What we do and how we work
The Health Professional Councils Authority (HPCA) is the first point of contact for the thousands of complaints referred to the Councils each year. We identify public safety issues that might need urgent Council action. Our case managers guide complaints through the system. And if Councils place restrictions on a practitioner’s registration, our monitoring teams help those practitioners comply.
Our leaders partner with Councils to make sure regulation is consistently applied across all 15 registered health professions. Together we’re building a stronger, more connected system to benefit patients and help practitioners to practise safely and prevent complaints.
HPCA and Councils: shared purpose, different roles
The HPCA is an executive agency of NSW Health, and employs people from disciplines including law, corporate governance, clinical health practice, finance and more. Some of our staff work in regulatory teams. Others carry out important corporate functions, creating the systems and tools that Councils need to make good decisions on complaints.
Councils are independent statutory bodies with between 6 and 18 members who are appointed by the NSW Minister for Health.* They are made up of working registered health practitioners and community members. They are the decision makers on every complaint.
Our different, but complementary, roles and expertise are a powerful combination. We have well-established systems for working seamlessly together.
*Except for 4 councils, whose members are currently appointed by the NSW Governor.
Health regulation in NSW works differently to other states
In NSW, the HPCA and Councils work jointly with an important regulatory partner – the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC). Councils and the HCCC consult each other on every complaint made about a registered practitioner in NSW and agree on who will manage it. That’s because they have different legal responsibilities and powers.
HPCA and Health Professional Councils
Primarily concerned with protecting public safety, we manage complaints and work with registered health practitioners to address safety concerns and understand their obligations.
Health Care Complaints Commission
Protects public safety by investigating and prosecuting the most serious complaints against registered practitioners and managing complaints about health services and unregistered practitioners. The HCCC can also work with complainants and practitioners to resolve complaints.
Australian Practitioner Regulation Agency
Ahpra and the National Boards register practitioners and students nationally. Ahpra manages the national register of practitioners and the Boards set professional standards and accredit programs of study.
In most other states and territories outside of NSW they also manage complaints.
Who can help me?
It doesn’t matter if you contact the HPCA, HCCC or Ahpra – we work together and will send your complaint to the right place. If none of us can handle your complaint, we’ll tell you.
The laws that govern us
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) governs our work. The National Law sets out how the Councils can respond to complaints, which must be about a practitioner’s conduct, performance or health.
The National Law says Councils must act if they believe public safety is at risk or if it’s in the public interest. They have urgent interim powers to suspend a practitioner, restrict their practice, or impose other conditions while their complaint is being considered.
Under the law, Councils and the HPCA have strict confidentiality obligations, which prevent us from sharing details about complaints.
How we work with others
The HPCA is part of a health regulation ecosystem designed to support safe and ethical healthcare. With our Council colleagues, we are at the heart of discussions about how regulators keep pace with changing community concerns and standards.
That means working with many others by:
sharing information and advice on health regulation with the NSW Ministry of Health and the Minister for Health
liasing with the HCCC on complaints management issues
advising Ahpra on practitioner restrictions, connecting on reporting matters and research
advising and updating health employers, insurers and legal bodies
communicating with health professional associations, academic and training bodies.
What is a registered health practitioner?
The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme covers
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice | Chinese Medicine | Chiropractic | Dentistry | Medicine | Medical Radiation | Nursing and Midwifery | Occupational Therapy | Optometry | Osteopathy | Paramedicine | Pharmacy | Physiotherapy | Podiatry | Psychology
NSW health regulation – a timeline
1993
HCCC established in NSW after Chelmsford Royal Commission; works with NSW Boards across the health professions who also register and accredit practitioners
2006
Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agrees to establish one national scheme to register and accredit health professionals
2010
National Registration and Accreditation Scheme begins, administered by Ahpra
National Boards set up to oversee professional standards and accreditation
NSW Boards become Health Professional Councils; continue managing complaints jointly with the HCCC, no longer registering practitioners
HPCA established as the regulatory partner for 10 Councils:
nurses and midwives, medical practitioners, pharmacists, dental practitioners, psychologists, physiotherapists, optometrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, podiatrists
2012
Four new professions join the National Scheme – and four new councils established in NSW: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, medical radiation practitioners, and occupational therapists
2018
Paramedics join the National Scheme and Paramedicine Council of NSW established
Related information
All Councils