Doctors who commit sexual misconduct will be permanently identified and patients will be able to access the disciplinary record of practitioners proven to have committed sexual misconduct, under new measures introduced by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Aphra).
The amendments will also provide increased protections for people who make complaints about health practitioners, including new measures making it an offence for practitioners to enter into non-disclosure agreements that prevent complaints being made to health regulators.
Everybody has the right to expect their practitioner to be safe and fit to practise, and these reforms strengthen that right
Ahpra Acting CEO Kym Ayscough said the new measures were a milestone in patient protection.
“Everybody has the right to expect their practitioner to be safe and fit to practise, and these reforms strengthen that right,” Ms Ayscough said.
“We support these changes, which align with the range of reforms that Ahpra and the National Boards are progressing as part of our actions to improve public safety involving sexual misconduct in healthcare.”
Key Changes Coming
Key changes under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, (the Bill) include:
A) Increasing transparency for the public about disciplinary action against health practitioners who have been found by a tribunal to have engaged in professional misconduct that involves sexual misconduct. Additional information will be published permanently on their public register record.
B) Strengthening protections for notifiers and clarifying consumer protections around non-disclosure agreements about the health, conduct or performance of health practitioners
C) Boosting public safety by establishing a nationally consistent process for practitioners to regain registration, where their registration has previously been cancelled or they have been disqualified from registration.
Guarding Against Reprisals
The legislation also introduces strengthened protections for people who make complaints about health practitioners, to guard against reprisals. The Bill will make it an offence to threaten, intimidate, dismiss, refuse to employ, or subject a person to other detriment or reprisal because they intend to or have made a notification or assisted people performing functions under the National Law.
It will also be an offence to enter into a non-disclosure agreement (NDAs) unless the agreement clearly sets out, in writing, that it does not limit a person from making a notification or assisting regulators and others performing functions under the National Law.
In other changes, practitioners who have their registration cancelled, or who have been disqualified from applying for registration by a tribunal, will be required to obtain a reinstatement order from a responsible tribunal before applying to a National Board for re-registration.
National Boards will retain their decision-making authority to decide whether to grant registration, as well as any conditions that a practitioner must comply with.
“Choosing a health practitioner is a critical part of protecting your health and wellbeing. These reforms will ensure that people have access to the information they need to make an informed choice,” Ms Ayscough said.
“These reforms provide strong new protections for patients and notifiers, while also providing clarity and consistency for practitioners seeking to have their registration reinstated.”
The legislation was passed by the Queensland Parliament yesterday as the host jurisdiction for all states and territories, and the changes will take effect on a date in the future determined by Governments.
The changes will be implemented progressively over the coming year, allowing stakeholders time to prepare and for state and territory tribunals to establish necessary processes.
An information guide and answers to frequently asked questions about the changes will be published in the near future on the Ahpra website.
