3Objectives

(1)

The object of this Law is to establish a national registration and accreditation scheme for —

(a)

the regulation of health practitioners; and

(b)

the registration of students undertaking —

(i)

programs of study that provide a qualification for registration in a health profession; or

(ii)

clinical training in a health profession.

(2)

The objectives of the national registration and accreditation scheme are —

(a)

to provide for the protection of the public by ensuring that only health practitioners who are suitably trained and qualified to practise in a competent and ethical manner are registered; and

(b)

to facilitate workforce mobility across Australia by reducing the administrative burden for health practitioners wishing to move between participating jurisdictions or to practise in more than one participating jurisdiction; and

(c)

to facilitate the provision of high quality education and training of health practitioners; and

(ca)

to build the capacity of the Australian health workforce to provide culturally safe health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; and

(d)

to facilitate the rigorous and responsive assessment of overseas‑trained health practitioners; and

(e)

to facilitate access to services provided by health practitioners in accordance with the public interest; and

(f)

to enable the continuous development of a flexible, responsive and sustainable Australian health workforce and to enable innovation in the education of, and service delivery by, health practitioners.

5Definitions

In this Law —

ACC means the Australian Crime Commission established under section 7 of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cwlth);

accreditation authority means —

(a)

an external accreditation entity; or

(b)

an accreditation committee;

accreditation committee means a committee established by a National Board to exercise an accreditation function for a health profession for which the Board is established;

accreditation standard, for a health profession, means a standard used to assess whether a program of study, and the education provider that provides the program of study, provide persons who complete the program with the knowledge, skills and professional attributes necessary to practise the profession in Australia;

accredited program of study means a program of study accredited under section 48 by an accreditation authority;

adjudication body means —

(a)

a panel; or

(b)

a responsible tribunal; or

(c)

a Court; or

(d)

an entity of a co‑regulatory jurisdiction that is declared in the Act applying this Law to be an adjudication body for the purposes of this Law;

Note —

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Application Act 2024 section 19 declares the State Administrative Tribunal to be the responsible tribunal for Western Australia.

Agency Board means the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Board established by section 29;

Agency Fund means the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Fund established by section 208;

appropriate professional indemnity insurance arrangements, in relation to a registered health practitioner, means professional indemnity insurance arrangements that comply with an approved registration standard for the health profession in which the practitioner is registered;

approved accreditation standard means an accreditation standard —

(a)

approved by a National Board under section 47(3); and

(b)

published on the Board’s website under section 47(6) ;

approved area of practice, for a health profession, means an area of practice approved under section 15 for the profession;

approved program of study, for a health profession or for endorsement of registration in a health profession, means an accredited program of study —

(a)

approved under section 49(1) by the National Board established for the health profession; and

(b)

included in the list published by the National Agency under section 49(5);

approved qualification —

(a)

for a health profession, means a qualification obtained by completing an approved program of study for the profession; and

(b)

for endorsement of registration in a health profession, means a qualification obtained by completing an approved program of study relevant to the endorsement;

approved registration standard means a registration standard —

(a)

approved by the Ministerial Council under section 12; and

(b)

published on the website of the National Board that developed the standard;

Australian legal practitioner means a person who —

(a)

is admitted to the legal profession under the law of a State or Territory; and

(b)

holds a current practising certificate under a law of a State or Territory authorising the person to practise the legal profession;

COAG Agreement means the agreement for a national registration and accreditation scheme for health professions, made on 26 March 2008 between the Commonwealth, the States, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory;

Note —

A copy of the COAG Agreement is available on the National Agency’s website.

co‑regulatory authority, for a co‑regulatory jurisdiction, means an entity that is declared by the Act applying this Law in the co‑regulatory jurisdiction to be a co‑regulatory authority for the purposes of this Law;

co‑regulatory jurisdiction means a participating jurisdiction in which the Act applying this Law declares that the jurisdiction is not participating in the health, performance and conduct process provided by Divisions 3 to 12 of Part 8;

corresponding prior Act means a law of a participating jurisdiction that —

(a)

was in force before the day on which the jurisdiction became a participating jurisdiction; and

(b)

established an entity having functions that included —

(i)

the registration of persons as health practitioners; or

(ii)

health, conduct or performance action;

criminal history, of a person, means the following —

(a)

every conviction of the person for an offence, in a participating jurisdiction or elsewhere, and whether before or after the commencement of this Law;

(b)

every plea of guilty or finding of guilt by a court of the person for an offence, in a participating jurisdiction or elsewhere, and whether before or after the commencement of this Law and whether or not a conviction is recorded for the offence;

(c)

every charge made against the person for an offence, in a participating jurisdiction or elsewhere, and whether before or after the commencement of this Law;

criminal history law means a law of a participating jurisdiction that provides that spent or other convictions do not form part of a person’s criminal history and prevents or does not require the disclosure of those convictions;

disqualified person means a person —

(a)

whose registration has been cancelled by a responsible tribunal; or

(b)

who has been disqualified by a responsible tribunal from applying for registration, or being registered, in a health profession;

division, of a health profession, means a part of a health profession for which a Division is included in the National Register kept for the profession;

education provider means —

(a)

a university; or

(b)

a tertiary education institution, or another institution or organisation, that provides vocational training; or

(c)

a specialist medical college or other health profession college;

entity includes a person and an unincorporated body;

exercise a function includes perform a duty;

external accreditation entity means an entity, other than a committee established by a National Board, that exercises an accreditation function;

health assessment means an assessment of a person to determine whether the person has an impairment and includes a medical, physical, psychiatric or psychological examination or test of the person;

health complaints entity means an entity —

(a)

that is established by or under an Act of a participating jurisdiction; and

(b)

whose functions include conciliating, investigating and resolving complaints made against health service providers and investigating failures in the health system;

health, conduct or performance action means action that —

(a)

a National Board or an adjudication body may take in relation to a registered health practitioner or student at the end of a proceeding under Part 8; or

(b)

a co‑regulatory authority or an adjudication body may take in relation to a registered health practitioner or student at the end of a proceeding that, under the law of a co‑regulatory jurisdiction, substantially corresponds to a proceeding under Part 8;

health panel means a panel established under section 181;

health practitioner means an individual who practises a health profession;

health profession means the following professions, and includes a recognised specialty in any of the following professions —

(a)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice;

(b)

Chinese medicine;

(c)

chiropractic;

(d)

dental (including the profession of a dentist, dental therapist, dental hygienist, dental prosthetist and oral health therapist);

(e)

medical;

(f)

medical radiation practice;

(g)

midwifery;

(ga)

nursing;

(h)

occupational therapy;

(i)

optometry;

(j)

osteopathy;

(ja)

paramedicine;

(k)

pharmacy;

(l)

physiotherapy;

(m)

podiatry;

(n)

psychology;

Note —

See Division 15 of Part 12 which provides for a staged commencement of the application of this Law to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice, Chinese medicine, medical radiation practice and occupational therapy professions.

health profession agreement has the meaning given by section 26;

health program means a program providing education, prevention, early intervention, treatment or rehabilitation services relating to physical or mental impairments, disabilities, conditions or disorders, including substance abuse or dependence;

health service includes the following services, whether provided as public or private services —

(a)

services provided by registered health practitioners;

(b)

hospital services;

(c)

mental health services;

(d)

pharmaceutical services;

(e)

ambulance services;

(f)

community health services;

(g)

health education services;

(h)

welfare services necessary to implement any services referred to in paragraphs (a) to (g);

(i)

services provided by dietitians, masseurs, naturopaths, social workers, speech pathologists, audiologists or audiometrists;

(j)

pathology services;

health service provider means a person who provides a health service;

interim prohibition order, for Division 7A of Part 8, see section 159B;

impairment, in relation to a person, means the person has a physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder (including substance abuse or dependence) that detrimentally affects or is likely to detrimentally affect —

(a)

for a registered health practitioner or an applicant for registration in a health profession, the person’s capacity to practise the profession; or

(b)

for a student, the student’s capacity to undertake clinical training —

(i)

as part of the approved program of study in which the student is enrolled; or

(ii)

arranged by an education provider;

local registration authority means an entity having functions under a law of a State or Territory that include the registration of persons as health practitioners;

mandatory notification means a notification an entity is required to make to the National Agency under Division 2 of Part 8;

medical practitioner means a person who is registered under this Law in the medical profession;

Ministerial Council means a body, however described, that consists of the Minister of each participating jurisdiction, and the Commonwealth, who is responsible, or principally responsible, for matters relating to health;

National Agency means the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency established by section 23;

National Board means a National Health Practitioner Board continued or established by regulations made under section 31;

National Register means the Register kept by a National Board under section 222;

national registration and accreditation scheme means the scheme —

(a)

referred to in the COAG Agreement; and

(b)

established by this Law;

notification means —

(a)

a mandatory notification; or

(b)

a voluntary notification;

notifier means a person who makes a notification;

panel means —

(a)

a health panel; or

(b)

a performance and professional standards panel;

participating jurisdiction means a State or Territory —

(a)

that is a party to the COAG Agreement; and

(b)

in which —

(i)

this Law applies as a law of the State or Territory; or

(ii)

a law that substantially corresponds to the provisions of this Law has been enacted;

performance and professional standards panel means a panel established under section 182;

performance assessment means an assessment of the knowledge, skill or judgment possessed, or care exercised by, a registered health practitioner in the practice of the health profession in which the practitioner is registered;

police commissioner means the commissioner of the police force or police service of a participating jurisdiction or the Commonwealth;

practice arrangement, between a registered health practitioner or unregistered person, and an entity —

(a)

includes —

(i)

a contract of employment, contract for services or another arrangement or agreement between the practitioner or person and the entity in relation to the provision of services; or

(ii)

an agreement for the practitioner or person to provide services for or on behalf of the entity, whether in an honorary capacity, as a volunteer or otherwise, and whether or not the practitioner or person receives payment for the services; but

(b)

does not include a contract or agreement not directly related to the provision of a health service;

principal place of practice, for a registered health practitioner, means the address declared by the practitioner to be the address —

(a)

at which the practitioner is predominantly practising the profession; or

(b)

if the practitioner is not practising the profession or is not practising the profession predominantly at one address, that is the practitioner’s principal place of residence;

professional misconduct, of a registered health practitioner, includes —

(a)

unprofessional conduct by the practitioner that amounts to conduct that is substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered health practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience; and

(b)

more than one instance of unprofessional conduct that, when considered together, amounts to conduct that is substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered health practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience; and

(c)

conduct of the practitioner, whether occurring in connection with the practice of the health practitioner’s profession or not, that is inconsistent with the practitioner being a fit and proper person to hold registration in the profession;

program of study means a program of study provided by an education provider;

prohibition order means —

(a)

a decision by a responsible tribunal of this jurisdiction under section 196(4)(b) or (c); or

(b)

a decision by a responsible tribunal of another participating jurisdiction under section 196(4)(b) or (c) as it applies in the other jurisdiction; or

(c)

a prohibition order under section 149C(5) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW); or

(d)

a decision under section 107(4)(b) of the Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Qld);

psychologist means a person registered under this Law in the psychology profession;

public health facility includes —

(a)

a public hospital; and

(b)

a public health, teaching or research facility;

recognised specialty means a specialty in a health profession that has been approved by the Ministerial Council under section 13(2);

registered health practitioner means an individual who —

(a)

is registered under this Law to practise a health profession, other than as a student; or

(b)

holds non‑practising registration under this Law in a health profession;

registration authority means —

(a)

a local registration authority; or

(b)

an entity of a jurisdiction outside Australia that has responsibility for registering health practitioners in that jurisdiction;

registration standard means a registration standard developed by a National Board under section 38;

registration status, in relation to an applicant for registration, includes —

(a)

any undertakings given by the applicant to a registration authority, whether before or after the commencement of this Law; and

(b)

any conditions previously imposed on the applicant’s registration by a registration authority, whether before or after the commencement of this Law; and

(c)

any decisions made by a registration authority, a tribunal, a court or another entity having functions relating to the regulation of health practitioners about the applicant’s practice of the profession, whether before or after the commencement of this Law; and

(d)

any investigation commenced by a registration authority or a health complaints entity into the applicant’s conduct, performance or possible impairment but not finalised at the time of the application;

regulatory body, in relation to a person, means any of the following —

(a)

the National Agency;

(b)

for a person who is or was a registered health practitioner —a National Board for a health profession in which the person is or was registered;

reinstatement order means an order of a responsible tribunal that a disqualified person is eligible to apply to a National Board for registration under Part 7;

relevant action, for Division 10 of Part 8, see section 178;

relevant fee, for a service provided by a National Board, means the fee —

(a)

set under a health profession agreement between the Board and the National Agency for the service; and

(b)

published on the Board’s website under section 26(3);

relevant provision —

(a)

for Division 7A of Part 8, see section 159B; or

(b)

for Division 7B of Part 8, see section 159P;

responsible Minister means a Minister responsible for the administration of this Law in a participating jurisdiction;

responsible tribunal means a tribunal or court that —

(a)

is declared, by the Act applying this Law in a participating jurisdiction, to be the responsible tribunal for that jurisdiction for the purposes of this Law as applied in that jurisdiction, or

(b)

is declared, by a law that substantially corresponds to this Law enacted in a participating jurisdiction, to be the responsible tribunal for that jurisdiction for the purposes of the law of that jurisdiction;

review period, for a condition or undertaking, means the period during which the condition may not be changed or removed, or the undertaking may not be changed or revoked, under section 125, 126 or 127;

scheduled medicine means a substance included in a Schedule to the current Poisons Standard within the meaning of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 of the Commonwealth;

specialist health practitioner means a person registered under this Law in a recognised specialty;

Specialists Register means a register kept by a National Board under section 223;

specialist title, in relation to a recognised specialty, means a title that is approved by the Ministerial Council under section 13 as being a specialist title for that recognised specialty;

State or Territory Board has the meaning given by section 36;

student means a person whose name is entered in a student register as being currently registered under this Law;

student register, for a health profession, means a register kept under section 229 by the National Board established for the profession;

suspension period, in relation to a person’s registration in a health profession, for Subdivision 2 of Division 9 of Part 7, see section 112A;

unprofessional conduct, of a registered health practitioner, means professional conduct that is of a lesser standard than that which might reasonably be expected of the health practitioner by the public or the practitioner’s professional peers, and includes —

(a)

a contravention by the practitioner of this Law, whether or not the practitioner has been prosecuted for, or convicted of, an offence in relation to the contravention; and

(b)

a contravention by the practitioner of —

(i)

a condition to which the practitioner’s registration was subject; or

(ii)

an undertaking given by the practitioner to the National Board that registers the practitioner; and

(c)

the conviction of the practitioner for an offence under another Act, the nature of which may affect the practitioner’s suitability to continue to practise the profession; and

(d)

providing a person with health services of a kind that are excessive, unnecessary or otherwise not reasonably required for the person’s well‑being; and

(e)

influencing, or attempting to influence, the conduct of another registered health practitioner in a way that may compromise patient care; and

(f)

accepting a benefit as inducement, consideration or reward for referring another person to a health service provider or recommending another person use or consult with a health service provider; and

(g)

offering or giving a person a benefit, consideration or reward in return for the person referring another person to the practitioner or recommending to another person that the person use a health service provided by the practitioner; and

(h)

referring a person to, or recommending that a person use or consult, another health service provider, health service or health product if the practitioner has a pecuniary interest in giving that referral or recommendation, unless the practitioner discloses the nature of that interest to the person before or at the time of giving the referral or recommendation;

unregistered person means a person who is not registered, or whose registration is suspended, under this Law;

unsatisfactory professional performance, of a registered health practitioner, means the knowledge, skill or judgment possessed, or care exercised by, the practitioner in the practice of the health profession in which the practitioner is registered is below the standard reasonably expected of a health practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience;

voluntary notification means a notification made under Division 3 of Part 8.

[Section 5 amended: No. 22 of 2022 (Qld) s. 53, 93 and 117(2); No. 6 of 2025 (Qld) s. 16.]

11Policy directions

(1)

The Ministerial Council may give directions to the National Agency about the policies to be applied by the National Agency in exercising its functions under this Law.

(2)

The Ministerial Council may give directions to a National Board about the policies to be applied by the National Board in exercising its functions under this Law.

(3)

Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), a direction under this section may relate to —

(a)

a matter relevant to the policies of the National Agency or a National Board; or

(b)

an administrative process of the National Agency or a National Board; or

(c)

a procedure of the National Agency or a National Board; or

(d)

a particular proposed accreditation standard, or a particular proposed amendment of an accreditation standard, for a health profession.

(4)

However, the Ministerial Council may give a National Board a direction under subsection (3)(d) only if —

(a)

in the Council’s opinion, the proposed accreditation standard or amendment will have a substantive and negative impact on the recruitment or supply of health practitioners; and

(b)

the Council has first given consideration to the potential impact of the Council’s direction on the quality and safety of health care.

(5)

A direction under this section cannot be about —

(a)

a particular person; or

(b)

a particular qualification; or

(c)

a particular application, notification or proceeding.

(6)

The National Agency or a National Board must comply with a direction given to it by the Ministerial Council under this section.

Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia)

About this Act

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