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Prescribed forms and Chief Health Officer Guidelines
Prescribed forms and Chief Health Officer Guidelines
A number of forms, guidelines, policies or procedures are prescribed under the:
- Public Health Act 206 and
- Food Act 2008
stating that a notice, order or form, must be in the approved form.
This means that the content of the document must be approved by the Chief Health Officer / Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Health prior to use by local government enforcement agencies.
The approved content can be used by enforcement agencies and inserted into local government branded templates.
Food Act 2008 - CEO approved forms guidelines and policies
Under the Food Act 2008 (the Food Act), the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from the Department of Health approves particular:
- policies
- procedures and
- forms (prescribed and non-prescribed)
The forms are in addition to the prescribed forms included in the Food Regulations 2009 (Infringement Notices) (The Food Regulations) (external site).
As enforcement agencies, local governments can customise and use these approved forms to meet their needs (excluding infringement notices as these are prescribed forms).
Refer to the CEO approved forms for the Food Act 2008.
Public Health Act 2016 - forms and guidelines
Prescribed forms
The following prescribed forms are referenced in the Public Health Act:
Prescribed forms |
Provision |
Purpose of form |
Improvement Notice |
Part 14, Division 2, section 212 |
To be issued in circumstances where an authorised officer reasonably believes that a person has:
- Failed to comply with the general duty
- Conduct a material public health risk
- Circumstances outlined in section 212.
|
Notice of Compliance with an Improvement Notice |
Part 14, Division 2, section 215(4) |
- To be issued once the improvement notice has been complied with (section 215).
- An authorised officer is required to complete an assessment and be satisfied that an improvement notice has been complied with, prior to issuing a Notice of Compliance.
|
Notice of Non-compliance with an Improvement Notice |
Part 14, Division 2, section 215(2) |
- If, after carrying out an appropriate assessment, an authorised officer is not satisfied that the improvement notice has been complied with, the officer must give the person a Notice of Non-compliance setting out the reasons why the authorised officer is not satisfied (section 215(2)).
|
Enforcement Order |
Part 14, Division 3, section 216(1) |
An enforcement order may be issued to a person if the enforcement agency (or delegate) reasonably believes:
- The person has not complied with an improvement notice or
- The order is necessary to prevent or mitigate a serious public health risk.
|
Certificate of Clearance |
Part 14, Division 3, section 223 |
- A Certificate of Clearance must be issued by the enforcement agency once an enforcement order has been complied with and if applicable, there is no longer a serious public health risk to be prevented or mitigated (section 223).
- An enforcement agency must be satisfied, either by its own assessment or on the report of an authorised officer’s assessment, that an enforcement order has been complied with, prior to issuing a Certificate of Clearance.
- Once the Certificate of Clearance has been issued, the enforcement order is considered to be revoked.
|
Notice of Non-compliance with an Enforcement Order |
Part 14, Division 3, section 224(3) |
- If an assessment is undertaken and reveals that the enforcement order has not been complied with, the enforcement agency must provide a written notice to the person detailing the reasons for that decision (section 224 (3)). This written notice must be in the approved form.
|
Non-prescribed forms
The following forms are not prescribed under the Public Health Act. Once developed, these forms will provide an example for use by enforcement agencies and can be modified as required.
Forms |
Provision |
Purpose of form |
Certificate of Authority template (Word 24 KB) |
Section 30(2) |
- An authorised officer must be issued with, and show evidence on request, of their authorisation under the Act. This is achieved by issuing any person who is authorised under the Act with a Certificate of Authority card.
- Section 30(2) sets out the requirements for the content of the certificate.
- An authorised officer must carry their ID cards with them. If asked to show their ID card (section 30(3)) and he or she cannot, the authorised officer cannot exercise the relevant powers of the Act.
|
Notice of Seizure |
Section 258 |
- Once an authorised officer has seized an item, they must provide written notification to the person from whom the item was seized as soon as practicable.
- The contents of the written notification must include specific details in accordance with section 258.
|
Acknowledgement of Occupiers Consent to Enter Premises |
Section 240(4) |
- For enforcement agencies who prefer to have a written record of an occupiers consent to enter a premise.
- Consent can be made verbally or in writing as long as it is in accordance with section 240(4).
|
Risk Management Plan |
Section 213(3) |
- An authorised may request that a person develops a risk management plan as part of the requirements of an Improvement Notice. The risk management plan must:
- identify the public health risks associated with the activities specified in the improvement notice
- set out the steps to be taken to manage those risks
- ensure compliance with any requirements of this Act that relate to those activities.
|
Chief Health Officer guidelines and gazette
Feedback on these forms can be provided to publichealthact@health.wa.gov.au
For queries related to the Food Act 2008 email foodsafety@health.wa.gov.au
For queries related to the Public Health Act 2016 email publichealthact@health.wa.gov.au
Last reviewed: 14-04-2022
Produced by
Environmental Health Directorate