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More than 100 current and former healthcare practitioners have had their sexual misconduct findings permanently added to their records on the national regulator’s searchable public register.
Twenty-one of the practitioners with sexual misconduct findings against them are still practising, and 86 had cancelled registrations, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) reported on Friday.
AHPRA is reviewing 5000 professional misconduct findings dating back to July 2010 to identify those that relate to sexual misconduct, as part of long-overdue reforms to the National Law.
Doctors account for 50 of the 107 practitioners who had their historical sexual misconduct findings added to the public-facing records overseen by AHPRA, which regulates all registered healthcare professionals, including midwives, nurses, psychologists, chiropractors and dentists.
“Sexual misconduct by registered health practitioners is an unacceptable breach of trust that undermines public health and safety,” AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner said.
He said the reform empowers patients to make informed choices about their care and reinforces the principle that breaches of trust will not be hidden.
Previously, the public could only see active disciplinary sanctions when they searched for practitioners on AHPRA’s register.
More practitioners are expected to have their sexual misconduct findings published on their records later this year as AHPRA’s review continues.
Sexual misconduct covers professional boundary violations, sexual harassment and criminal offences, including making sexual innuendos, inappropriate texting, telling patients about their own sexual experiences and performing an unnecessary physical examination.
“Any incident can have a lasting and profound impact,” Untersteiner said. He encouraged anyone wishing to raise a concern about a practitioner to do so.
The change is part of a suite of reforms approved by Health ministers last year, which also make retaliation against a notifier a criminal offence.
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