The Act organises around a small number of discrete legal and operational constructs that determine who acts, what data is gathered, who has duties to provide it, and how it may be used.

• The Council (s 4): a statutory body with functions to investigate specified deaths and conditions, maintain data and registers, provide information for planning and professional education, and report on its work (s 6). The Council may act on referral or on its own motion (s 6(d), (da)) and may communicate to Ministers, the Secretary or prescribed bodies (s 6(db)).

• Defined event classes: maternal death, late maternal death, perinatal death, child death, viable foetus, and born alive are carefully defined in s 3. These definitions determine the scope of what the Council investigates and records. For example maternal death covers death while pregnant or within 42 days from causes related to or aggravated by pregnancy (s 3), late maternal death covers the period 42 days to one year (s 3), and perinatal death includes a viable foetus dying before complete expulsion or extraction or a child born alive dying before day 29 (s 3).

• Registers and perinatal data collection (ss 6(b), 14): the Council maintains registers and a perinatal data collection for analysis, research, trend identification, planning of obstetric and neonatal care, and education (s 6(b)(i)-(vi), s 14).

• Duties to provide information: attendees at births and certain deaths are statutory “attendants” (defined at s 16(1)) with duties to provide “required information” as specified by Council-approved forms, within set timeframes (s 16(2), (4)). The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has an express supply obligation for maternal and perinatal deaths (s 16(4)). The Council may also make written requests requiring persons to provide information in their control (s 17).

• Confidentiality and limits on disclosure: Council members, committee members and employees are prohibited from recording, publishing, disclosing or using information obtained in their roles except as necessary for the Council’s functions (s 15(1)). Information provided under the Act is not admissible in any court, tribunal, board, Agency or person (s 15(2)), and councillors and employees cannot be compelled to produce such information (s 15(3)). The Right to Information Act 2009 is excluded in relation to information provided under this Act or produced by the Council (s 15(7)). The Council can also declare disclosed information confidential by notice (s 15A), which then binds recipients (s 15A(3)-(4)).

• Interaction with coronial and criminal processes: the Council may voluntarily provide recommendations or information to a coroner (s 6A(1)), and the coroner may admit information provided under that subsection despite the confidentiality provisions (s 6A(2)). Separately, s 15(9) requires reporting to police where the Council believes or suspects on reasonable grounds that an indictable offence has been committed in relation to a child or woman; that reporting is not precluded by the confidentiality provisions.

• Governance and composition: the Council’s membership is specified (s 5) with required representation from universities, royal colleges and professional bodies, appointment by the Minister and related procedures for nomination, vacancy filling and removal (s 5; Sch 1). Meetings and decision-making rules are detailed in Schedule 2.

Conceptually, the Act balances a strong confidentiality and privilege architecture designed to promote candid reporting, analysis and research (s 15, s 15A), against limited disclosure exceptions for clinical care, research with de-identification and consent, coronial processes, and law enforcement in certain suspected criminal contexts (s 15(4), (5), 6A, 15(9)). The statutory data collection is designed to be both operational (timely reporting by attendants) and analytical (perinatal registers and trend identification) (s 6, s 14).

Identify who bears duties and who receives benefits or decisions under the Act. The distribution of obligations and discretion is set out across multiple provisions.

• Council members, committee members and Council employees: these persons are entrusted with carrying out investigatory and data functions (s 6, s 9, s 10). They are subject to strict confidentiality duties and criminal penalties for unauthorised disclosure (s 15(1), s 15A(3)). They benefit from statutory protection against personal liability for acts done in good faith in performance of functions (s 13(1)-(2)). They may receive remuneration and allowances determined by the Minister (Sch 1 cl 4).

• The Minister and Secretary: the Minister appoints members specified in s 5(2), may appoint up to two additional members (s 5(3)) and may appoint the chairperson (s 5(4)). The Secretary (department head) must make staff available and approve other service arrangements (s 10). The Council must report to the Minister, and the Minister must lay reports before Parliament or append them to departmental annual reports (s 12).

• Health practitioners and institutions: persons who serve as “attendant” at a birth or relevant death have statutory obligations to supply required information in forms approved by the Council (s 16). The definition of attendant varies by context and includes licensees of establishments, midwives, medical practitioners and specified officers in public hospitals and establishments (s 16(1)). The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages is specifically required to provide information on maternal and perinatal deaths (s 16(4)). Hospitals, public and private, and their licensees therefore carry reporting obligations.

• Professional colleges and bodies: specific seats on the Council are reserved for nominees of the University of Tasmania, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Tasmanian Branch), the Paediatrics and Child Health Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Tasmanian State Committee), the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (Tasmanian Branch) and the Australian College of Midwives (Tasmanian Branch) (s 5(1)(a), (d)-(g)). These bodies are obliged to nominate within a specified period when requested (s 5(5)-(6)).

• Researchers and clinicians outside the Council: the Council may disclose identifiable information to clinicians directly involved in care (s 15(4)(a)) and may disclose non-identifying information for research (s 15(4)(b)); when information for research would identify a person, written consent of the person or their parent/guardian is required (s 15(5)). Recipients of disclosed information are bound to the same confidentiality obligations and liabilities (s 15(6)).

• Coroners and police: the Council may provide recommendations and information to a coroner either on request or of its own motion (s 6A(1)), and the coroner may admit that information as evidence despite confidentiality limits (s 6A(2)). The Council also remains able to report to police where it reasonably believes or suspects an indictable offence has been committed in relation to a child or woman (s 15(9)).

• The public and Parliament: the Council must report annually to the Minister by 31 October (s 12(1)). Reports must not contain information enabling identification of persons whose data is in registers (s 12(7)). The Right to Information Act 2009 is expressly excluded with respect to information provided to or produced by the Council, so access by the public via RTI is curtailed (s 15(7)).

• Administrative actors and contractors: the Council may enter into contracts and joint ventures with other persons with Secretary approval (s 11). Those contractors and persons who receive declared confidential information from the Council become subject to the same non-disclosure obligations and potential penalties (s 15A(3)-(4), s 15(6)).

Who pays: the Act does not itself appropriate funds but contemplates departmental staffing resources made available by the Secretary and Ministerial oversight (s 10, s 22). Costs of compliance for hospitals, midwives and doctors include completing Council forms, meeting timelines (s 16(2)), and compliance with requests under s 17. Who decides: the Minister appoints members and exercises removal powers; the Council exercises investigatory, reporting and confidentiality-declaration powers; the Secretary controls staffing and approvals for external arrangements (ss 5, 6, 10, 11).

This section lists statutory duties imposed on named actors and the legal rights or protections afforded to them by the Act, with specific references.

Duties

• Council: investigate specified deaths and conditions, maintain registers and perinatal data collection, identify and monitor trends, provide information for planning obstetric and neonatal care and for education and research, investigate referred matters and act on its own motion (s 6(a)-(e), s 6(da)-(db)). The Council must produce an annual report by 31 October on the previous financial year and may produce additional reports containing information and recommendations; reports must not identify persons in registers (s 12(1)-(7)). The Council may require persons to provide information relevant to its functions (s 7), and may delegate functions to members or committees (s 8).

• Attendants at births and deaths: provide the “required information” in forms provided or approved by the Council within seven days after the birth or death (s 16(2)). The attendant must not disclose or publish required information except to the extent necessary for performance of their attendant functions or in related capacities (s 16(3)). Definitions of attendant vary by context and include licensees, midwives, medical practitioners and specified hospital or establishment persons (s 16(1)).

• Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages: provide required information in relation to a maternal death or perinatal death to the Council within 30 days after receiving notification of the event (s 16(4)).

• Persons receiving a written request under s 17: on receipt of a written request from the Council, must provide any information in their control that the Council considers may be relevant and that is specified in the request (s 17).

• Secretary: make available departmental staff to the Council as necessary and approve arrangements with the University of Tasmania or other persons for services (s 10). The Minister may direct nomination processes and appoint members (s 5).

Prohibitions and confidentiality

• Members, committee members and employees: must not record, disclose, publish, communicate or use information gained by virtue of their office except to the extent necessary for performance of Council functions (s 15(1)). There is a penalty of a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units for breach (s 15(1)).

• Recipients of disclosed information: are bound to the same rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities in respect of that information as apply to Council members (s 15(6)). The Council may declare certain disclosed information confidential by written notice; recipients of declared confidential information must not record, disclose or use it except in the exercise of their office duties (s 15A(1)-(3)). Penalty for breach of s 15A is a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units (s 15A(3)).

Rights and protections

• Non-compellability and inadmissibility: information provided to the Council, produced by it (other than reports required by s 12), or provided under this Act is not admissible in any proceeding before any court, tribunal, board, Agency or person; council members and employees cannot be required to disclose or produce such information (s 15(2)-(3)). The coroner is, however, able to admit information provided under s 6A(1) (s 6A(2)).

• Immunity from personal liability: members of the Council, committees and employees are shielded from personal liability for acts done or omitted in good faith in performance of functions under this or another Act (s 13(1)-(2)).

• Ministerial and Governor powers: the Minister appoints specified members and the chairperson (s 5(2), (4)), may require nomination by relevant bodies (s 5(5)) and may appoint replacement members where bodies fail to nominate (s 5(6)). The Governor may, on recommendation, amend s 5 in relation to a body that ceases to exist (s 5(8)).

• Right to disclose in specific instances: the confidentiality regime does not prevent disclosure with Council approval to clinicians concerned with care (s 15(4)(a)) or to persons concerned in research (s 15(4)(b)), subject to de-identification and consent rules (s 15(5)). The Council may report to police where it reasonably believes or suspects an indictable offence related to a child or woman (s 15(9)).

Enforcement tools

• The Council has power to require information relevant to its functions (s 7) and may make written requests under s 17, which attract a penalty for non-compliance (s 17). Regulations may prescribe offences and fines for contraventions (s 20(3)).

These duties and rights create a legal framework where health practitioners and institutions are required to feed specified data into the Council’s registers and data collection promptly; Council members can act and analyse with statutory protection and confidentiality; and certain external legal processes (coronial and criminal) have structured exceptions to the confidentiality regime.

The Act uses fines expressed in penalty units and administrative mechanisms to secure compliance. It also confers investigatory powers on the Council and procedural protections for its operations.

Monetary penalties

• Breach of confidentiality by members, committee members or employees: a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units applies where a person directly or indirectly records, discloses, publishes, communicates or makes use of information obtained as a Council member or employee except as necessary for the Council’s functions (s 15(1)).

• Breach of confidentiality after Council declaration: where disclosed information has been declared confidential by the Council under s 15A, a person in possession of that information who records, discloses or uses it except as necessary for performing their office must pay a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units (s 15A(3)).

• Failure by attendants to provide required information: an attendant who does not provide required information (in the approved Council form) within seven days commits an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units (s 16(2)).

• Improper disclosure by attendants: an attendant who discloses or publishes required information except as permitted faces a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units (s 16(3)).

• Failure to comply with a written request under s 17: a person who does not provide information in their control specified by the Council’s written request commits an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 5 penalty units (s 17).

• Regulations may create offences: the Governor can make regulations that create offences with fines up to 5 penalty units and continuing fines up to 0.5 penalty units per day (s 20(3)).

Enforcement mechanisms and compellability

• Information compulsion: the Council has the statutory power to require any person to provide information in their control that is relevant to performance of its functions (s 7). That power is supplemented by s 17 which creates a specific duty on receipt of a written request to provide information the Council specifies.

• Penalties as compliance incentives: statutory fines operate as the principal enforcement tool; absence of express criminal sanctions beyond fines suggests enforcement is largely administrative and compliance-driven rather than involving imprisonment (the Act does not create imprisonment sanctions).

• Non-compellability in external proceedings: information received or produced under this Act (other than the mandatory reports under s 12) is not admissible in court, tribunal or other proceedings and Council members or employees cannot be compelled to disclose or produce such information (s 15(2)-(3)). This structural protection limits external avenues of enforcement against the Council’s activities and information.

Tensions and operational considerations

• Confidentiality vs reporting to external authorities: the Act expressly allows reporting to police where the Council believes or suspects on reasonable grounds that an indictable offence has been committed in relation to a child or woman (s 15(9)). The Council may also provide recommendations and information to a coroner (s 6A(1)) and the coroner may admit such information as evidence (s 6A(2)), notwithstanding s 15. These exceptions introduce limited compellability in discrete circumstances.

• Administrative rather than coercive enforcement: the presence of fines and the Council’s information requisition powers create practical compulsion for information flow from clinicians and registrars. The fines are modest legal penalties compared to potential regulatory or professional discipline that may arise from breach of professional obligations, but the Act does not itself create licensing or registration consequences.

• Delegation and committee powers: the Council may delegate functions to members or committees (s 8) and committees have the same powers as the Council (s 9(4)), enabling operational enforcement and follow-up to be carried out within the Council’s organisational reach.

Note on penalty units: the Act refers to “penalty units” without specifying monetary value; the actual dollar value per unit is set in other Tasmanian legislation or instruments and therefore the concrete dollar cost of non-compliance must be checked against the current penalty unit value at the time of a breach.

The Act explicitly cross-references and limits certain other Acts and procedural frameworks. Those interactions determine data flows, compellability, institutional arrangements and the scope of certain definitions.

Named cross-references and their operation

• Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Tasmania): the Act defines “midwife” by reference to registration under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Tasmania) (s 3). This means that eligibility and professional status for duties under the Act align with the national registration scheme as applied in Tasmania.

• Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999: the Act links the supply of information to the Council with notification obligations under the BDM Act. The Registrar is required to provide required information in relation to maternal and perinatal deaths within 30 days after receiving notification under the BDM Act (s 16(4)). The definition of attendant for certain deaths also references the medical practitioner required to give a certificate under s 35 of the BDM Act (s 16(1)(d)(ii)).

• Right to Information Act 2009: the Act expressly excludes the operation of the Right to Information Act 2009 in relation to any information provided to the Council or produced by it (s 15(7)). That exclusion restricts public access rights that might otherwise allow third-party scrutiny of Council-held materials.

• State Service Act 2000: Schedule 1 cl 6 provides that the State Service Act 2000 does not apply in relation to members of the Council (Sch 1 cl 6). That removes some public-sector employment frameworks from the status of appointed members.

• State Service Agency definition: s 15(2)-(3) mentions “Agency (within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000)”, which is relevant to compellability and admissibility provisions, reinforcing the non-compellability across a range of public decision-making bodies.

• Administrative Arrangements Act 1990: s 22 assigns administration of the Act to the Minister for Community and Health Services until a formal administrative arrangement is made under the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990. That is an interim administrative assignment and indicates which ministerial department executes the Act prior to any transfer.

• Health Service Establishments Act 2006: the Act defines “establishment” by reference to the Health Service Establishments Act 2006 for the purposes of determining who is an attendant (s 16(1)). This links reporting duties to licenced or regulated health facilities.

• Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 and Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024: the Act defines “relevant Minister” to mean the Minister administering those Acts as required (s 3). That definition is consequential for the Council’s power to communicate information to a “relevant Minister” under s 6(db).

Operational consequences of these interactions

• Registration and practitioner status: because duties fall on “midwives” as defined by the national registration law (s 3), the Act’s reach aligns with regulated practitioner status. Private or unregulated birth attendants not captured by the registration law may not fall within the midwife definition and other attendant definitions will determine obligations.

• Information pipeline from registries: the BDM Registrar’s express supply obligation (s 16(4)) creates a formal data pipeline between statutory registries and the Council. Entities that notify the BDM Registrar (e.g. hospitals, registrars, practitioners) effectively trigger the Council’s access to information.

• Restriction on public right to know: exclusion of the Right to Information Act (s 15(7)) means public access to Council-held information is restricted, which affects journalists, researchers and oversight agencies relying on RTI pathways. Researchers may still gain access under s 15(4)(b) subject to de-identification and consent rules.

• Coronial process and evidence: although the Council enjoys strong non-compellability protections (s 15(2)-(3)), the Council may provide information to coroners and the coroner may admit that information as evidence (s 6A). This creates a bespoke pathway into the coronial system that is not blocked by the general inadmissibility rule.

• Professional and criminal law interface: s 15(9) requires the Council to report on reasonable belief or suspicion of an indictable offence to the Commissioner of Police. That preserves a mandatory reporting channel into criminal enforcement that supersedes confidentiality limitations.

• Administrative exclusions: members are not within the State Service Act employment arrangements (Sch 1 cl 6), so terms and conditions for members are governed by appointment instruments and the arrangements in the Schedule rather than the standard State Service framework.

Regulatory authorisation

• The regulations may authorise matters to be determined by the Council (s 20(4)) and may make offences with fines (s 20(3)). This allows the Executive to frame detailed operational rules or delegations by regulation, and to assign small-penalty sanctions for regulatory non-compliance, interacting with the Act’s statutory duties.

In summary, the Act’s detailed cross-references ensure that practitioner definitions, registries, coronial and policing pathways, and public access regimes are harmonised with the Council’s functions. Those cross-references also allocate obligations across the public and health sectors and constrain external oversight by a specific RTI exclusion.

The text contains multiple amendment annotations identifying the year and instrument of amendments and the sections affected. The schedule below reproduces the amendment notifications as they appear in the statutory text. These are procedural references; the Act does not include the full amending instruments within the text provided.

Amendments recorded in the statute text

• No. 86 of 2000, Schedule 1: Amendment applied 01 May 2001. It amended s 12 subsection (1) (notation indicates substitution at s 12) and Schedule 1 cl 6 was amended (Sch 1 cl 6 indicates the State Service Act 2000 inapplicable). The statutory notes show s 12 was earlier amended or substituted at this time (s 12 Substituted by No. 32 of 2010 was later; the No. 86 changes pre-date that substitution).

• No. 58 of 1999, Schedule 1: Applied 01 Nov 2000; amendments affecting s 16(1) definitions of attendant in particular contexts are annotated as having been amended by No. 58 of 1999.

• No. 40 of 2005, s 4 and s 5: Applied 15 Sep 2005. These amendments inserted or amended definitions in s 3 including “late maternal death”, “maternal death”, and expanded s 6 functions to explicitly include maternal and late maternal deaths and deaths of children in the 29 day to 17 years bracket (s 6 wording shows amendments by No. 40 of 2005).

• No. 100 of 1995, s 97 and Schedule 7: Amended s 5(1) subsection (1) formerly; applied earlier and reflected in membership numbers (s 5(1) notes the subsection amendment by No. 100 of 1995).

• No. 32 of 2010 various sections (ss 5-13): Applied 04 Nov 2010. This instrument made multiple changes: amending s 1 short title (annotation), s 3 definitions (including committee, information), s 5 membership subsections, s 6 functions (addition of da/db allowing investigations of its own motion and communications), insertion of s 6A concerning information to coroner, amendment of s 7 powers, s 8 delegations and substitution of s 12 (reports), insertion of s 15A (restriction on dealing with information), and other consequential changes. These are annotated as “Inserted by No. 32 of 2010” or “Substituted by No. 32 of 2010”.

• No. 3 of 2010, Schedule 1: Applied 01 Jul 2010. This amending instrument affected definitions (e.g. “midwife” in s 3) and added a midwife member nomination in s 5(1)(g), and updated functions in s 6(c) to include education and instruction in obstetrics and paediatrics for specified professionals.

• No. 17 of 2006, Schedule 3: Applied 01 Oct 2011. Amended s 16 attendant definitions and other related provisions to clarify the range of attendants in different settings (establishments, public hospitals, births elsewhere).

• No. 6 of 2025, s 25: Applied 01 Jul 2025. The text shows this amendment updated the definition of “relevant Minister” in s 3 to include the Minister administering the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 in addition to the Minister administering the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997.

• Statutory Rules 2011, No. 47: Applied 08 Jun 2011. Amended s 5 membership subsections to change references for particular college nominations (s 5(1)(d) and (e)).

• No. 54 of 2009, Schedule 1: Applied 01 Jul 2010. Amended s 15(6) annotation as per the text.

• No. 13 of 1997, Schedule 4: Applied 01 Jul 1997. Amended s 16 attendant definitions.

What the amendment annotations show

• The Act has been updated repeatedly to broaden the Council’s remit in relation to maternal and late maternal deaths, to add explicit powers to communicate with coroners and to tighten confidentiality protections, and to align member composition with professional representative bodies and registration laws. Amendments in 2010 (No. 32 of 2010) appear to have been especially comprehensive, inserting s 6A, strengthening confidentiality (s 15 substitution and s 15A insertion), and adjusting s 12 (reports).

• Later amendments update administrative definitions and ministerial references (e.g. inclusion of the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 in the definition of relevant Minister, No. 6 of 2025). Other amendments adjust the attendant definitions and procedural mechanisms for convening and staffing the Council.

Limits of this history

• The Act text provides amendment annotations and applied dates but not the full content of the amending Acts beyond what is reflected in the text. The annotations above are reproduced from the Act’s embedded amendment notes. For a complete legislative history that includes explanatory memoranda, second-reading speeches or the full text of amending instruments, consult the Tasmanian Parliamentary and legislative archives or the consolidated versions of the amending Acts.

The statute as provided contains no case law citations and does not list any judicial decisions interpreting its provisions. The text itself includes no named litigated decisions or references to litigation. Therefore, based solely on the source material supplied, there is no recorded litigation history to reproduce.

That absence in the text does not mean litigation cannot arise. The statutory design presents several potential legal issues that could generate judicial or administrative review, depending on fact patterns and external actors. Those issues, grounded in the Act’s provisions, include:

• Confidentiality and admissibility tensions: s 15 creates a broad exclusion of admissibility and compellability for information provided to the Council, while s 6A creates a coroner-facing exception and s 15(9) preserves reporting to police where there is a reasonable suspicion of an indictable offence. Litigation could arise over what constitutes “information provided to the Council” versus data in public reports (s 12), or over whether the Council has properly exercised the s 15(9) reporting obligation. Disputes might focus on whether particular material is protected from disclosure to courts or tribunals or whether the coroner’s admission of Council material is permissible under s 6A(2). All these interactions are defined in the statute; any judicial engagement would be confined to statutory interpretation, evidentiary rules and the scope of exceptions contained in the Act (ss 6A, 15, 15A).

• Compulsion and proportionality of s 17 requests: s 17 requires persons to provide information in their control that the Council specifies, subject to a modest penalty for non-compliance. Litigation could test the reasonable scope of a Council request, claims of overreach or procedural fairness if a person argues the Council’s request is not “relevant to the performance of its functions” or otherwise disproportionate. The Act provides the criterion that the Council “considers may be relevant to the performance of its functions” and specifies a penalty (s 17).

• Administrative law challenges to Council decisions: the Council’s investigatory and reporting functions (s 6), delegation powers (s 8) and committee operations (s 9) could generate reviewable administrative decisions, particularly where the Council’s actions affect third-party rights or reputations. Judicial review could explore whether the Council acted within jurisdiction, observed procedural fairness or properly applied its statutory powers.

• Interplay with RTI exclusion: the express exclusion of the Right to Information Act 2009 (s 15(7)) could be litigated if third parties seek access to information not plainly within the Act’s exclusion or when the Council produces materials in formats not contemplated by the Act. Questions may arise about the boundaries of the exclusion and whether it applies to derivative records or metadata.

• Professional obligations and penal consequences for attendants: s 16 imposes duties on attendants with fines for non-compliance. Affected practitioners could raise procedural or definitional challenges about whether they were properly constituted an “attendant” under s 16(1) in the relevant context.

Because none of these lines of litigation is identified in the Act text, readers should treat this section as an enumeration of statute-grounded litigation vectors rather than as a record of existing case law. For information on actual judicial decisions, consult legal databases for Tasmanian case law and any decisions mentioning the Act.

The Act contains several provisions that may produce practical traps for practitioners, institutions and researchers if their operational implications are overlooked. The following are “gotchas” grounded in the text with suggested points of attention.

1. Tight deadlines with small but real penalties (s 16(2), s 17)

• Attendants must return the Council’s approved form within seven days of the birth or death (s 16(2)). The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has 30 days in which to pass information to the Council for maternal and perinatal deaths (s 16(4)). Failure attracts fines up to 10 penalty units for attendants and 5 penalty units for failure to respond to s 17 requests. Operationally, routine delays in hospital paperwork or uncertain delegation can trigger exposure to fine-based liability.

2. Who is an “attendant” varies with context (s 16(1))

• The definition of “attendant” depends on where the birth or death occurs (establishment, public hospital, elsewhere) and which personnel were present (licensee, midwife, medical practitioner, person in attendance). This variation can lead to ambiguity over who carries the legal duty in specific circumstances, for example home births with no registered midwife or unregulated birth attendants. Failure to map local practice to the statutory definitions can mis-assign responsibility.

3. Confidentiality is broad but contains key exceptions (ss 15, 15A, 6A, 15(9))

• s 15(1) prohibits members and staff from recording or disclosing information obtained under the Act except as necessary for performance of Council functions. However, the Council may approve disclosure to clinicians and researchers (s 15(4)), declare information confidential (s 15A), and must report suspected indictable offences to police (s 15(9)). Without careful procedures, staff may inadvertently disclose information permitted under s 15(4) or be uncertain whether a matter meets the threshold for reporting to police.

4. Right to Information exclusion limits transparency (s 15(7))

• The exclusion of the Right to Information Act 2009 from Council information (s 15(7)) prevents standard RTI access. Journalists, researchers and oversight bodies cannot obtain Council-held material by RTI; they must rely on Council-authored reports (s 12) or authorised disclosures under s 15(4). This non-availability may create friction and pressure for alternative access routes.

5. Non-compellability versus coronial admissibility (s 15(2)-(3), s 6A(2))

• s 15 renders Council information inadmissible and the Council not compellable in many proceedings, but s 6A(2) explicitly permits a coroner to admit information the Council provides under s 6A(1). That carve-out means Council-provided materials may enter coronial processes despite general inadmissibility elsewhere, which can be a surprise to practitioners expecting absolute protection.

6. Researchers must manage de-identification and consent (s 15(4)(b), s 15(5))

• The Council can disclose information to persons concerned in research (s 15(4)(b)), but if the information would enable identification, written consent of the person or their parent/guardian is required (s 15(5)). Researchers relying on Council data must ensure robust de-identification, governance and consent procedures; otherwise the Council will not provide identifiable data.

7. Small statutory fines but reputational and professional consequences

• Fines specified are in penalty units (s 15(1), s 16(2), s 17). While the monetary sanction may be limited, non-compliance can lead to professional regulatory consequences, reputational risk for institutions, and operational disruption. The Act does not displace other legal or professional accountability regimes.

8. Appointment and removal powers concentrated in the Minister (s 5; Sch 1 cl 7)

• The Minister appoints specified members and the chair (s 5(2), (4)), can require nominations and appoint if bodies fail to nominate (s 5(5)-(6)), and the Minister may remove a member for incapacity, conviction of a serious offence, bankruptcy or unexplained absence (Sch 1 cl 7(2)). Entities nominating representatives should be aware of the Minister’s control and the relatively short maximum term of three years (Sch 1 cl 2).

9. Records and minutes obligations; quorum rules (Sch 2)

• The Council must keep minutes and has quorum and voting rules (Sch 2 cl 4, cl 7). Acts performed while a vacancy exists are nonetheless valid (Sch 2 cl 8). Institutions relying on Council decisions should verify that procedural requirements are met, but the Act protects actions taken despite subsequent discovery of appointment defects.

10. Potential gap between Council’s data needs and clinicians’ capacity

• The Council can require persons to provide information it “considers may be relevant to the performance of its functions” (s 17). In high-volume or understaffed settings, meeting specificity and timeliness of Council requests may be operationally burdensome. Health services need clear internal processes to triage and respond to s 17 requests.

These “gotchas” are not speculative regarding the text: they flow from the Act’s deadlines, definitions, exceptions, and administrative arrangements. Addressing them requires internal policies, clear assignment of responsibility, training and liaison with the Council.

This section provides a concrete, statute-grounded compliance checklist and operational recommendations for the primary duty-bearers named in the Act: the Council, health establishments and their licensees, midwives and medical practitioners, the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, researchers, and ministerial/departmental officers.

Compliance steps for establishments, clinicians and attendants (s 16, s 17)

1. Map roles to statutory definitions

• Determine, for each birth and relevant death scenario, who meets the definition of “attendant” under s 16(1). That requires reviewing whether the event occurred in an “establishment” (as defined under the Health Service Establishments Act 2006), a public hospital, or elsewhere, and who was in attendance (midwife, medically-qualified practitioner, licensee).

2. Adopt approved Council forms and processes

• The Act requires attendants to provide “required information” in a form provided or approved by the Council (s 16). Establishments should request copies of the Council’s approved forms and embed them into medical record workflows. Where the Council updates forms, implement version control and change management.

3. Meet the seven-day deadline for required information

• Put in place procedures to collect, validate and transmit the Council’s forms within seven days of the event (s 16(2)). For multi-disciplinary care, designate a named role (e.g. clinical coordinator or records officer) responsible for ensuring compliance.

4. Maintain confidentiality and restrict external disclosure

• Attendants must not disclose the required information beyond what is necessary for attendant functions (s 16(3)). Ensure staff receive training on the confidentiality obligations in s 15 and s 15A. If disclosure beyond immediate care is requested, seek Council approval or legal advice.

5. Responding to s 17 written requests

• Treat any written request from the Council under s 17 as statutory. Log receipt, identify the custodian(s) of the requested information, assess whether the information is in the person’s control and is within the scope of the request, and provide the specified materials promptly. Although s 17 does not prescribe a timeframe, compliance should be as soon as practicable to mitigate the risk of a fine (s 17).

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (s 16(4))

6. BDM Registrar pipeline

• Ensure mechanisms are in place to transmit required information relating to maternal or perinatal deaths to the Council within 30 days of notification under the BDM Act (s 16(4)). Coordinate data flows between registration staff and Council liaison officers.

Council operations and governance (s 5, s 6, s 7, ss 8-12)

7. Formulate data governance, access and disclosure policies

• The Council should develop written policies on classification of material, de-identification standards for research releases (s 15(5)), procedures for issuing confidentiality declarations under s 15A, and criteria for approving disclosures to clinicians and researchers (s 15(4)). These policies should be published internally and shared with partner institutions subject to confidentiality rules.

8. Implement strict access controls and audit trails

• Given the inadmissibility and confidentiality regime (s 15, s 15A), maintain secure IT systems, role-based access controls, and audit logs showing who accessed what information and why. These technical measures will support compliance with legal prohibitions on unauthorised disclosure (s 15(1), s 15A(3)).

9. Prepare standard operating procedures for coronial and police interactions

• The Council may provide recommendations and information to coroners (s 6A(1)) and must notify police when it reasonably suspects an indictable offence involving a child or woman (s 15(9)). Draft SOPs to determine thresholds for reporting, roles for Council staff, documentation required, and protocols for liaising with coroners and police while preserving confidentiality to the extent possible.

10. Reporting and non-identifying public communication

• Produce the annual report by 31 October on the previous financial year (s 12(1)). Ensure that public reports do not contain any information enabling identification of persons in registers (s 12(7)). Coordinate with the Department to append or lay reports before Parliament as required (s 12(2)-(3), (6)).

Researchers and external parties (s 15(4)-(6), s 15A)

11. Requesting research data

• Researchers must apply to the Council for access, state the research purpose, and accept that identifiable data will not be provided without written consent of the person or their parent/guardian (s 15(5)). Prepare ethical approvals, data management plans and consent forms for Council review.

12. Contractual and confidentiality obligations

• When the Council discloses information to third parties or enters into contracts/joint ventures (s 11), ensure contracts include confidentiality clauses mirroring the statutory obligations, provisions for return or destruction of data, obligation to comply with s 15A where declarations are made, and indemnity clauses where appropriate and lawful.

Ministerial and departmental compliance (ss 10, 11, 22)

13. Staffing and service provisions

• The Secretary must make available staff to the Council as necessary (s 10(a)). Departments should nominate staff with appropriate clinical, statistical or legal expertise and ensure secondments are supported by clear terms of reference documenting duties and confidentiality obligations.

14. Approving arrangements with the University or others

• The Council may arrange with the University of Tasmania for services with Secretary approval (s 10(b)) and may enter contracts with Secretary approval (s 11). Ensure formal Memoranda of Understanding or service-level agreements are in place and governance responsibilities are recorded.

Practical recordkeeping and audit measures

15. Keep contemporaneous logs of requests and disclosures

• Maintain a central register of s 17 requests, s 15A confidentiality declarations, disclosures under s 15(4), and any reports to police or coroners. This supports transparency, audit and risk management.

16. Training and induction

• Provide tailored training for clinicians, records staff, registrars and Council employees on obligations under ss 15, 15A, 16 and 17, including practical case examples of permitted disclosures and obligations to report suspected indictable offences.

17. Legal oversight and escalation

• Establish a legal escalation pathway for ambiguous requests, potential conflicts between confidentiality and statutory reporting obligations, and complex coronial or police interactions.

18. Review and continuous improvement

• Regularly review the Council’s forms, data definitions and reporting timelines in consultation with health services to reduce reporting burden, clarify responsibilities, and ensure data quality for trend identification and planning (s 6(b)(iii)-(iv)).

By following these steps, duty-bearers align operational practice with the Act’s statutory structure: timely data flows to the Council to support perinatal and paediatric oversight (s 6, s 14), while enforcing the confidentiality protections, limited disclosure routes and reporting obligations that the Act prescribes (ss 15, 15A, 6A, 15(9)).