This comes after an amendment to the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 removing the obligations on medical practitioners and pathology services to report COVID-19 diagnoses under those Regulations and the making of an Order in Council that requires notification to be made only by pathology services. 

The department, through various channels, received reports that, given the significant number of COVID-19 cases in the community and ongoing rates of transmission, the requirement for both medical practitioners and pathology service providers to report COVID-19 diagnoses to the Secretary of the department was particularly burdensome for medical practitioners, as well as duplicative while pathology service providers were also required to report COVID-19 cases to the department.

Pathology service providers still required to report

Pathology service providers are still required to report COVID-19 diagnoses to the department within 24 hours by completing the online notification form through the department’s website, electronically through Electronic Laboratory Reporting, or by facsimile transmission.