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Notifications can be made anonymously, meaning we don't record your name as the notifier.
We may assign a pseudonym (a false name) for a notifier who wants to be anonymous.
We ask that people who want to make anonymous or confidential notifications clearly explain why they want to do so when they first contact us.
Mandatory notifications cannot be made anonymously.
We always do our best to respect the wishes of people who are telling us their concerns about a health practitioner.
However, it may be difficult (and sometimes impossible) for us to assess or manage the concerns if we don't have your name and contact details.
This is because:
Making an anonymous notification also means we also can't provide you with updates.
By law we need to tell a registered health practitioner when a notification is made about them.
As they have the right to respond, this means we must give the practitioner enough information about the concerns for them to so.
There are two sets of personal information that are relevant: the details of the patient and the details of the notifier. (Sometimes, the notifier and the patient are the same person.)
We cannot avoid sharing the patient's name with the practitioner.
We'll only tell the practitioner the notifier's name if it's necessary for them to respond and usually we'll let you know before we release any personal information to the practitioner.
Notifications can be made on a confidential basis.
This means that we don't share personal information about the notifier with other entities - including the health practitioner in question.
While we do our best to ensure the notifier's name isn't released to the practitioner, it's sometimes possible to assume or guess the notifier's identity based on the nature of the notification.
In some circumstances we may be compelled to share information about a confidential notification with others - for example, where the matter is the subject of legal proceedings or the practitioner makes a request for access to information under the Freedom of Information Act.
If you want to make anonymous or confidential notification, please call us on 1300 419 495.
When you call, we'll be to talk through your and our understanding of the concerns being raised and discuss any limitations we may face in progressing the matter.