Community Health and Wellbeing Informing Strategy

The Public Health Act 2016 provides a flexible and proactive framework for the regulation of public health, with key features including:

• promoting public health and well-being in the community
• helping to prevent disease, injury, disability and premature death
• informing individuals and communities about public health risks
• encouraging individuals and their communities to plan for, create and maintain a healthy environment
• supporting programs and campaigns intended to improve public health
• collecting information about the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other public health risks for research purposes
• reducing the health inequalities in public health of disadvantaged communities.

New and modern law is needed to protect the health of Western Australians. The Health Act 1911 is limited in that it:

• makes reference to out-dated public health risks and issues
• deals with issues that have since been captured by other legislation
• does not address emerging public health issues such as bio-terrorism, new industries and epidemic chronic diseases
• is prescriptive and reactive.

The Public Health Act 2016 provides a modern, flexible and proactive risk based framework for the regulation of public health. 

Local governments are the recognised enforcement agency for public health matters within their jurisdiction.

Local governments delegate the power to enforce the Act to “authorised officers” (previously known as environmental health officers). Authorised officers are responsible for investigating any public health related matter.