On 29 October 2024, the Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024 received Royal Assent and became an Act of the Parliament of Victoria.
The Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Act 2024 (the Act) makes reforms to health regulation in Victoria including reforms to:
- Improve regulatory tools across the health system.
- Change how assisted reproductive treatment (ART) is regulated in Victoria and transfer certain the functions currently delivered by the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority
On 17 December 2024, the Governor in Council proclaimed the date on which these amendments will come into effect.
Amendments to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 will come into operation on 1 January 2025. For more information about these reforms, see Assisted reproductive treatment reform.
Amendments to the following Acts to introduce improved compliance and enforcement powers, will come into operation on 1 March 2025. Further information will be available from the Health Regulator before that date.
- Non-Emergency Patient Transport and First Aid Act 2003
- Radiation Act 2005
- Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981
- Safe Drinking Water Act 2003
- Health Services Act 1988 (regarding health service establishments)
- Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (concerning regulation of pest control operators and cooling towers)
Information about the Act is available on Victorian Legislation's website.
In May 2024, the department consulted on the proposed reforms.
Consultation summary - reforms to health regulation in Victoria
docx 197.51 KB
Reforms to health regulation in Victoria consultation paper
docx 465.58 KB
Next steps
Information about the implementation of the reforms will be published on relevant department websites and promoted to stakeholders ahead of the commencement dates and on an ongoing basis.
Contact
For more information or to sign up for updates on the reforms, email the department's Legislative and Regulatory Reform Team, legandregreform@health.vic.gov.au.
Reviewed 18 December 2024
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Ordering vaccine
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunisation provider information
- Cold chain management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Vaccine error management
- Vaccination for infants and children
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination program for adults
- Vaccination for special-risk groups
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
-
- Infectious diseases guidelines & advice
- Infection control guidelines
- Disease information and advice
- Advice to the cruise industry: reporting infections
- Notifiable infectious diseases, conditions and micro-organisms
- Notification procedures for infectious diseases
- Infectious diseases surveillance in Victoria
- Germicidal ultraviolet light
- Protecting patient privacy in Victoria
-
- Tobacco reforms
- Tobacco reform legislation and regulations
- Quitting smoking and vaping
- Tobacco and e-cigarette retailers
- Making a report or complaint
- Resources and factsheets
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Pathways into alcohol and other drugs treatment
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
-
- Drug alerts
- 25C-NBOMe and 4-FA sold as '2C-B'
- Novel stimulants sold as MDMA, cocaine or speed
- Protonitazene sold as ketamine
- High potency benzodiazepine tablets
- MDMA adulterated with PMMA
- 25B-NBOH sold as powdered 'LSD'
- Green 'UPS' pills containing N-ethylpentylone (no MDMA)
- N-ethylpentylone in cocaine
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27 (2024 update)
-
- Our organisation
- Our secretary
- Leadership charter
- Our department
- Our vision and values
- Gifts, benefits and hospitality policy
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
- Aboriginal healthcare workers
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns