Supervisor Approval Position Statement

This position statement sets out the Medical Council’s expectations of an approved supervisor and the criteria the Council applies when considering approval of a supervisor. It should be read in conjunction with the Council’s Compliance Policy – Supervision, which sets out the obligations of a practitioner subject to supervision conditions.

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) states that the protection of the health and safety of the public must be the paramount consideration when functions are being exercised under that law. Supervision is an effective mechanism for monitoring whether a practitioner is practising safely. It is also a valuable tool for assisting a practitioner to improve his/her practice to accepted standards.

The Council expects a practitioner (subject to supervision conditions) to ensure that his/her practice (or specified aspects of practice) is/are overseen and regularly reviewed by a supervisor approved by the Council, in accordance with the conditions on his/her registration and the Council’s Compliance Policy – Supervision.

By consenting to act as a supervisor, approved supervisors agree to oversee a practitioner’s practice and report to the Council in accordance with the requirements set out in the supervised practitioner’s conditions and the Council’s Compliance Policy – Supervision.

As part of their briefing, supervisors will receive publicly available information that is relevant to the practitioner being supervised.

Other information may be provided, depending on the constraints of confidentiality in each particular case.

The following criteria will be taken into account when considering whether or not to approve a supervisor:

1. A supervisor should be experienced in the relevant area of practice, and should, if possible be a Fellow of the relevant College.
2. A supervisor:

a) Should be a registered medical practitioner and be in active clinical practice.

b) Should not be the subject of current investigation, assessment, inquiry or proceedings in relation to conduct, health or performance matters.

c) Should not have conditions imposed on his/her registration.

d) Should not have been the subject of an adverse finding in previous disciplinary proceedings, regardless of whether or not his/her registration remains subject to conditions.

1. Supervisors must consent to undertaking the role of supervisor.
2. A supervisor must be willing to provide feedback to the Council, in a prescribed format (template provided by the Council) and at the frequency stipulated by the supervision requirements. The supervisor should provide sufficient information to the Council to enable the Council to determine whether the practitioner has met his/her supervision requirements.
3. A supervisor must be prepared to notify the Council of any immediate concerns in relation to the supervised practitioner’s compliance with the supervision requirement, or in relation to the practitioner’s conduct, performance or health, or if the supervisory relationship ceases.
4. The relationship between supervisor and supervised doctor should be at a purely professional level and be aware that:
   • Relationships where there is a close social interaction;
   • Treating relationship;
   • Power imbalance within the relationship;
   • Financial/business relationship; and
   • Employment relationship.
5. In view of the commitment required, a supervisor should generally not supervise more than one practitioner at a time.

a) A supervisor must not be a relative, partner or close friend of the supervised doctor.

b) A supervisor must not be the practitioner’s Council-approved mentor.

c) Consideration should be given to relationships that might impact on the supervisor’s ability to supervise the practitioner. Examples of such circumstances may include:

Nominees who do not meet these criteria may not be approved.

The Council may withdraw a supervisor’s approval if a supervisor ceases to meet the criteria set out above, or at any time at its discretion.

This Position Statement will be published on the Council’s website, provided to practitioners when a supervision condition is imposed, and provided to nominee supervisors. It should be read in conjunction with the Council’s Compliance Policy – Supervision.

• Supervisor nomination formopen_in_new