National Law amendments

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill) was introduced into the Queensland Parliament on 12 December 2024. The Bill progresses amendments to the National Law that were agreed by Australian Health Ministers following public consultation.  

As Queensland is the host jurisdiction for the National Law, the amendments must be introduced into the Queensland Parliament for review, debate and passage. 

The Bill was reviewed by the Queensland Parliament’s Health Environment and Innovation Committee. The Committee’s report is accessible on its website.

The Bill was debated and passed by Queensland Parliament on 3 April 2025.

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 became law on 9 April 2025.

A Factsheet about how a law is made in Queensland is available from the Queensland Government webpage.

Australian Health Ministers agreed to seek changes to the National Law. They also agreed the Bill that was introduced into the Queensland Parliament. The Queensland Parliament has debated and passed the Bill to bring these changes into law.

Jurisdictions did public consultation before the Bill was finalised and introduced into Queensland Parliament. The Explanatory Notes to the Bill (pages 18 to 19) provide a good summary.

Yes, we are planning to:

• Provide information for the public and practitioners about the new protections for notifiers from reprisals and non-disclosure agreements to help people become aware of the changes and what this means
• Seek feedback on guidance (to be developed) on publishing additional information on the public register where there is a finding by a tribunal of professional misconduct that involves sexual misconduct.

We will update this page when we have more information to share.

The changes will start on a date/s to be decided by governments. Ahpra will publish the start dates when they are available.

This gives Ahpra and the National Boards time to implement the changes over the next 12 months and for them to start at the same time nationally. The changes have impacts on our operations and it is important that time is provided to explain these changes to practitioners and the public.

The changes will apply automatically in each state and territory once they start – except in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia where governments take extra steps to confirm that the changes will apply in those states.  

The Queensland legislation website hosts the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Act as passed that makes the changes to the National Law.  

The Bill was reviewed by the When the Bill was introduced into Queensland Parliament, it had information (called Explanatory Notes) to help people understand the changes.

Queensland Parliament’s Health Environment and Innovation Committee. The Committee’s report and stakeholder submissions on the Bill is available from the Committee's website.