National Restrictions Library

Restrictions (conditions and undertakings) are a primary regulatory tool used to protect the public. Regulators place restrictions on registration as necessary in the course of an investigation and/or disciplinary procedure or as a result of a disciplinary procedure. Restrictions, as conditions, may also be imposed at the time of registration or renewal of registration, for various reasons.

In the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, the decision to impose restrictions on the registration of practitioners across 16 professions and 15 Boards is delegated to multiple committees in multiple locations around Australia. In 2015 Ahpra recognised that the inevitable variation in the quality of restrictions being developed independently by multiple decision makers was costly and inefficient. To address these issues an accelerated program of work was undertaken to develop the library to provide a consolidated structure for common restrictions used across the regulatory functions of the National Boards and to support:

• consistency in recommendations from Ahpra to the National Boards and delegates
• consistency in the restrictions appearing on the national public register of health practitioners, and
• a best practice approach to monitoring compliance with restrictions.

The restrictions included in the library have been tested against agreed criteria for a ‘good restriction’. In this regard restrictions within the library have been developed to ensure each:

• is able to be complied with by the registrant
• is proportionate to the risk identified and mitigates that risk
• is able to be objectively monitored through available evidence
• clearly outlines the responsibilities of the registrant
• does not fetter the discretion of decision makers, and
• is not directed at third parties.

When a decision maker imposes restrictions as conditions, they are framed in a way that directs the behaviour of another party (“the practitioner is to”), whereas when restrictions form part of an undertaking accepted by a decision maker, they are framed in the first person (“I will”). The following are copies of the library framed as both conditions and undertakings for the reference of registrants and their representatives.

The requirements detailed in the library restrictions as conditions and their corresponding forms will be used as a benchmark in the recommendations being made to the National Boards about any undertakings proposed.

Structure of the library

The National Restrictions Library uses the following framework:

Core restriction: This is the component of the restriction which addresses the particular behaviour or issue.

Operating restrictions: This is the supplementary information that defines the practitioner’s responsibilities, the Board’s expectations, the monitoring activities and the information by which compliance with the core restriction will be monitored.

Configurable elements: Within each restriction there are configurable elements which the user can modify in such a way as to address the particular circumstances in which the restrictions are to be recommended. Examples of configurable elements include timeframe for completion, topics to be addressed by education and the frequency of reporting etc. Within this document configurable elements appear in bold text, bracketed with #.

The library restrictions contain reference to “approved forms”. These forms capture monitoring requirements and form part of the restriction with which a registrant must comply. The forms are individual coded and are grouped according to the category of restriction they relate to. Forms related to restrictions addressing health, conduct or performance concerns can be accessed below:

Forms related to restrictions addressing a shortfall in a registration standard can be accessed below: