Notification of developmental anomalies

Developmental anomalies must be reported to the Department of Health following identification at birth or following diagnosis. For the purposes of notification developmental anomalies includes:

• cerebral palsy
• birth defect – a structural or functional anomaly either present at conception or occurs before the end of pregnancy and is diagnosed:
  • during pregnancy
  • following stillbirth or termination of the pregnancy, or
  • following live birth but before 6 years of age

All notifications of developmental anomalies must be reported to the Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies (WARDA). This is required under the Health (Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies) Regulations 2010 (external site).

Relevant legislation

The statutory requirement for notification of developmental anomalies is specified in Health (Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies) Regulations 2010 (the Regulations).

Responsibility for notification

Under the Regulations the notification must be provided to WARDA by:

• the chief executive officer (where the diagnosis is made in a hospital)
• the medical practitioner who makes the diagnosis or who is responsible for the care of the patient diagnosed.

Who must be notified

The Regulations state the Chief Health Officer (CHO) must be notified.

How to notify

There are 2 main ways to notify a developmental anomaly:

• use the notification cards for cerebral palsy or birth defects located at your health service, or
• complete the WARDA notification cards
  • birth defects (Word 100KB)
  • cerebral palsy (Word 60KB)
  • cerebral palsy description form (PDF 38KB)

The above forms will need to be printed and posted to:

WARDA, King Edward Memorial Hospital
PO Box 134
Subiaco 6904
Western Australia

Notification due

Notification is due within 6 months of the diagnosis.

Diagnoses made in another state or territory in children who now live in Western Australia should be made as soon as they are identified in the WA health system.

Contact

For more information on notification of a developmental anomaly contact:

WA Register of Developmental Anomalies (external site)
Phone: 6458 2735
Fax: 6458 2636