The ‘Supporting with legal issues: Practical skills for the BBV healthcare workforce e-Learning module is designed to empower clinicians and health workers to identify common legal issues experienced by people living with blood-borne viruses (BBVs) and connect them with appropriate legal services. This e-learning was developed in partnership with Health +Law.
Health+Law
Health+Law is a partnership between researchers and community organisations established to examine the law and legal mechanisms surrounding BBVs in Australia. It is led by an interdisciplinary group of research, community, health and legal organisations, including:
- University of New South Wales (UNSW) Faculty of Law & Justice
- University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Law and School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
- Queensland University of Technology (QUT) School of Design
- HIV/AIDS Legal Centre (HALC)
- ASHM Health
- National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA)
- Hepatitis Australia
Health+Law aims to identify and eliminate legal barriers to health care and good quality of life for people living with HIV and hepatitis B and the communities affected by these BBVs.
The Legal Needs Study (LeNS)
This learning module incorporates information and findings from the Health+Law Legal Needs Study (LeNS). LeNS was the first major national study of the legal needs and experiences of people affected by BBVs in Australia – with a specific focus on the lived experience of the law.
The study was developed to provide evidence for a better understanding of the legal environment surrounding BBVs in Australia today. It asked two linked questions:
- How do people living with BBVs experience and respond to the law in everyday life?
- How does the law impact the health and wellbeing of people living with BBVs, both in relation to their BBV status and more broadly?
Results from LeNS are being used to support more comprehensive community legal information, services and resources for people living with BBVs.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this e-learning, you will be able to:
- Articulate the relationship between everyday legal problems and clinical outcomes for people living with BBVs, including current evidence and policy frameworks.
- Understand and differentiate between clinicians’ roles and duties, including advocacy roles within medico-legal contexts.
- Demonstrate confidence in applying culturally safe communication strategies to elicit and clarify patients’ legal concerns while supporting the clinician-patient relationship or confidentiality.
- Conduct a focused legal needs screen within a routine BBV consultation and accurately document findings in accordance with privacy and consent requirements.
- Evaluate the clinical, ethical, and legal risks in complex cases and prioritise appropriate actions to improve patient safety.
- Coordinate inter-professional care by initiating timely referrals to legal and community services and monitoring follow-through while maintaining professional boundaries.
- Reflect critically on professional scope, biases, and clinician wellbeing when working with patients’ legal concerns, and formulate an individual plan for ongoing professional development and self-care.
Endorsement and CPD
This course has been approved as a CPD activity by RACGP for the 2026-2028 triennium. Educational Activities: 1, Reviewing Performance: 0.5. RACGP Activity Number: 1461509
ACRRM endorsement pending.
Hepatitis B s100 Prescribers, will accrue 1 Prescriber Point upon completion.
Disclaimer
The content in this module is intended as general information and guidance only. It is not intended as legal advice. For advice on a specific situation, it is recommended that you and/or your patients seek assistance from a qualified legal practitioner or legal service of your medical defence organisation.
