AHPRA reports on performance in Queensland

24 Aug 2015

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) today released the latest performance data on AHPRA’s management of notifications in Queensland.

AHPRA CEO, Martin Fletcher, said publishing the data supported public confidence in regulation in Queensland.

'The shared goal of AHPRA and the National Boards is to regulate health practitioners in the best interests of the Queensland community, in partnership with the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO),' Mr Fletcher said.

'We want to ensure that regulatory collaboration with the OHO is effective, constructive and streamlined,' he said.

Briefing the Queensland Parliament’s Health and Ambulance Services Committee last month, AHPRA and the National Boards outlined emerging opportunities to improve health regulation in Queensland, including:

• establishing shared risk thresholds across AHPRA, the Boards and the OHO, so there is a common understanding of the point at which regulatory action is triggered
• early consultation on all matters relating to registered health practitioners, which is in place Australia-wide including in NSW which is also a co-regulatory jurisdiction, and
• effective and consistent information and data sharing so risk can be managed nationally and a comprehensive national dataset maintained.

The latest report including detailed performance data about notifications management in Queensland is published on the AHPRA website.

Key features of the last quarter’s data include:

• the preliminary assessment of all 265 matters referred from the OHO was completed within 30 days of referral
• after assessment, Boards referred 35% (96 out of 274 matters) for further regulatory action
• Boards concluded 65% of cases after assessment. Of these, in 115 cases the Board decided no further regulatory action was needed to keep the public safe; the Board cautioned 36 practitioners and imposed conditions on the registration of 23 practitioners
• there were 71 investigations started in the reporting period, 89 investigations completed and 323 investigations remained open
• after investigation, Boards took regulatory action in 65% of matters (including requiring undertakings, imposing conditions or referring matters to panels or tribunals) and decided that 35% of cases required no further regulatory action, and
• of the nine panel hearings completed in the period, in five cases the practitioner was sanctioned, two cases were referred for further regulatory action and in two cases no further regulatory action was needed to keep the public safe.

AHPRA is actively managing the timeliness of all investigations. The report demonstrates AHPRA’s commitment to decreasing the time taken to investigate matters and finalising more longstanding investigations.

‘The best way to improve regulation in Queensland is through genuine collaboration between AHPRA, the National Boards and the OHO and we are absolutely committed to this,’ Mr Fletcher said.

Media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media statement - AHPRA reports on performance in Queensland - 24 August 2015 (286 KB,PDF)