delegate mediation to people with proper qualifications\n- Mediators get the same legal protections as Tribunal members\n- Strict 7-day deadlines apply when matters are referred between the Public Advocate and the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal\n- The Tribunal can't send a matter back to the Public Advocate if it's already been through mediation\n\n**Fees**\n- Applications for dispute resolution are free (no fee)\n\nThese regulations matter because they protect vulnerable patients — particularly those with disabilities, dementia, or mental health conditions — by ensuring decisions about their medical care are made properly, documented carefully, and can't be used to inappropriately sedate or control them."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014","history":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014/history","analysis":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/consent-to-medical-treatment-and-palliative-care-regulations-2014/documents"}}