Members are invited to provide feedback to help shape our submission to the Ombudsman to help inform the immediate-action process.
The AMA understands how intensely distressing receiving a notification from Ahpra can be. Improving the notification process in one of the AMA's key priorities which we do by working directly with Ahpra and by calling on reforms to the National Law support the wellbeing of all health professionals.
The National Health Practitioner Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) is investigating how matters involving health practitioners subject to immediate action are handled by the Ahpra and the National Health Practitioner Boards. This includes considering whether existing policies and procedures enable timely and procedurally fair outcomes.
Immediate action refers to a "National Board's decision to take action regarding a health practitioner's registration if it reasonably believes that a health practitioner poses a serious risk to the public, and/or it is in the public interest to do so."According to Ahpra's 2023/24 annual report, 445 immediate actions were taken against medical practitioners.
Further information relating to immediate action can be found here .
The submission is inviting practitioners share thoughts and perspectives on how immediate action-related processes are working in practice, and personal experience or knowledge about:
- timeliness in the management of matters following immediate action being taken
- safeguards to ensure practitioners are treated fairly when immediate action is in place.
