2019‑2020‑2021

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Presented and read a first time

No Requirement for Medical Treatment (Including Experimental Injections) Without Consent (Implementing Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights) Bill 2021

No.      , 2021

(Mr Kelly)

A Bill for an Act to implement Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, and for related purposes

Contents

1............ Short title............................................................................................. 1

2............ Commencement................................................................................... 2

3............ Definitions.......................................................................................... 2

4............ Extension to external Territories.......................................................... 3

5............ Implementing Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights            3

A Bill for an Act to implement Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, and for related purposes

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

                   This Act is the No Requirement for Medical Treatment (Including Experimental Injections) Without Consent (Implementing Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights) Act 2021.

2  Commencement

             (1)  Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note:          This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

             (2)  Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Definitions

                   In this Act:

authority of the Commonwealth includes:

                     (a)  the Commonwealth; and

                     (b)  a Commonwealth entity (within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013).

engage in conduct means:

                     (a)  do an act; or

                     (b)  omit to perform an act.

Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights means the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at Paris on 19 October 2005.

Note:          In 2021, the text of the Universal Declaration was accessible through the UNESCO website (www.unesco.org).

4  Extension to external Territories

                   This Act extends to the external Territories.

5  Implementing Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights

             (1)  A Commonwealth authority:

                     (a)  must, in carrying out its functions, uphold and promote Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights; and

                     (b)  without limiting paragraph (a)—must not do any of the following:

                              (i)  engage in conduct that is contrary to that article;

                             (ii)  aid or abet another person to engage in conduct that is contrary to that article;

                            (iii)  induce another person to engage in conduct that is contrary to that article;

                            (iv)  be in any way, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in, or party to, another person engaging in conduct that is contrary to that article.

Note:          Article 6 provides as follows:

(1)    Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information. The consent should, where appropriate, be express and may be withdrawn by the person concerned at any time and for any reason without disadvantage or prejudice.

(2)    Scientific research should only be carried out with the prior, free, express and informed consent of the person concerned. The information should be adequate, provided in a comprehensible form and should include modalities for withdrawal of consent. Consent may be withdrawn by the person concerned at any time and for any reason without any disadvantage or prejudice. Exceptions to this principle should be made only in accordance with ethical and legal standards adopted by States, consistent with the principles and provisions set out in this Declaration, in particular in Article 27, and international human rights law.

(3)    In appropriate cases of research carried out on a group of persons or a community, additional agreement of the legal representatives of the group or community concerned may be sought. In no case should a collective community agreement or the consent of a community leader or other authority substitute for an individual’s informed consent.

             (2)  Subsection (1) has effect despite anything to the contrary in any other Commonwealth, State or Territory law, whether enacted before or after the commencement of this Act.