UNE Compliance Register

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• Pesticides Act 1999 (NSW) - Level 3The Pesticides Act 1999 controls the use of pesticides in New South Wales. The Act aims to reduce the risks associated with the use of pesticides to human health, the environment, property, industry and trade. It also aims to promote collaborative and integrated policies for the use of pesticides. Pesticides must be registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) before they can be manufactured, supplied, sold or used. Registered pesticides carry an APVMA-approved label that provides users with instructions that are designed to minimise impacts on health, the environment and trade, and which are based on good agricultural practice. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) enforces the proper use of all pesticides in NSW, after the point of sale. This includes pesticide use in agriculture, on public lands and on domestic and commercial premises.
  
  The EPA encourages pesticide users to improve their management of pesticides through education programs and by facilitating communication among different stakeholder groups.
• Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (NSW) - Level 3The Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 and its associated Regulation sets out the regulation, control and prohibition of the supply and use of poisons, restricted substances, drugs of addiction, certain dangerous drugs and certain therapeutic goods in NSW. This legislation is designed to protect the health and welfare of members of the community. It imposes limitations on the use of many potent drugs by restricting the distribution, prescription and administration of these drugs to appropriately qualified and authorised persons.
  
  The NSW Poisons List, which is proclaimed under Section 8 of the Act, is based on the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP) as in force at any time (except for a small number of variations).The Poisons List comprises eight schedules which categorise substances according to their classification (e.g. S4, S8). The classification system is based upon managing availability of substances eg- substances that may be dangerous if carelessly managed or misused and substances that may produce an addiction will have differing classification, supply, handling and storage requirements to those whose availability may be required more quickly for therapeutic purposes.
  
  The Act impacts on the University in a variety of ways including but not limited to the University's research activities, teaching activities, delivery of health services and in the storage of chemicals throughout the University.
• Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) - Level 1As a NSW public sector agency responsible for the holding of personal information, the University must comply with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). In addition, the University must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) in relation to:
  a. Personal information the University collects and holds regarding student assistance provided by the Commonwealth (which is an obligation under Section 19-60 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth)); and
  b. Tax file number information (in accordance with the Tax File Number Guidelines, a legislative instrument under the Privacy Act, 1988(Cth))
• Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 (Cth) - Level 2Thts Act gives effect to Australia’s agreement to the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property 1970. It plays an important role in protecting Australia’s cultural heritage by regulating the export of objects that are significant to our history, and by assisting collecting institutions to acquire significant cultural material. It also provides for the return of foreign cultural property which has been illegally exported from its country of origin.
• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) - Level 1The POEO Act object is to protect, restore and enhance the environment in NSW and to promote public access to information and involvement in environment protection.
  
  There is a broad allocation of responsibilities under the Act between the EPA, local councils and other public authorities. The EPA is made the regulatory authority for:
  * activities listed in Schedule 1 to the Act and the premises where they are carried out
  * activities carried out by a State or public authority
  * other activities in relation to which a licence regulating water pollution is issued.
  In nearly all other cases, the regulatory authority is the relevant local council.
  
  The Act also:
  - Allocates the drafting and publishing of PEP's (Protection of the Environment Policies) and associated impact statements to the EPA.
  - Establishes a system of Environment Protection Licences for the purposes of carrying out scheduled activites (e.g. chemical production, sterilisation activities, waste processing electricity generation, livestock intensive activities, etc) and scheduled development work (development designed to enable scheduled activities to take place on the premises).
  - Provides for the issue of environment protection notices (clean-up notices, prevention notices, and prohibition notices) - It is an offence under the Act not to comply with such notices and penalties include sizeable fines.
  - Defines a tiered mechanism to classify offences and provides for maximum penalties (eg: to wilfully dispose of waste in a manner that harms or is likely to harm the environment is a Tier 1 offence that may attract large fines and potential imprisonment).
  - Provides for voluntary and mandatory environmental audits and procedural matters for the conduct of investigations (including scope, associated notice requirements, powers of entry, and duty to provide information).
  
  
• Public Finance and Audit Act 1983 (NSW) - Level 1An Act to make provision with respect to the administration and audit of public finances. The Act prescribes the form, content and timing of financial statements for the University and provides for the audit of those statements by the Audit Office of NSW.
  
  Under Section 9, Directions issued by the Treasuer do not apply to the University.
• Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) - Level 3An Act to improve the health of the people of NSW through provisions for public health programs for the following purposes - Management of infectious diseases; Immunisation programs for control of vaccine preventable diseases; Controls for operators of air and water handling systems requiring monitoring of quality and intervention where required; Prevention of certain diseases such as Cervical Cancer through the keeping of registers for screening programs; Programs controlling funeral industry activity in the interests of public health; Limitations on sale & advertising of tobacco with the aim to reduce the uptake of smoking within the community; Classification of, and associated policies and procedures for notification and control measures for notifiable diseases (as defined in Schedule 3 of the Act). Schedule 1 of the Act groups medical conditions into 5 categories - requiring varying response & notification points as indicated. The Act defines restricted health services that must only be performed by approved medical practitioners; prescribes procedural matters to promote the safety of drinking water through reporting and provision of public advice re safety status; and provides for the issue, enforcement, duration, and appeal of 'public health orders' in the interests of public health.
  
  The objectives of the Public Health Act 2010 are to:
  - Protect and promote public health
  - Control the risk to public health
  - Promote the control of infectious diseases
  - Prevent the spread of infectious diseases
  - Recognise the role of local governments in protecting public health
  
  
  The objective of the Public Health Regulation 2012, made under the Act, is to support the smooth operation of the Public Health Act 2010. The Regulation makes provision for:
  installation, operating and maintenance requirements for air-conditioning systems and other regulated systems
  - operating requirements for public swimming pools and spa pools
  - the issuing of orders to temporarily close down public swimming pools or spa pools, or to take disinfection action, where there is a risk to public health
  - requirements for the carrying out of skin penetration procedures and for the premises where such procedures are carried out
  - quality assurance programs for suppliers of drinking water
  - disease control measures
  - the facilities and procedures for the handling of bodies of deceased persons, exhumations, cremations and other matters relating to the disposal of bodies
  - the code of conduct for certain health practitioners,
  - fees payable in relation to improvement notices, prohibition orders and inspection of premises
  - notification and record-keeping requirements
  - penalty notice offences.
• Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994 (NSW) - Level 1This Act seeks to provide protection for public officials who make reports/disclosures concerning corrupt conduct, maladministration and waste in the public sector. The University is a "public authority" under the Act, and is required to take every reasonable measure to ensure the confidentiality of the identity of a person who makes a protected disclosure. This Act prescribes a number of requirements that are to be followed by the University in the event that a protected disclosure is made.
  
  Staff who make a public interest disclosure (PID) in accordance with the PID Rule and Procedure will be protected in accordance with the Act.