{"id":"sl-1992-24","name":"Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulation 1992","slug":"epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"24 of 1992","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173361,"registerId":"act-sl-1992-24-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulation 1992","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nEpidemiological Studies\n(Confidentiality) Regulation 1992\nSL1992-24\nmade under the\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992\nRepublication No 6\nEffective: 28 April 2019\nRepublication date: 28 April 2019\nLast amendment made by SL2019-6\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulation 1992, made\nunder the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992 (including any amendment made\nunder the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 28 April 2019. It\nalso includes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to\n28 April 2019.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nEpidemiological Studies\n(Confidentiality) Regulation 1992\nmade under the\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n4 Prescribed study—controlled availability of opioids 2\n5 Prescribed study—parenting practices of drug users 3\n6 Prescribed study—combating child abuse by drug users 3\n7 Prescribed study—supervised injecting place trial 4\n8 Prescribed study—the opiate program 4\n9 Prescribed study—pill testing trial 4\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\nR6\n28/04/19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n2 Abbreviation key 5\n3 Legislation history 6\n4 Amendment history 8\n5 Earlier republications 9\n\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nEpidemiological Studies\n(Confidentiality) Regulation 1992\nmade under the\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\nR6\n28/04/19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992.\n4 Prescribed study—controlled availability of opioids\n(1) For the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study paragraph (b),\nthe Territory epidemiological study known as the Feasibility\nResearch into the Controlled Availability of Opioids, being the\nstudy—\n(a) in relation to the feasibility of a trial of providing opioids in a\ncontrolled manner to users of opioids in the ACT; and\n(b) that is conducted jointly by the National Centre for\nEpidemiology and Population Health and the Australian\nInstitute of Criminology; and\n(c) that began in May 1991;\nis declared to be a study to which the Act applies.\n(2) In subsection (1):\nopioid means—\n(a) opium; or\n(b) a drug that has a morphine-like pharmacological effect, being a\nsynthetic or semisynthetic drug or an opium derivative.\n\nSection 5\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Prescribed study—parenting practices of drug users\nFor the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study, paragraph (b),\nthe Territory epidemiological study known as Parenting in the Socio-\ncultural Context of Illicit Drug or Harmful Alcohol Use that—\n(a) relates to the parenting ideas and practices of different groups of\nwomen, including illicit drug users; and\n(b) is conducted by the National Centre for Epidemiology and\nPopulation Health; and\n(c) began in September 1998;\nis declared to be a study to which the Act applies.\n6 Prescribed study—combating child abuse by drug users\nFor the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study, paragraph (b),\nthe Territory epidemiological study known as An Evaluation of an\nIntervention Program to Combat Child Abuse and Neglect and to\nProvide Health Promotion for Children of Drug Users that—\n(a) relates to—\n(i) the factors responsible for the incidence and distribution of\nchild abuse among drug users; and\n(ii) the effectiveness of a program to combat child abuse and\nneglect by drug users and to provide health promotion for\nthe children of drug users; and\n(b) is conducted by the National Centre for Epidemiology and\nPopulation Health; and\n(c) began in December 1998;\nis declared to be a study to which the Act applies.\n\nSection 7\npage 4 Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\nR6\n28/04/19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n7 Prescribed study—supervised injecting place trial\nFor the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study, paragraph (b),\nthe scientific trial for the Supervised Injecting Place Trial Act 1999\nand a study that is part of or ancillary to the trial are declared to be\nstudies to which the Act applies.\n8 Prescribed study—the opiate program\nFor the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study, paragraph (b),\nthe Territory epidemiological study, known as the opiate program\n(TOP), in which the opioid treatment index is applied to give\naggregate data that produce measures of prevalence and distribution\nof opioid dependence, is declared to be a study to which the Act\napplies.\n9 Prescribed study—pill testing trial\n(1) For the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study, paragraph (b),\nPill testing in the ACT: Pilot evaluation is declared to be a study to\nwhich the Act applies.\n(2) In this section:\nPill testing in the ACT: Pilot evaluation means the Territory\nepidemiological study that—\n(a) relates to—\n(i) the conduct of a trial of pill testing at a music festival; and\n(ii) an evaluation of the impact of the trial on people and the\ncommunity; and\n(b) is conducted by the Research School of Population Health,\nAustralian National University; and\n(c) began in April 2019.\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 6 Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\nR6\n28/04/19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nThis regulation was originally the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulations. It was renamed by the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulations Amendment 1999 SL1999-28 s 3 and under the Legislation Act 2001.\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulation 1992 SL1992-24\nnotified 9 November 1992 (Gaz 1992 No S198)\ncommenced 9 November 1992 (s 2)\nas amended by\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulations Amendment\nSL1999-28\nnotified 3 November 1999 (Gaz 1999 No 44)\ncommenced 3 November 1999 (s 1)\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Regulations Amendment\nSL2000-19\nnotified 27 April 2000 (Gaz 2000 No 19)\ncommenced 27 April 2000 (s 1)\nLegislation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001 A2001-44 pt 133\nnotified 26 July 2001 (Gaz 2001 No 30)\ns 1, s 2 commenced 26 July 2001 (IA s 10B)\npt 133 commenced 12 September 2001 (s 2 and see Gaz 2001\nNo S65)\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Amendment Regulations\n2003 SL2003-9\nnotified LR 17 April 2003\ns 1, s 2 commenced 17 April 2003 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 18 April 2003 (s 2)\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2007 A2007-3 sch 3 pt 3.40\nnotified LR 22 March 2007\ns 1, s 2 taken to have commenced 1 July 2006 (LA s 75 (2))\nsch 3 pt 3.40 commenced 12 April 2007 (s 2 (1))\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Amendment\nRegulation 2019 (No 1) SL2019-6\nnotified LR 26 April 2019\ns 1, s 2 commenced 26 April 2019 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 28 April 2019 (s 2)\n\nEndnotes\n4 Amendment history\npage 8 Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\nR6\n28/04/19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history\nName of regulation\ns 1 sub SL1999-28 s 3\nam R4 LA\nCommencement\ns 2 om SL2001-44 amdt 1.1576\nDefinitions\ns 3 om SL2001-44 amdt 1.1576\nPrescribed study—controlled availability of opioids\ns 4 hdg sub SL1999-28 notes\ns 4 am A2007-3 amdt 3.207\nPrescribed study—parenting practices of drug users\ns 5 ins SL1999-28 s 4\nam A2007-3 amdt 3.207\nPrescribed study—combating child abuse by drug users\ns 6 ins SL1999-28 s 4\nam A2007-3 amdt 3.207\nPrescribed study—supervised injecting place trial\ns 7 ins SL2000-19 s 3\nam A2007-3 amdt 3.207\nPrescribed study—the opiate program\ns 8 ins SL2003-9 s 4\nam A2007-3 amdt 3.207\nPrescribed study—pill testing trial\ns 9 ins SL2019-6 s 4\n\nEndnotes\nEarlier republications 5\nR6\n28/04/19\nEpidemiological Studies (Confidentiality)\nRegulation 1992\nEffective: 28/04/19\npage 9\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications are\nmarked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication No Amendments to Republication date\n1 SL2000-19 1 June 2000\n2 A2001-44 31 January 2002\n3 SL2003-9 18 April 2003\n4 SL2003-9 4 November 2004\n5 A2007-3 12 April 2007\n© Australian Capital Territory 2019","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulation's scope has been expanded since its original 1992 form by successive additions of prescribed studies. Sections inserting new prescribed studies were added over time: s5 and s6 were inserted (SL1999-28), s7 (SL2000-19), s8 (SL2003-9) and s9 (SL2019-6) (see Amendment history/endnotes). The practical effect is a growing list of studies to which the Act's confidentiality protections apply, including cross-references to other legislation (s7) and a technical opioid definition (s4(2))."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow function: the regulation's sole job is to declare which studies the Act covers — limited subject matter and simple structure.","Multiple prescribed studies listed across separate sections (s4–s9), each tied to named institutions and start dates, which requires cross-checking individual entries.","Technical definition included (opioid definition in s4(2)) increases drafting precision and interpretive detail.","Cross-reference to other legislation (Supervised Injecting Place Trial Act 1999 in s7) creates dependency on external statutory schemes.","Amendment history (endnotes and s4–s9 insertions) shows the list has been expanded over time, so tracing scope requires reviewing amendment instruments (SL1999-28, SL2000-19, SL2003-9, SL2019-6).","Compliance implications: named researchers/institutions and administering agencies must apply the confidentiality regime in the main Act to these studies (implied by the declarations in s4–s9)."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation names particular Territory epidemiological studies that are \"prescribed\" so the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992 applies to them. It identifies the studies, who conducts them, and their start dates. The rule affects researchers, study participants and agencies that handle study data because it changes which studies receive the Act’s legal confidentiality protections and therefore who must follow its compliance requirements."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Originally enacted in 1992 to cover a single opioid feasibility study, the regulation has expanded incrementally to cover six distinct studies spanning supervised injecting facilities, parenting research, child abuse intervention, ongoing opioid monitoring, and pill testing trials. While the mechanism remains unchanged (declaring studies as 'prescribed'), the subject matter has broadened from pure epidemiological research into active policy interventions and harm reduction services. However, this expansion appears consistent with the original intent of enabling confidential health research on sensitive topics."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 9 sections, with sections 2 and 3 omitted (repealed), leaving just 6 substantive provisions","No defined terms in the body of the regulation itself (relies entirely on definitions in the parent Act)","Simple declarative structure: each section follows identical formula 'For the Act, dictionary, definition of prescribed study paragraph (b)... is declared to be a study'","Minimal cross-referencing: only references to the parent Act's dictionary definition of 'prescribed study'","No conditional logic, exceptions, or administrative procedures","Straightforward legislative history showing incremental addition of studies over 27 years (1992-2019)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation simply lists specific health and drug research studies that are legally protected under the Epidemiological Studies (Confidentiality) Act 1992, meaning personal information collected for those studies cannot be lawfully disclosed. \n\nIt affects researchers, participants, and agencies sharing data by providing confidentiality that enables honest participation and robust evidence on sensitive, criminalised or stigmatised issues—supporting evaluation of policies like supervised injecting and pill‑testing without risking participant exposure."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992","history":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992/history","analysis":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/epidemiological-studies-confidentiality-regulation-1992/documents"}}