s.2Interpretation
2
Section 2Part 1 — PRELIMINARY

Interpretation

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In this Act —
"adult" means a person eighteen years of age or over;
"child" means a person under the age of eighteen;
"Coroner" means a person appointed as such under the Coroners Act (2021 Revision);
"Council" means the Human Tissue Transplant Council established under section 4;
"health services" has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Health Practice Act (2026 Revision);
"next of kin" —
in relation to a deceased child, means —
where a parent of the child is available, a parent of the child;
where a parent of the child is not available, a brother or sister of the child who is an adult and who is available; or
where no person referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) is available, a person who was the guardian of the child immediately before the death of the child and who is available; and
in relation to a deceased adult, means —
where the person, immediately before the person's death, had a spouse and that spouse is available, the spouse;
where the person, immediately before the person's death, did not have a spouse or the spouse is not available, a son or daughter of the person who is an adult and who is available;
where no person referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) is available but a parent of the person is available, that parent; or
where no person referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) is available, a brother or sister of the person who is an adult and is available;
"non-regenerative tissue" means tissue other than regenerative human tissue;
"permitted purpose", in relation to the removal of regenerative tissue or non-regenerative tissue from a living person or from the body of a deceased person, means removal —
for the purpose of the transplantation of the tissue to the body of another living person; or
for use for other therapeutic purposes or for medical or scientific purposes;
"regenerative tissue" means tissue that, after injury or removal, is replaced in the body of a living person by natural processes, including blood;
"registered dentist" means a practitioner who is registered as a dentist under the Health Practice Act (2026 Revision);
"registered medical practitioner" means a practitioner who is registered as a medical doctor under the Health Practice Act (2026 Revision);
"registered practitioner" has the meaning assigned to that expression by the Health Practice Act (2026 Revision) and includes a person who is employed or engaged by, or who performs work for, a registered practitioner in the performance of health services;
"tissue", in relation to a human, includes —
an organ, or a part, of a human body; or
a substance extracted from, or from a part of, the human body,
but excludes foetal tissue, spermatozoa or ova; and
"tissue bank" means a place prescribed by Regulations made under this Act as a place of storage for tissue.
A reference in this Act to the transplantation of tissue includes a reference to the transplantation of any part of the tissue and to the transplantation of a substance obtained from the tissue but does not include —
the collection and use of foetal stems for use in medical research or otherwise;
the collection and use of spermatozoa and ova for use in human reproductive technology or otherwise; or
mandatory blood transfusions.
A reference in this Act to a person's brother or sister is a reference to a brother or a sister whether of the whole blood or the half-blood and includes a reference to a person who was adopted by one or both of the parents of the first-mentioned person.
For the purposes of this Act, a person has died when there has occurred —
irreversible cessation of circulation of blood in the body of the person; or
irreversible loss of the capacity of consciousness combined with the irreversible loss of all brain stem functions including the capacity to breathe.
For the purposes of this Act, an adult lacks capacity to consent in relation to a matter if, at the material time, that adult is unable to make a decision for themselves in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain (irrespective of whether or not the impairment or disturbance is permanent or temporary); but a lack of capacity cannot be established merely by reference to —
the adult's age or appearance, or
a condition of that adult, or an aspect of that adult's behaviour, which might lead others to make unjustified assumptions about that adult's capacity.

Defined Terms

adultchildCoronerCouncilhealth servicesnext of kinnon-regenerative tissuepermitted purposeregenerative tissueregistered dentistregistered medical practitionerregistered practitionertissuetissue bank

Cross References

Referenced By