{"id":"notification-of-stillbirth-and-neonatal-death-regulations","name":"Notification of Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death Regulations","slug":"notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":179144,"registerId":"wa-notification-of-stillbirth-and-neonatal-death-regulations-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Notification of Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death Regulations","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nHealth (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911\n\nNotification of Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death Regulations\n\nWestern Australia\n\nNotification of Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death Regulations\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Notification of stillbirth or death of neonate 1\n\nSchedule\n\nAppendix\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 6\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nHealth (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911\n\nNotification of Stillbirth and Neo‑Natal Death Regulations\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\nThese regulations may be cited as the *Notification of Stillbirth and Neo‑Natal Death Regulations* 1.\n\n##### 2. Notification of stillbirth or death of neonate\n\n(1) Where a medical practitioner gives a death certificate in relation to any child who died within 28 days of his birth, he shall notify the Chief Health Officer of the fact in the Form No. 1 in the Appendix, within 48 hours of the death certificate being given.\n\n(2) A medical practitioner who contravenes subregulation (1) commits an offence and is liable to a penalty which is not more than $1 000 and not less than —\n\n(a) in the case of a first offence, $100;\n\n(b) in the case of a second offence, $200; and\n\n(c) in the case of a third or subsequent offence, $500.\n\n[Regulation 2 amended: Gazette 29 Jun 1984 p. 1782; 23 Dec 1988 p. 4974; 10 Jan 2017 p. 297.]\n\nSchedule\n\nAppendix\n\nForm No. 1\n\nWestern Australia\n\n*Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911*\n\nSTILLBIRTH AND NEO-NATAL DEATH NOTIFICATION\n\nTo Chief Health Officer\n\nName of Mother ........................... Home Address .......................... Age .............\n\nPlace of Birth .........................................................................................................\n\nGestation Period ...................... Birth Weight ...................... Sex of Foetus ..........\n\nSingle/Plural Birth ................................................ Time of Birth .........................\n\nDate of Birth ............................... Date of Death (if Neo‑Natal) ...........................\n\nNOTE: Neo‑Natal death for the purpose of this report includes death within 28 days of birth.\n\nPlease indicate with a tick whichever is applicable.\n\n1. — General Health of Mother\n\nTuberculosis ........................................ Diseases of the blood ..........................\n\nRheumatic Fever and sequelae ............ Diabetes ...............................................\n\nOther Cardiac Disease ......................... Tumours of uterus and adnexa ............\n\nEssential hypertension ......................... Mental disorders ..................................\n\nChronic Nephritis ................................\n\n2. — Acute Infectious Disease of Mother\n\nRubella ................................................ Other virus disease ..............................\n\nMeasles ................................................ Other acute infective disease ..............\n\nMumps ................................................. (State week of pregnancy in which\n\nInfluenza .............................................. onset occurred) ..............................\n\n3. — Maternal Disease of Pregnancy\n\nHyperemesis ........................................ Placenta Praevia ..................................\n\nPre‑eclampsia ...................................... Other Antepartum Haemorrhage\n\nEclampsia ............................................ Pyelonephritis ................................\n\nHydramnios .........................................\n\n4. — Abnormal Duration of Labour\n\nDuration over 48 hours .......................\n\n5. — Abnormality of Presentation\n\nPersistent occipito‑posterior ............... Face and brow .....................................\n\nUncomplicated breech ........................ Transverse and oblique .......................\n\nComplicated breech ............................\n\n6. — Abnormality of Pelvis\n\nContracted pelvis .................................\n\n7. — Accidents of Labour\n\nRupture of uterus.................................. Failed forceps .....................................\n\n8. — Labour\n\n(a) Normal ......................................... (c) Instrumental .................................\n\n(b) Manipulative — Forceps delivery ..........................\n\nExternal version before labour .... Embryoctomy and craniotomy ....\n\nSurgical induction .......................\n\nCaesarean section ........................\n\nVersion in labour .........................\n\n9. — Abnormality of Foetus\n\nCongenital malformation .................... Foetal disease due to maternal\n\nErythroblastosis foetalis...................... disease ............................................\n\nMacerated foetus................................. (State disease, see Sect. 1, 2 and 3  \nabove.)\n\n10. — Abnormalities of Placenta and Cord\n\nManual removal ................................... Other ...................................................\n\nProlapse and presentation ....................\n\n11. — Neo‑Natal Complications\n\nIntracranial and spinal injury at birth .... Other birth injury ................................\n\nPost‑natal asphyxia and atelectasis .....\n\n12. — Other Disease Peculiar to Early Pregnancy\n\nErythroblastosis ................................... Other ...................................................\n\nHaemorrhagic disease of new born .....\n\n13. — Principal Pre‑Medication\n\nMorphine ............................................. Pethidine .............................................\n\n14. — Principal Anaesthetics\n\nChloroform .......................................... Cyclopropane ......................................\n\nEther .................................................... Ethylene ..............................................\n\nTrilene ................................................. Intravenous agents —\n\nEthyl chloride ...................................... Pentothal, Evipan ...........................\n\nNitrous oxide ....................................... Relaxing Agents ............................\n\nOther Remarks\n\n.....................................................................................................................................\n\nDate ..............................................\n\n................................................................\n\nSignature of Medical Practitioner.\n\n[Appendix amended: Gazette 30 Jun 2003 p. 2620; 10 Jan 2017 p. 297.]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Notification of Stillbirth and Neo-Natal Death Regulations* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Gazettal** | | **Commencement** | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Notification of Stillbirth and Neo‑Natal Death Regulations* | 15 Apr 1955 p. 712‑14 | | 15 Apr 1955 | |\n| *Health Legislation Amendment Regulations 1984* r. 4 | 29 Jun 1984 p. 1780-4 | | 1 Jul 1984 (see r. 2) | |\n| *Health (Offences and Penalties) Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 1988* Pt. 16 | 23 Dec 1988 p. 4970‑5 | | 23 Dec 1988 | |\n| *Equality of Status Subsidiary Legislation Amendment Regulations 2003* Pt. 29 | 30 Jun 2003 p. 2581‑638 | | 1 Jul 2003 (see r. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Jun 2003 p. 2579) | |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Notification of Stillbirth and Neo‑Natal Death Regulations* as at 10 Oct 2003** (includes amendments listed above) | | | | |\n| *Health Regulations Amendment (Public Health) Regulations 2016* Pt. 28 | | 10 Jan 2017 p. 237‑308 | | 24 Jan 2017 (see r. 2(b) and *Gazette* 10 Jan 2017 p. 165) |\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":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: mandatory notification of perinatal deaths for public health surveillance. The 2003 amendment updated gendered language ('his birth' to neutral), and 2016/2017 amendments appear procedural, but the core scope—collecting detailed medical data on stillbirths and neonatal deaths—has not expanded beyond the original 1955 intent."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 substantive regulations (Regulation 1 is just the citation)","Single operative provision with straightforward duty: notify within 48 hours using prescribed form","Simple penalty structure with three tiers based on offence history","No defined terms section—relies on ordinary medical meanings","No cross-references to other legislation except parent Act citation","Form/Appendix is lengthy but consists of checkboxes and blank fields rather than legal text","No conditional exceptions, exemptions, or discretionary powers"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations require doctors to report stillbirths and newborn deaths to the Chief Health Officer of Western Australia. Specifically, if a baby dies within 28 days of birth, the doctor must fill out a detailed form and submit it within 48 hours of issuing the death certificate.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Medical practitioners** (doctors) who attend births or issue death certificates for newborns\n- **Families** experiencing stillbirth or neonatal loss (though they don't file the paperwork themselves)\n- **The Chief Health Officer** and public health authorities who collect the data\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis creates a **mandatory surveillance system** for tracking why babies die. The form collects extensive medical information about:\n- The mother's health conditions (diabetes, heart disease, infections, etc.)\n- Complications during pregnancy and labour\n- How the baby was delivered\n- Birth defects or abnormalities\n- Medical interventions used\n\nThis data helps health authorities identify patterns, improve maternity care, and prevent future deaths. The regulations also include **penalties** for doctors who fail to report—fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 depending on whether it's a repeat offence.\n\n**Key detail:** The term \"neonate\" (or \"neo-natal\") refers to a newborn baby in their first 28 days of life."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument has been amended over time (see compilation: 1984, 1988, 2003, 2017). Amendments have modified regulation 2 and the Appendix — updating penalty provisions and the notification form — but the core scope remains: medical practitioners must notify the Chief Health Officer of deaths within 28 days of birth within 48 hours."},"complexity_factors":["Single, narrowly framed duty: medical practitioner must notify Chief Health Officer when issuing a neonatal death certificate (Reg 2(1)).","Short, strict time limit for compliance: 48 hours (Reg 2(1)).","Clearly graduated penalty structure with minimums for repeat offences and an overall maximum (Reg 2(2)).","Prescribed, detailed reporting form in the Appendix containing many clinical fields (Form No. 1), increasing administrative burden.","A small potential for interpretive questions (e.g. precise moment a death certificate is ‘given’; scope of ‘neo‑natal’ captured in Appendix note).","Amendment history (1984, 1988, 2003, 2017) means current text has been updated over time, which may require checking versions for practice guidance."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation requires any medical practitioner who issues a death certificate for a child who died within 28 days of birth to notify the Chief Health Officer within 48 hours using the prescribed form. Failure to notify attracts a graduated monetary penalty (specified minimums and a $1,000 maximum). It directly affects practising clinicians (who bear the compliance cost and fines) and public health authorities (who receive standardised mortality data)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible as no legislative text was retrievable from the provided URL. The page has been removed or relocated on the Western Australian legislation website."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was available to assess — the source URL returned a 'page not found' error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully rated without access to the actual text of the regulations","Score of 1 reflects absence of content rather than genuine simplicity"],"plain_english_summary":"The referenced Notification of Stillbirth and Neo‑Natal Death Regulations (page currently unavailable) would set out how and when stillbirths and neonatal deaths must be reported in Western Australia. They primarily affect hospitals, midwives, doctors and other healthcare providers, and matter for legal registration, public‑health surveillance and families’ bereavement processes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations","history":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations/history","analysis":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/notification-of-stillbirth-and-neo-natal-death-regulations/documents"}}