NATIONAL REGISTRATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Newsletter Article - 25 May 2010

Australia’s new national registration and accreditation scheme commences on 1 July 2010 in those jurisdictions which will have passed the National Law as at that date.  At the time of the writing of this article, the National Law has been adopted in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, the bill is awaiting debate in the Legislative Council in Tasmania, and in South Australia a draft bill has been released for consultation.

From 1 July 2010 ten health professions will be regulated by national legislation.  There will be one National Board for each health profession which will set standards and policies for the regulation of the relevant health profession. Each National Board will be supported in this task by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).  The professions which will be nationally regulated are:  medical practitioners, nurses and midwives, dental practitioners, chiropractors, physiotherapists, optometrists, pharmacists, psychologists, osteopaths and podiatrists.

Each profession will have a National Board which will be responsible for the registration of professionals practising within that profession. 

Each Board has developed Registration Standards with which registrants must comply.   While each profession has certain registration requirements which apply to its registrants, registration standards which apply across all professions include standards requiring registrants to:

• Hold professional indemnity insurance;
• Demonstrate recency of practice.  In some cases, a practitioner returning to an area of practice after a period of absence may have to submit a re-entry plan including details of supervision plans and re-education plans;
• Disclose criminal convictions, guilty pleas and findings of guilt irrespective of whether a conviction is recorded;
• Demonstrate English language skills;
• Participate in continuing professional development (CPD) relevant to their scope of practice.

Registrants may be eligible for ‘specialist registration’ if they meet eligibility and qualification requirements under the National Law and the applicable registration standards (if any).  Recognised specialties are approved by the Ministerial Council.  As at 1 July 2010, specialist registration may be granted to:

• Medical practitioners in one or more of 23 recognised specialities;
• Dental practitioners in one or more of 13 recognised specialties; or
• Podiatrists in the recognised specialty of podiatric surgery.

The recognised specialties are published on the relevant National Board’s website.

All health practitioners registered under the National Law will be obliged to make mandatory notifications in circumstances where a health practitioner or an employer of a health practitioner has a reasonable belief that another health practitioner has:

1. Practised the practitioner’s profession while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs; or
2. Engaged in sexual misconduct in connection with the practise of the practitioner’s profession; or
3. Placed the public at risk of substantial harm in the practitioner’s practise of the profession because the practitioner has an impairment; or
4. Placed the public at risk of harm because the practitioner has practised in a way that constitutes a significant departure from accepted professional standards.

The National Board and AHPRA have issued consultation papers on codes and guidelines that will assist health practitioners meet their obligations under the National Law including the making of mandatory notifications.  All health practitioners should have regard to those guidelines.

For medical practitioners, from 1 July 2010, the Medical Board of Australia will operate under the National Law in those jurisdictions that have as at that date, adopted the National Law.  The State and Territory medical boards/councils will become committees of the Medical Board of Australia and will be delegated powers to continue to deal with registrations and notifications locally as part of the national scheme. 

In New South Wales, doctors' health, professional performance and conduct matters including complaints and notifications will be dealt with outside the National Scheme and will be administered by the Medical Council of New South Wales under legislation, which at the time this article was written is yet to be introduced into the New South Wales Parliament.

Dominique Egan
Partner
Phone: 61 2 9228 9261
Dominique_Egan@tresscox.com.au

Scott Chapman
Partner
Phone: 61 2 9228 9317       
Scott_Chapman@tresscox.com.au

Katharine Philp
Partner
Phone: 61 7 3004 3536
Katharine_Philp@tresscox.com.au

John Petts
Partner
Phone: 61 3 9602 9432       
John_Petts@tresscox.com.au