Who can access information
Confidentiality and complaints
The complaints process is confidential. The HPCA and Health Professional Councils do not publicly share when a complaint has been made about a practitioner or the details of the complaint.
We only share confidential information as part of the process of assessing and managing a complaint. This restricts who can see the information. For example:
in most cases we send the details of a complaint to a practitioner so they can respond
Councils, and some HPCA and Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) staff members, can see information so they can manage the complaint
we may share confidential information with another agency if we are legally required to.
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW), which governs our work, places strict confidentiality requirements around information used in managing complaints about practitioners.
Apart from some limited exceptions, this information cannot be released under subpoena in criminal or civil proceedings.
These information protections allow us to do our work properly and ensure that our processes are procedurally fair.
If we decide to suspend or place conditions on a practitioner’s registration, we send this information to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), which publishes it on the national register of practitioners.
The exception to this is where conditions relate to a practitioner’s health. These conditions are not publicly available.
Patient records
Councils have legal powers to access patient records so we can properly manage complaints. Strict confidentiality also applies to who can see these records. If a complaint about a practitioner progresses to a public hearing by a Professional Services Committee or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), any patient details are de-identified.
Your right to access information
We can share certain information with you under NSW laws and policies. In some cases, we must provide extra information to you when it’s requested. We will usually release the information you request, unless doing so would not be in the public interest, or is in breach of legislative or confidentiality requirements.
We need to make certain information publicly available and respond to information requests under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). We might also release information under laws such as the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 when the request relates to your personal information.
There are several ways you can access information from us. We proactively make some information available on our website. In other cases, you can contact us informally to ask for specific information, or you can make a formal GIPA application.
You can read more below, but if you’re not sure, you can contact our Information and Privacy Officer via email hpca-information-privacy@health.nsw.gov.au or write to us at:
Health Professional Councils Authority
Locked Bag 20
Haymarket NSW 1238
Disclosure log
If you would like to see the information we have already released under the GIPA Act, please see our Disclosure log.
Agency Information Guide
Every NSW Government department and agency must publish an annual Agency Information Guide. This includes details about the information we hold and publish. It also describes how to access information and the cost of a formal application under the GIPA Act.
Government contracts register
We must publish a register of contracts that have, or are likely to have, a cost of $150,000 or more.
Informal information request or access under relevant legislation
You can contact us to ask for specific information. If we can share that information without a formal application, we will.
Formal application under the GIPA Act
If you haven’t been able to access the information you need in any other way, you can submit a formal application under the GIPA Act. We suggest you reach out to us first to discuss your needs. If we can’t release the information informally, we will let you know that a formal application is required.
You must send your formal application by using our online application form or completing the form in our Agency Information Guide and mailing/emailing it to us.
Sometimes there are costs to access information. We try and release as much information as possible for free or at the lowest possible cost.
Read about laws that govern our work
Our regulatory obligations and powers are outlined in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW), but there are several other laws and regulations relevant to our work.