Regulatory matters form significant areas of concern to the paramedic profession with the current absence of a national regulatory framework for paramedics in Australia. Given the implications of trans-Tasman professional interactions, and the proposed registration of paramedics in New Zealand, the question of appropriate criteria for statutory regulation is thus a matter of particular interest.

Since September 2004, New Zealand health practitioners have been regulated under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA). The HPCAA brought all previously registered health professions (with separate statutes), under a single regulatory framework.

The paramount purpose of the HPCAA is to protect the health and safety of the public where there is a risk of harm from the practice of a profession. It does this by providing a regulatory framework for practitioners that includes mechanisms to ensure their lifelong competency and fitness to practice.

ACAP is concerned with a wide range of functions that collectively assure the competence and fitness to practise of paramedics. These include entry into the profession, education, clinical training, registration, setting of professional standards, promoting good practice, as well as processes for dealing with poor performance and misconduct.

The following submission provides a proposal for change in regulatory assessment procedures in light of the call to register New Zealand paramedics under the HPCAA. The ACAP submission evaluates and critically analyses the principles involved in workforce regulation, as well as regulatory competence, protecting the public interest and issues relating to professionalism and labour mobility.

Download the ACAP Submission