Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill

Overview

This bill would have strengthened patient safety by making it harder for health practitioners with serious misconduct to regain their registration, permanently publishing sexual misconduct findings on public registers, and protecting people who report concerns about practitioners. It lapsed when the 57th Parliament ended and did not become law.

Who it affects

Patients would have had better information about practitioners with sexual misconduct histories, and people reporting concerns about health practitioners would have gained stronger legal protections from retaliation.

Key changes

• Disqualified practitioners must obtain a tribunal reinstatement order before applying to a National Board for re-registration
• Sexual misconduct findings by tribunals permanently published on public registers, including the finding, sanctions, and tribunal decision
• New offences for threatening, intimidating, dismissing, or retaliating against people who report concerns about practitioners (up to $60,000 penalty for individuals)
• Non-disclosure agreements cannot prevent people from reporting to health regulators, with any such provisions rendered void
• Employers must ensure NDAs clearly state they do not prevent regulatory complaints, or face up to $10,000 penalty