Part 6Medical fitness to provide veterinary services

Part 6—Medical fitness to provide veterinary services 61—Medical fitness to provide veterinary services A person or body must, in making a determination under this Act as to a veterinarian's medical fitness to provide veterinary services, have regard to the question of whether the veterinarian is able to provide veterinary services personally to an animal without putting the animal at significant risk of serious injury or harm. 62—Duty to report medical unfitness of veterinarian (1) If a health professional who has treated, or is treating, a patient who is a veterinarian is of the opinion that the veterinarian is or may be unable, as a result of a physical or mental illness, disability or deficiency, to provide veterinary services personally to an animal without putting the animal at significant risk of serious injury or harm, the health professional is under a duty to inform the Board, in writing, of their opinion and the reasons for that opinion. (2) If a health professional makes a report to the Board under subsection (1), the health professional must notify the veterinarian of that fact and of the nature of the information provided. (3) A person incurs no civil or criminal liability in carrying out the person's duty under subsection (1). 63—Medical fitness of veterinarian (1) If— (a) on the application of— (i) the Executive Officer; or (ii) the Minister; or (b) after an investigation of a report under section 62 has been conducted, the Board is satisfied, after due inquiry, that a veterinarian is medically unfit to provide veterinary services and that it is in the public interest to do so, the Board may, by order— (c) suspend the person's registration under this Act until further order of the Board or for a specified period determined by the Board; or (d) impose conditions on the person's registration under this Act restricting the person's right to provide veterinary services; or (e) impose conditions on the person's registration under this Act requiring the person to undergo counselling or treatment or to enter into any other undertaking. (2) The Board's power to make an order under subsection (1) is exercisable only if the member of the Board who is a legal practitioner is sitting as a member of the Board for the purposes of hearing and determining the matter. 64—Proceedings before Board under Part (1) For the purposes of proceedings before the Board regarding medical fitness under this Part, the Board may— (a) by summons signed on behalf of the Board by a member of the Board or the Executive Officer, require the attendance before the Board of any person whom the Board thinks fit to call before it; or (b) by summons signed on behalf of the Board by a member of the Board or the Executive Officer— (i) require the production of any relevant records, documents or equipment (including written records that reproduce in a readily understandable form information kept by computer or other process); and (ii) in the case of a document or record that is not in the English language—require the production of a written statement in the English language of the contents of the document or record; or (c) inspect any documents, records or equipment produced before it, and retain them for such reasonable period as it thinks fit, and make copies of the documents or records or their contents; or (d) require any person to make an oath or affirmation (which may be administered by the Executive Officer or any member of the Board) to answer truthfully questions put by any member of the Board or any person appearing before the Board; or (e) require any person appearing before the Board (whether summoned to appear or not) to answer any questions put by any member of the Board or by any person appearing before the Board. (2) On receipt of an application for the issue of a summons under this section, a member of the Board or the Executive Officer may, without referring the matter to the Board, issue a summons on behalf of the Board. (3) A person who— (a) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a summons issued to attend, or to produce documents, records or equipment, before the Board; or (b) having been served with a summons to produce a written statement of the contents of a document or record in the English language fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the summons or produces a statement that they know, or ought to know, is false or misleading in a material particular; or (c) misbehaves before the Board, wilfully insults the Board or 1 or more of the members in the exercise of the member's official duties, or interrupts the proceedings of the Board; or (d) refuses to be sworn or to affirm, or refuses or fails to answer truthfully a relevant question when required to do so by the Board, is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 6 months. (4) A person who appears as a witness before the Board has the same protection as a witness in proceedings before the Supreme Court. (5) In any proceedings before the Board under this Act, the Board— (a) is not bound by the rules of evidence and may inform itself on any matter as it thinks fit; and (b) must act according to equity, good conscience and the substantial merits of the case without regard to technicalities and legal forms. (6) A party to proceedings before the Board is entitled to be represented at the hearing of those proceedings. (7) Subject to this Act, the Board may determine its own procedures in relation to proceedings under this Part.