Some conditions are termed “Notifiable Diseases”. These conditions are included in legislation for each State and Territory and what is notifiable may be different for each. The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease, and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.
Examples of such conditions are:
Venereal diseases, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis (whooping cough), smallpox, cholera, diphtheria, Ross River virus, hepatitis, AIDS, giardiasis, malaria, meningococcal disease, rabies, and many more.
The Australian Government publishes an up-to-date and extensive list of notifiable diseases at this link:
There is also a list of diseases for Australia's States and Territories which do not have to be notified nationally:
Homoeopathic practitioners cannot diagnose notifiable diseases:
However, there are advantages in being able to identify the indications of many of these diseases, especially the more common ones – both for the safety of the patient and their family and friends, as well as for the safety of yourself, your other patients, and your family.
According to the Public Health Act medical practitioners, nurse practitioners or responsible pathologists (pathologist responsible for the day-to-day operations of a pathology laboratory) are obliged to to report notifiable diseases to the Chief Health Officer.
Homoeopathic practitioners are not legally obliged to report notifiable diseases:
However, if you think that a patient has a notifiable disease, you should strongly encourage the patient to seek medical attention, including a formal diagnosis and treatment. It is the responsibility of the medical practitioner to notify the condition to the authorities.
The fact that you have advised the patient to seek medical attention should be recorded in the patient’s record.
