Legionella, legionellosis and Legionnaires' disease

Legionellosis is a term for diseases caused by Legionella bacteria including the most serious, Legionnaires' disease, as well as the less serious condition of Pontiac fever.

In 2017, the Public Health Act 2005 and the Public Health Regulation 2018 were updated to improve water risk management practices.

The changes aim to reduce the health risks of legionella bacteria in the water at hospitals and aged care facilities.

The legislation affects:

  • Queensland Health hospitals and inpatients
  • private health facilities
  • Queensland Health aged care facilities
  • private aged care facilities

The requirements for the facilities are to:

  • develop a water risk management plan that covers all water related hazards including monitoring for legionella
  • follow their water risk management plan
  • notify the chief executive or the Department of Health within one business day of detecting legionella
  • regularly send reports with the results of testing for legionella.

For more information on how to develop a water risk management plan for legionella, please visit the Queensland Health website.

We do not test for Legionella, as we are not required to do so under current guidelines and legislation.

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