2019/20 Local Government Public Health Act 2016 Optional Reporting Form

Overview

2019/20 Public Health Act 2016 Local Government Optional Reporting

The implementation of the Public Health Act 2016 will see the roll out of public health planning and comprehensive Local Government reporting.

While the Public Health Act 2016 will repeal much of the outdated Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1911, the statutory responsibility local governments have for public health and environmental health protection will remain. There is also a continuation of the statutory requirement for Local Government to report to the Chief Health Officer on its performance of functions under the Act.

Therefore, the Department of Health has developed the Local Government Public Health Act Form (the Form) which will be an annual reporting requirement for local government.

Local Governments undertake a range of activities to protect and promote the health of communities. They play an important role in considering how planning the built environment can be undertaken in a way that promotes health. In addition, a growing focus for Local Governments is considering the social determinants of health and health inequalities in communities.

Measuring and reporting public health activity in a consistent way will promote transparency and accountability as well as enable comparison of activity with peers. The information will also be used by the Department of Health to identify knowledge gaps and possible areas for future policy development to support Local Government in their activities.

The Form is made up of questions which relate to the various aspects of environmental health as well as health related policies and strategies. Together, the questions build a comprehensive picture of how Local Governments are managing local public health risks as the transition to the new regulatory framework occurs. Risk management refers to coordinated activities to direct and control an organisation with regard to risk.

To ensure consistency in reporting across Local Governments, unless stated otherwise, questions in this Form relate to activity over the previous financial year (2019/20).

The Department of Health will provide the results back to Local Governments to benchmark and compare their activity with their peers.

The Form has ‘save and return later’ functionality to support those who cannot complete the questions in a single sitting. The length of time the Form will take to complete with vary depending on how a Local Government records their activity.

Reporting will close on 11 of December 2020.

If you have any questions related to Local Government Public Health Act Form, please contact publichealthact@health.wa.gov.au