This week we called out the unacceptable consultation period for proposed changes to the National Law.
Our submission to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 calls out the unacceptable 14-day consultation period provided by the Queensland Government.
While we do not fundamentally oppose the amendments, the lack of consultation is unacceptable.
Any change to the Health Practitioner National Law impacts doctors as well as the rest of the nearly one million health professionals across 16 disciplines.
The National Law underpins the principles which dictate the work of Ahpra and the National Boards. These amendments require significant and meaningful engagement with stakeholders.
The amendments in the Bill relate to sexual misconduct, with changes meaning registered health professionals will:
- require a reinstatement order from a tribunal where a practitioner has had their registration cancelled or they have been disqualified before they can apply for re-registration. This already happens in NSW so will bring all states and territories in line
- permanently publish histories of practitioners who have been found by a tribunal to have engaged in serious sexual misconduct
- strengthen protections for notifiers against reprisals and clarify consumer protections about nondisclosure agreements about health practitioners.
As with all amendments to the National Law, the legislation is first amended in Queensland before being adopted in other jurisdictions.
