Possible outcomes

There are many possible outcomes to a complaint because every case is different. Regardless of the outcome, you can be sure that the Council has considered the complaint diligently and taken it seriously.

During the process, a Council can decide to discontinue a complaint. It can also decide not to take any action after considering all the available information.

It’s important to remember that Councils base this decision purely on public safety or public interest grounds. It doesn’t mean your feelings and concerns aren’t valid. It just means that Councils won’t take action if they don’t think this would meet the legal threshold for protecting public safety or the wider public interest.

A Council might decide another body should handle the complaint. These could include: the Pharmaceutical Services Unit (NSW Health), Services Australia (Medicare), Ahpra, a National Board, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

If the Council believes there are public safety concerns about a practitioner’s  performance, the way they conduct themselves, or their health, it can restrict or suspend their registration.

This involves placing conditions on the practitioner until the Council agrees they can provide safe and professional care.

There are many different types of conditions, but some examples are:

• compulsory education and training to address skill or knowledge gaps
• attending Council counselling sessions or completing self-reflection activities
• medical treatment or psychological/psychiatric counselling
• undergoing drug and alcohol testing  
• ongoing performance or health assessments
• not delivering certain types of treatment or care
• practising under supervision
• limiting patient numbers.

When the Council places conditions on a practitioner’s registration, it notifies the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

Ahpra manages the national Register of practitioners– a public database containing the name and qualifications of every registered health practitioner in Australia. If current conditions apply to a practitioner, Ahpra lists them here unless they are health related. Personal health information about practitioners is not published on the register.

Then, the HPCA regulatory teams continue to monitor whether practitioners are complying with their conditions.

Look up the national Register of practitionersopen_in_new

Sometimes, a practitioner doesn’t meet the requirements they’re meant to. When that happens, a health professional council can take further action to protect the public.

The action they take depends on the situation, but it could include:

• making a new complaint
• issuing a reprimand or caution
• asking the practitioner to attend an interview or meet with a panel
• taking urgent interim action to suspend or place new conditions on the practitioner’s registration
• referring the matter to the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) for investigation.

In very serious cases, after the HCCC conducts an investigation, it may refer the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). Nurses, midwives and medical practitioners can also be referred to a Professional Standards Committee. These independent Committees and NCAT can reprimand or impose conditions on practitioners but only NCAT can cancel or suspend their registration.

Understand your privacy rights