In November 2010, the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council (AHWMC) agreed that a national consultation should be undertaken to consider whether there is a need for strengthened regulatory protections for consumers who use the services of unregistered health practitioners.
A new national registration scheme for health practitioners, the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, commenced operation on 1 July 2010. Practitioners from ten health professions are now registered nationally and may practise in any State or Territory. A further four professions are scheduled to enter the National Scheme from 1 July 2012. National Boards have been set up, one for each regulated profession, with extensive powers to protect the public. However, these powers do not extend to practitioners in health professions and occupations where registration is not a prerequisite for practice (referred to here as unregistered health practitioners).
A number of government reports and inquiries in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, have raised concerns about public protection in relation to unregistered health practitioners. Of particular concern are the small number of practitioners who engage in serious misconduct that would suggest they are not 'fit and proper' to provide health services. In such cases, the conduct may be so serious that, if the practitioner had been registered, the conduct would have resulted in cancellation of their registration and removal of their right to practise. Sometimes the practitioner has committed offenses under a number of different laws, repeatedly and over an extended period...
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PA responds to National Consultation on Regulatory Reform
