Statement in response to the Dawson Review

12 May 2025

Review presents opportunities for Ahpra’s regulatory reform agenda

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) welcomes the release today of the Independent review of complexity in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (Dawson Review) second consultation paper and thanks the reviewer Ms Sue Dawson and her team for their comprehensive work.

Ahpra supports in principle the review’s recommendations, many of which are in lock step with Ahpra’s current reform agenda.

The reforms centre around:

• Regulatory action and leadership to minimise and prevent harm to the public, especially in response to emerging healthcare challenges.

• Strengthening notification processes and investment to support better timeliness, transparency, and procedural fairness.

• Evolution of national health regulation including a national framework that ensures a risk-based approach is taken and that health professionals are regulated according to public safety needs.

Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said the review presents an exciting opportunity for the next chapter in regulation. 

‘The National Scheme is facing challenges it has not previously encountered,’ he said. 

‘The time is right to take the National Scheme forward to meet the evolving needs of contemporary regulation. I look forward to working with stakeholders to bring the recommendations of the review to life.’

Australia’s heath system is rapidly changing with evolving challenges such as telehealth, direct-to-consumer healthcare and AI significantly reshaping how the National Scheme works. 

Ahpra has responded to that changing environment with the establishment of foundational regulatory insights capability and the Rapid Regulatory Response Unit to be more proactive in identifying and addressing risk and preventing harm. The next step is to embed that approach throughout the entire organisation. 

The capability review proposed in the Dawson Review presents an opportunity to explore what our future needs are to be an agile regulator, capable of responding to changing needs.

The review also recommends improvements to Ahpra’s complaints handling process.

‘I understand how distressing it can be for practitioners to be subject to a regulatory process and acknowledge that sometimes these matters can take too long to resolve,’ Mr Untersteiner said.

'Reforming our complaints handling process is a priority.’

Ahpra has already invested in initiatives to support these improvements. It is reviewing all notifications that are older than 12 months and ensuring there are clear completion strategies for each case. 

It is also investing in establishing a health complaints navigator service with the aim of engaging directly with people making complaints to ensure their concerns are directed to the right agency.

‘I want Ahpra to be a listening, learning and responsive regulator,’ Mr Untersteiner said.

‘I look forward to the independent reviewer finalising her recommendations to health ministers and their decision on priorities for implementation.

‘Public safety will always be our number one priority, but we are making changes that will improve the experience of regulation for practitioners, consumers and all stakeholders.’ 

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