Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) (Blood Testing) Amendment Bill 2024 (SA)

South Australia Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) (Blood Testing) Amendment Bill 2024 A Bill For An Act to amend the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Act 2007.

Contents Part 1—Preliminary 1 Short title 2 Commencement Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Act 2007 3 Amendment of section 20A—Interpretation 4 Substitution of section 20B 20B Senior police officer may authorise taking of blood sample from certain persons 5 Amendment of section 28—Application of Division

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows: Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) (Blood Testing) Amendment Act 2024. 2—Commencement This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Act 2007 3—Amendment of section 20A—Interpretation (1) Section 20A, definition of emergency services provider, (d) and (e)—delete paragraphs (d) and (e) and substitute: (d) SA Ambulance Service Inc, or any other person authorised to provide emergency ambulance services under section 57 of the Health Care Act 2008; or (e) a person authorised to provide non‑emergency ambulance services under section 58 of the Health Care Act 2008; or (2) Section 20A, definition of medical practitioner—delete the definition (3) Section 20A, definition of prescribed employment—delete the definition and substitute: prescribed employment—the following is prescribed employment: (a) employment as a police officer; (b) employment as a police security officer within the meaning of the Police Act 1998; (c) employment in emergency work (whether carried out for remuneration or on a voluntary basis); (d) employment as a registered health practitioner (within the meaning of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010) in a hospital; (e) employment in the provision of assistance or services, in a hospital, to a registered health practitioner (within the meaning of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010) acting in the course of their employment in the hospital; (f) employment as an officer or employee of the administrative unit of the Public Service that is responsible for assisting a Minister in the administration of the Correctional Services Act 1982; (g) employment involving the provision of functions under the Youth Justice Administration Act 2016; (h) any other employment of a kind prescribed by the regulations; (4) Section 20A, definition of prescribed serious offence, (ab)—delete "where harm is caused to a prescribed emergency worker" (5) Section 20A, definition of prescribed serious offence—after paragraph (ab) insert: (ac) an offence against section 20AB of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935; 4—Substitution of section 20B Section 20B—delete the section and substitute: 20B—Senior police officer may authorise taking of blood sample from certain persons (1) A senior police officer (the authorising officer) may authorise a forensic procedure consisting of the taking of a sample of blood to be carried out on a person under this Division if they are satisfied that— (a) the person is suspected of a prescribed serious offence; and (b) it is likely that a person engaged in prescribed employment came into contact with, or was otherwise exposed to, biological material of the person as a result of the suspected offence. (2) Subject to subsection (3), if the person engaged in prescribed employment requests authorisation of the forensic procedure referred to in subsection (1)— (a) within 6 months of coming into contact with, or otherwise being exposed to, the biological material; and (b) in a manner determined by the Commissioner of Police, the authorising officer must authorise the forensic procedure. (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the authorising officer knows that the person on whom the forensic procedure would be carried out is a protected person. (4) The authorising officer must make a written record of the grounds on which they determined that the forensic procedure should be authorised to be carried out on a person under this Division, and a copy of the record must be given to the person. (5) For the avoidance of doubt, a forensic procedure may be authorised to be carried out on a person under this Division whether or not the person is in lawful custody. (6) This section applies whether the relevant offence was committed before, on or after the commencement of this section. 5—Amendment of section 28—Application of Division Section 28—after its present contents insert: Note— A suspects procedure, for the purposes of this Part, includes a forensic procedure authorised under section 20B—see section 3(1), definition of suspects procedure.