Government Policies affecting all Undergraduate Medicine Students

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Criminal Record Checks

The NSW Department of Health has a policy to carry out criminal record checks on all students undertaking clinical placements or who require access in any capacity to facilities operated by the Department. (This includes all the Teaching Hospitals used by UNSW in its Medicine Program.) It undertakes these checks, as it has a duty of care to all patients and clients receiving services from the Department. The check is conducted by the NSW Police Service and is coordinated by the Department of Health and the University. The checks occur at the beginning of the student’s first year of enrolment.

Criminal record checks will be carried out only in relation to the following classes of serious offence:

• Sexual offences;
• Serious offences involving a threat or injury to another person; and
• Other serious offences (defined as offences committed in NSW which are punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment for 12 months or more; and offences committed outside NSW which, if they had been committed in NSW, would be punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment for 12 months or more).

Students who accept a place at UNSW Medicine and who have been living overseas will be required to provide evidence that a criminal record check has been conducted for them in their country of residence. This documentation is sent to the NSW Department of Health for processing together with the NSW Criminal Record Check Consent Form. Students who accept a place at UNSW Medicine and who have been living interstate will be required to either provide evidence that a criminal record check has been conducted in their home state or complete a statutory declaration that they do not have a criminal conviction.

A Clearance Letter is issued when a satisfactory police check has been completed. It must be retained for the duration of enrolment in the Medicine Program, and must be presented whenever attending a clinical placement in a NSW Health facility.

Clinical placement in the NSW Health System is a substantial and essential element in the UNSW Medicine Program. Students who fail to satisfy the requirements of this check at any point during their enrolment in the Medicine Program will be excluded from the Program. Depending upon the circumstances at the time, students may be eligible to transfer to another Program of the University.

Working with Children

Under the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 and the Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998 medical students must declare whether or not they are a "prohibited person". This is a requirement for all medical students as it is a part of their enrolment that they are required to work with children. It is an offence for a "prohibited person" to work with children.

A "prohibited person" is one who has been convicted of a serious sex offence which is defined as an offence involving sexual activity or acts of indecency which is or was punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment for 12 months or more in New South Wales, or, an offence committed elsewhere, that would have been punishable by penal servitude or imprisonment for 12 months or more if it had been committed in New South Wales.

Clinical placement in Paediatrics is an essential element in the UNSW Medicine Program. Any student who is a "prohibited person" at any point during their enrolment in the Medicine Program will be excluded from the Program. Depending upon the circumstances at the time, students may be eligible to transfer to another Program of the University.

Students with Blood-borne Viruses and Immunisation for Students

In order to be enrolled in the UNSW Medicine Program, students must agree to comply with the Faculty’s Immunisation and Blood-borne Viruses Policy, which aims to minimise the risk of medical students contracting or spreading an infectious disease or blood-borne virus, such as HIV, and Hepatitis B or C. Students must also be registered with the NSW Medical Board. Registrants with the Board (including student registrants) who undertake or could reasonably be expected to undertake exposure-prone procedures have a professional responsibility to take appropriate steps to know their infective status in relation to blood-borne viruses. All students in the Medicine Program could ordinarily be expected to undertake exposure-prone procedures and all students in the Program must know their infective status. A registrant (student) who is aware he or she has a blood-borne virus infection must not undertake exposure-prone procedures.

Any infective student who knowingly undertakes an exposure-prone procedure or any student who in any other way endangers the health of patients will be reported to the Medical Board’s Impaired Practitioner Program. This may result in registration being withdrawn, which will result in expulsion from the Medicine Program. Such a student would also be subject to the University’s Student Misconduct procedures and may further be liable to criminal prosecution if a blood-borne virus is knowingly transmitted.

The Immunisation and Blood-borne Viruses policy of the Faculty of Medicine is found on the website at "Policies". Students are required to sign a statement at the time of enrolment indicating that they have read and agree to comply with this Policy.

Registration with the NSW Medical Board

The New South Wales Medical Board is charged, under the Medical Practice Act 1992, with protecting the health and safety of the public including providing mechanisms designed to ensure that medical students are fit to undertake medical studies and clinical placements. It is a requirement of the Act that medical students be registered with the Board as a prerequisite to undertaking a course of medical study at a medical school in the State. Registration is completed on initial enrolment and upgraded annually. A Certificate of Registration as a medical student is given to each student. The Student Register contains details of name, address, medical school and year of study. No fee is charged for student registration.

The Board's sole concern with medical students relates to impairment which is defined in the Act as follows:

A person is considered to suffer from an impairment if the person suffers from any physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder which detrimentally affects or is likely to detrimentally affect the person's physical or mental capacity to practise medicine. Habitual drunkenness or addiction to a deleterious drug is considered to be a physical or mental disorder.

It is the Board's experience that the protective provisions contained in the 1992 Act only need to be made use of on rare occasions. When these occasions do arise, the board has been able to use the provisions positively to assist an impaired student who is undergoing difficulties. Further details are available on the Board’s website.