{"id":"district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016","name":"District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016","slug":"district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":174554,"registerId":"wa-district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nDistrict Court of Western Australia Act 1969\n\nDistrict Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016\n\nWestern Australia\n\nDistrict Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Non-application of *District Court Rules 2005* Part 6 1\n\n5. Nature of appeal 2\n\n6. Commencement of appeal 2\n\n7. Giving notice of appeal 2\n\n8. Filing notice of appeal 3\n\n9. Notice of appeal outside business hours 3\n\n10. Hearing of appeal 4\n\n11. No fees 4\n\n12. No costs 4\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nDistrict Court of Western Australia Act 1969\n\nDistrict Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese rules are the *District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese rules come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) rules 1 and 2 — on the day on which these rules are published in the *Gazette*;\n\n(b) the rest of the rules — on the day after that day.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) In these rules, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\nAct means the *Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Act 2014*;\n\napproved form means a form approved by the Court;\n\ndisease test order appeal means an appeal under Part 3 Division 5 of the Act.\n\n(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a term used in these rules has the same meaning as it has in the *District Court Rules 2005*.\n\n##### 4. Non-application of *District Court Rules 2005* Part 6\n\nThe *District Court Rules 2005* Part 6 does not apply to a disease test order appeal.\n\n##### 5. Nature of appeal\n\n(1) In this rule —\n\nprimary court, in relation to a disease test order appeal, means the court that made the relevant disease test order as defined in section 15 of the Act.\n\n(2) A disease test order appeal must be by way of a reconsideration of the evidence that was before the primary court unless the parties agree otherwise.\n\n(3) At the hearing of the appeal a party must not adduce evidence that was not adduced in the primary court except with the leave of the Court.\n\n(4) The Court is not to grant such leave unless satisfied there are special grounds for doing so.\n\n##### 6. Commencement of appeal\n\n(1) To commence a disease test order appeal the appellant must give a notice of appeal in an approved form.\n\n(2) Except as provided in rule 9, the notice must set out the grounds for the appeal in accordance with subrule (3).\n\n(3) The grounds of appeal in a notice of appeal must not merely allege that an appealable decision is against the weight of the evidence or that it is wrong in law, they must specify the particulars relied on to demonstrate that the decision is against the weight of the evidence or the specific reasons why it is wrong in law.\n\n##### 7. Giving notice of appeal\n\nTo give a notice of appeal for the purposes of subrule 6, the appellant must —\n\n(a) file the notice; or\n\n(b) give notice under rule 9(1).\n\n##### 8. Filing notice of appeal\n\n(1) In addition to the *District Court Rules 2005* Part 3 Division 2, the notice of appeal may be filed by an email sent to the relevant registry.\n\n(2) As soon as practicable after filing a notice of appeal, the appellant must —\n\n(a) serve it on the respondent; and\n\n(b) file a certificate of service in an approved form.\n\n(3) A notice of appeal given under rule 9(1) is taken to have been filed for the purposes of Part 3 Division 5 of the Act.\n\n##### 9. Notice of appeal outside business hours\n\n(1) When a registry is not open for business, an appellant may give a notice of appeal by calling the Court’s emergency telephone number as shown on the Court’s website.\n\n(2) If notice of appeal is given under subrule (1), the appellant is not required to comply with rule 6 except to the extent directed under subrule (3).\n\n(3) The Court may give directions as to —\n\n(a) how and when the appellant is to specify the grounds for the appeal (including whether the appellant is required to prepare a notice of appeal in accordance with rule 6 and, if so, when that notice is to be given to the Court); and\n\n(b) how and when the appellant is to notify the respondent of the appeal, the grounds of the appeal and the date, time and place of the hearing of the appeal.\n\n##### 10. Hearing of appeal\n\n(1) The hearing of a disease test order appeal may, in accordance with directions of the Court, be held —\n\n(a) at any place, including a place outside the Court’s usual place of business; or\n\n(b) by telephone.\n\n(2) The hearing of a disease test order appeal is not to be heard in open court and all persons other than a party to the appeal or the party’s legal practitioner are to be excluded during the appeal, except as otherwise directed by the Court.\n\n##### 11. No fees\n\nNo fees are payable in relation to a disease test order appeal.\n\n##### 12. No costs\n\nNo costs are to be awarded in relation to a disease test order appeal.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016*. The following table contains information about those regulations..\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Gazettal** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016* | 16 Dec 2016 p. 5700-2 | r. 1 and 2: 16 Dec 2016 (see r. 2(a));   Rules other than r. 1 and 2: 17 Dec 2016 (see r. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nAct 3(1)\n\napproved form 3(1)\n\ndisease test order appeal 3(1)\n\nprimary court 5(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the legislative text is unavailable. No determination can be made as to whether the rules drifted from their original intent, were amended, or remained consistent with their stated purpose. The title suggests a narrow, specific procedural instrument focused on appeals in infectious disease testing matters."},"complexity_factors":["Content is entirely inaccessible — the source page has been removed, preventing any substantive analysis","Procedural rules governing appeals can involve technical court process requirements","Intersection of public health law and civil liberties adds conceptual complexity","Limited to Western Australian jurisdiction, but may interact with broader public health legislation","Complexity score is tentative given the absence of actual legislative text to assess"],"plain_english_summary":"The District Court (Mandatory Testing Infectious Diseases) Appeal Rules 2016 likely set out procedural steps for appealing compulsory infectious‑disease testing orders to the District Court. They would matter to people subject to testing, legal practitioners handling appeals, and public‑health or emergency workers involved in related incidents.\n\nThis summary is based solely on the instrument’s title; the full text was inaccessible, so its precise scope and detail cannot be verified."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow scope. It was enacted specifically to create appeal procedures for disease test orders under the Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Act 2014, and remains tightly focused on that single purpose without expansion into broader procedural matters."},"complexity_factors":["Short document: only 12 substantive rules across 5 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 4 defined terms in the interpretation section (rule 3)","Single cross-reference: primarily references the District Court Rules 2005 for general procedure, with only Part 6 explicitly excluded (rule 4)","Simple conditional logic: only one nested condition in rule 9(3) regarding directions for after-hours appeals","Clear structure: linear progression from commencement through to hearing and costs","No exceptions to exceptions: straightforward prohibitions and requirements without layered caveats"],"plain_english_summary":"These rules set out how to appeal a decision about forcing someone to undergo testing for infectious diseases (like HIV or hepatitis) in Western Australia's District Court.\n\n**What this covers:**\nUnder the *Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Act 2014*, a court can order someone to be tested for infectious diseases if they've been convicted of certain offences (like assaulting a police officer or health worker) and there's a risk of disease transmission. If someone wants to challenge (appeal) that testing order, these rules explain the process.\n\n**Key features:**\n- **Free process** — No court fees and no legal costs can be awarded against either party (rules 11-12)\n- **Quick access** — Appeals can be filed by email or even by phone after hours using an emergency number (rules 8-9)\n- **Private hearings** — Appeals are held in private, not open to the public (rule 10)\n- **Fresh look at evidence** — The District Court reconsiders the same evidence from the original hearing, rather than starting from scratch, though new evidence can be allowed in special circumstances (rule 5)\n- **Specific grounds required** — You can't just say \"the decision was wrong\"; you must explain exactly why (rule 6)\n\n**Who it affects:**\nPeople appealing against mandatory disease testing orders, and the police or health authorities who sought those orders.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThese rules balance efficiency and fairness for a sensitive health procedure. The free, accessible process recognises that people facing forced medical testing may need urgent, affordable legal recourse, while the privacy protections acknowledge the stigma associated with infectious diseases."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These rules do not change who is subject to disease test orders under the Act; they set procedural rules for appeals (how to commence, evidence limits, hearing format, filing and notification, and no fees/costs). They tailor the appeal process rather than altering the substantive scope of the underlying Act."},"complexity_factors":["Procedural and narrowly focused instrument (appeals from disease test orders) rather than substantive law change (rules 3, 5)","Non-application of District Court Rules 2005 Part 6 creates a bespoke procedure (rule 4)","Restriction on adducing new evidence absent leave and requirement for 'special grounds' introduces judicial discretion and evidentiary limitation (rule 5(3)–(4))","Requirement that grounds be specified with particulars limits broad or generic appeals and raises drafting/compliance burden on appellants (rule 6(2)–(3))","Alternative filing and notification channels (email filing, certificate of service) and after-hours emergency phone process create operational steps and timing considerations for registries and litigants (rules 8–9)","Court has latitude over hearing location, remote (telephone) hearings, and exclusion of the public, concentrating procedural control in judicial directions (rule 10)","Express abolition of fees and costs reduces financial barriers but also removes cost-recovery and costs-disincentives (rules 11–12)","Cross-references to the Act and to the District Court Rules 2005 increase interpretive dependence on external instruments (rules 3(1), 3(2))","Use of approved forms and certificate of service imposes formality requirements and potential compliance traps (rules 3(1) definition, 8(2)(b))"],"plain_english_summary":"These rules create a specific District Court appeal process for disease test orders made under the Mandatory Testing (Infectious Diseases) Act 2014. They set how appeals start, the form and particularity required for grounds, limits on new evidence, private or remote hearings, and exclude ordinary Part 6 procedures.\n\nAppellants file notices (including by email or emergency phone after hours); the Court controls whether new evidence is allowed and directs hearing logistics. No fees or costs are payable for these appeals."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016","history":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016/history","analysis":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/district-court-mandatory-testing-infectious-diseases-appeal-rules-2016/documents"}}