Emergency responders and Corrections staff are to be better protected under proposed legislation to enforce mandatory testing of people who expose officers to the risk of disease through biting or other deliberate acts.
Announced jointly by the Ministers for Police and Emergency Services, Counter Terrorism and Corrections and the Attorney General, the scheme has at its top priority the the safety and protection of frontline workersy.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott said the scheme provided authorities with the power to test a person for diseases if there was a risk of a frontline worker being exposed to a blood-borne virus such as HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C through the deliberate actions of another person.
“We want to give as much peace of mind to frontline workers as we can to alleviate the uncertainty they may experience if have been exposed to bodily fluids,” Mr Elliott said.
He said that under the proposed legislation, a senior officer would carry out a risk assessment to determine if the source of the possible infection should be ordered to undergo mandatory testing.
Attorney General Mark Speakman said anyone who refused to comply with a mandatory testing order would be committing an offence.
“We need to provide a real deterrent so people who think it’s okay to attack our frontline workers know they will face the full force of the law,” Mr Speakman said.
“Courts will have the power to impose on those who refuse to undergo a test a maximum of 12 months imprisonment or an $11,000 fine, or both,” he said.
“If either the victim or the person to be tested disagree with the decision of the senior officer, they may appeal within 48 hours to the NSW Chief Health Officer who must make a decision within seven days.”
Mr Speakman said the scheme would be made available to frontline workers including the NSW Police Force, Corrective Services NSW, Youth Justice NSW, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service, NSW Health, St John Ambulance and the Office of the Sheriff of NSW.
He said the legislation would be introduced early next year.
