Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

Introduced: 13/6/2017By: Hon CR Dick MPStatus: PASSED

Health Safety & Emergency Justice & Rights

This summary was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human.

Plain English Summary

Overview

This bill brings paramedics under Australia's national health registration scheme for the first time, meaning anyone calling themselves a paramedic must be registered and meet national standards. It also recognises nursing and midwifery as separate professions, gives regulators stronger powers to act quickly against practitioners who pose a public risk, and creates new offences (with fines up to $30,000) for deregistered practitioners who ignore prohibition orders.

Who it affects

Paramedics and paramedicine students face new registration requirements, while patients and the public gain stronger protections, better information when they complain, and a public register of anyone banned from providing health services.

Key changes

Paramedics must be registered nationally from a 'participation day' set by regulation (expected 2018), with a new Paramedicine Board of Australia overseeing them
A person who holds a Diploma of Paramedical Science from the NSW Ambulance Service, or who has practised paramedicine for 5 of the last 10 years, can qualify under transitional rules
Nursing and midwifery become two separate professions in law, still regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
National boards and the Queensland Health Ombudsman can suspend a practitioner or impose conditions 'in the public interest', not just when there is a serious risk to health
Tribunals can ban deregistered practitioners from providing any health service or using any title, permanently or for a set period
Breaching a prohibition order becomes an offence (maximum $30,000), with smaller fines for failing to tell patients or employers, or for advertising without disclosing the order
National boards must publish a public register of everyone subject to a prohibition order
Boards must tell complainants the outcome of a notification and may also give reasons, at several stages of the complaint process
If a panel suspends a practitioner for health reasons, it must set a reconsideration date so the suspension is reviewed
The COAG Health Council can restructure National Boards by regulation (after public consultation), without needing new legislation

How this affects you

Health

•When you call an ambulance or hire a private paramedic, the person treating you must be nationally registered and meet minimum training standardsClause 15 and Clause 52 (new sections 307, 311, 312)Adds 'paramedicine' as a regulated profession and protects the title 'paramedic', with the Paramedicine Board of Australia responsible for registration and standards.
•You can look up any registered paramedic, nurse, midwife or other practitioner on a national register, which will also list anyone banned from providing health servicesClauses 44-48National Boards must keep public registers that include names of practitioners whose registration has been cancelled and anyone subject to a prohibition order.
•Midwives are recognised in law as their own profession, not just as a type of nurse, though the same board still regulates bothClause 4(6) and Clause 15Amends the definition of health profession to list midwifery and nursing separately while continuing regulation by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
•If you complain about a health practitioner, you are more likely to be told what the regulator decided and why, not just the final outcomeClauses 25, 26, 28, 29New sections 159A, 167A, 177A and replaced section 180 give National Boards a discretion to tell notifiers about decisions and their reasons at multiple stages.

Safety & Emergency

•Regulators can suspend or restrict a health practitioner's registration straight away if it is 'in the public interest', even before a full investigationClause 24 and Clause 65Broadens the grounds for immediate action under section 156 of the National Law and section 58 of the Health Ombudsman Act, for example when a practitioner is charged with a serious crime.
•If a practitioner works across multiple clinics, hospitals, sporting clubs or charities, the regulator must now be told about each one and can alert them all to disciplinary actionClauses 20 and 39Replaced section 132 requires 'practice information' covering employees, contractors, volunteers, honorary positions and service-company arrangements; section 206 lets boards notify all of them.
•The Queensland Health Ombudsman can vary an immediate suspension or interim prohibition order as circumstances change, instead of having to keep it in place or revoke it entirelyClauses 66 and 70New sections 58A, 58B, 68A and 68B let the Health Ombudsman vary immediate registration action or interim prohibition orders on their own initiative or on application.
•Queensland Ambulance Service officers can share information with the Paramedicine Board, AHPRA and the Health Ombudsman about paramedics who may have done the wrong thingClauses 85 and 86Amends section 50M and inserts new section 50S of the Ambulance Service Act 1991 to authorise disclosures for complaints and notifications under the National Law.

Justice & Rights

•Someone deregistered for serious misconduct can be banned from providing any health service, not just the one they were trained in, permanently or for a set periodClauses 36, 76, 77Amends section 196(4)(b) of the National Law and sections 107(4) and 113(4) of the Health Ombudsman Act so QCAT can prohibit a person from any or a specified health service or title.
•Breaking a prohibition order becomes a criminal offence, with fines of up to $30,000 for individualsClause 37 (new section 196A)Creates an offence to contravene a prohibition order (maximum $30,000), with extra penalties of up to $5,000 for not telling patients or employers, and $10,000 for bodies corporate advertising without disclosing the order.
•If a health panel suspends a practitioner, it must set a date to review the suspension, giving the practitioner certainty their case will be reconsideredClauses 33 and 34New section 191(4A), 191A and 191B require panels to set a 'reconsideration date' and allow earlier or later reconsideration in defined circumstances.
•Practitioners can ask the Health Ombudsman to vary an immediate suspension or prohibition order instead of having to go straight to QCAT for reviewClause 66 (new section 58B) and Clause 70 (new section 68B)Provides a quicker and cheaper internal review route, with QCAT review still available if the practitioner disagrees with the decision.

Bill Journey

Introduced13 June 2017

First Reading

Committee

Committee Report11 Aug 2017

Committee report tabled

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent13 Sept 2017

Referenced Entities

Sectors Affected

Emergency Services Public Administration Hospitals Public Health

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards

Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2017

Plain English Summary

Overview

Who it affects

Key changes

Bill Journey

Referenced Entities

Legislation

Organisations

Programs & Schemes

Roles & Offices

Sectors Affected

Source Documents