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61: Surgical operations
or “This law protects doctors from getting in trouble when they do surgery to help someone, as long as they are careful and the surgery makes sense for the patient.”
You could also call this:

“This section explains when doctors can legally perform surgery without getting in trouble.”

You are protected from being held criminally responsible if you perform a surgical operation on someone, as long as you do it with reasonable care and skill. This protection applies when the person having the operation, or someone who can legally consent on their behalf, has given permission for the operation. The operation also needs to be for a legal purpose.

A surgical operation that makes someone unable to have children (sterile) is considered to be for a legal purpose. This is just one example of a legal purpose for surgery, and there can be other legal reasons too.

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Next up: 62: Excess of force

or “If you use more force than allowed, you can get in trouble with the law.”
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Part 3 Matters of justification or excuse
Surgical operations

61AFurther provisions relating to surgical operations

  1. Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for performing with reasonable care and skill any surgical operation upon any person if the operation is performed with the consent of that person, or of any person lawfully entitled to consent on his or her behalf to the operation, and for a lawful purpose.

  2. Without limiting the term lawful purpose in subsection (1), a surgical operation that is performed for the purpose of rendering the patient sterile is performed for a lawful purpose.

Notes
  • Section 61A: inserted, on , by section 2 of the Crimes Amendment Act 1977 (1977 No 113).