Under landmark changes to the National Law, sexual misconduct findings will be added to the public register of practitioners and the register of cancelled practitioners.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Aphra) CEO Justin Untersteiner said that sexual misconduct by registered health practitioners is an “unacceptable breach of trust that undermines public health and safety”.
Publishing sexual misconduct findings on the public register empowers patients to make informed choices about their care and reinforces that breaches of trust will not be hidden
“Publishing sexual misconduct findings on the public register empowers patients to make informed choices about their care and reinforces that breaches of trust will not be hidden.”
The first round of changes, published this week, resulted in additional information being added to the register entries of 107 practitioners. Of these, 86 are on the list of cancelled practitioners.
Sexual misconduct covers a wide range of behaviours, including professional boundary violations, sexual harassment, and criminal offences. These can occur inside and outside of a practice setting.
Most tribunal decisions are already published online, with a link included on the public register. Under the changes, the register entry will now clearly state when the decision involved sexual misconduct. This change will apply to all tribunal decisions dating back to mid-2010.
Health Ministers decided in April 2024 to amend the National Law to add these changes.
For individuals who have been the subject of a sexual misconduct finding, but who are not currently registered, the National Law changes also impose new, nationally consistent requirements in the event they seek to regain registration.
Ahpra said it has consulted widely on the implementation of the changes. Further information is available on the Ahpra website.
