ChipZip

Australian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2003:

9 Employer to identify hazards
(1) An employer must take reasonable care to identify any foreseeable hazard that may arise from the conduct of the employer’s undertaking and that has the potential to harm the health or safety of:
(a) any employee of the employer, or
(b) any other person legally at the employer’s place of work,
or both.
(2) In particular (and without limiting the generality of subclause (1)), the employer must take reasonable care to identify hazards arising from:
(h) biological organisms, products or substances

15 Provision by an employer of personal protective equipment
(1) If measures taken by an employer under clause 11 (2) to control a risk include the use of personal protective equipment, the employer must provide each person at risk with personal protective equipment and ensure that:
(a) the equipment provided is appropriate for the person and controls the risk for that person, and
(e) the equipment is provided in a clean and hygienic condition to the person, and
(g) areas in places of work where personal protective equipment must be used are clearly identified.
Note. Reference should also be made to any relevant Australian Standards relating to the provision and use of personal protective equipment.

Food Safety Act:

Standard 3.2.2
Food Safety Practices
and General Requirements
(Australia only)

20       Cleaning and sanitising of specific equipment
(1)       A food business must ensure the following equipment is in a clean and sanitary condition in the circumstances set out below -
(a)       eating and drinking utensils - immediately before each use; and
(2)       In subclause (1), a ‘clean and sanitary condition’ means, in relation to a surface or utensil, the condition of a surface or utensil where it -
(a)       is clean; and
(b)       has had applied to it heat or chemicals, heat and chemicals, or other processes, so that the number of micro-organisms on the surface or utensil has been reduced to a level that:
(i)        does not compromise the safety of the food with which it may come into contact; and
            (ii)   does not permit the transmission of infectious disease.

Australian Quarantine Act 1908

2B Proclamation in event of epidemic -
The Governor-General may, by proclamation, declare the existence in that part of the Commonwealth of that epidemic or of the danger of that epidemic.

The Minister may give such directions and take such action as he or she thinks necessary to control and eradicate the epidemic, or to remove the danger of the epidemic, by quarantine measures or measures incidental to quarantine

International Health Regulation 2005

PART II – INFORMATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE
Article 5 Surveillance
1. Each State Party shall develop, strengthen and maintain, as soon as possible but no later than five years from the entry into force of these Regulations for that State Party, the capacity to detect, assess, notify and report events in accordance with these Regulations, as specified in Annex 1.
Article 7 Information-sharing during unexpected or unusual public health events
If a State Party has evidence of an unexpected or unusual public health event within its territory, irrespective of origin or source, which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern, it shall provide to WHO all relevant public health information. In such a case, the provisions of Article 6 shall apply in full.
ANNEX 1
A. CORE CAPACITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE
4. At the local community level and/or primary public health response level.  The capacities:
(b) to report all available essential information immediately to the appropriate level of healthcare response.
(c) to implement preliminary control measures immediately.
For the purposes of this Annex, essential information includes the following:  conditions affecting the spread of the disease and the health measures employed;

World Health Organisation Pandemic Influenza Plan

Although it is not considered feasible to halt the spread of a pandemic virus, it should be possible to minimize its consequences through advance preparation to meet the challenge.

Biological Weapons Convention 1972

ARTICLE I
Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstance to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain:
(1) Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
ARTICLE IV
Each State Party to this Convention shall, in accordance with its constitutional processes, take any necessary measures to prohibit and prevent the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition or retention of the agents, toxins, weapons, equipment and means of delivery specified in article I of the
Convention, within the territory of such State, under its jurisdiction or under its control anywhere.

Expenses you can deduct in the income year in which they are incurred:

Working or operating expenses that relate to the everyday running of your business, for example, office stationery and personal protective equipment, are called revenue expenses. You can generally claim a deduction for these expenses in the income year in which they are incurred.

Source:  Australian Government Taxation Office 2007