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National Restrictions Library 2.0: This restriction applies to restictions imposed or accepted from 16 September 2024. For restrictions imposed or accepted before this date please see the National Restrictions Library 1.0.
A practitioner with this restriction must not practise until we publish approved practice locations. When assessing suitability of practice locations, we check that the practitioner has systems to ensure their compliance with the restrictions.
The practitioner must not have any contact with patients of the prohibited assigned sex or gender. Assigned sex is usually the sex assigned to an individual at birth. Gender includes gender identity which refers to how an individual perceives themself. We usually apply this restriction due to allegations or findings of sexual misconduct, from inappropriate sexualised communication to criminal sexual assault.
The practitioner must report on all the patients they have had contact with on a regular basis.
We monitor compliance by checking that:
Where applicable, we also get reports about patients seen from Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data.
You will receive a monitoring plan that details contact information, due dates, and the information you will need to provide to show that you are complying with your restrictions.
Links to the required forms will be available here prior to 16 September 2024.
Please contact your case officer for more information.
For general information see our Frequently asked questions about Monitoring and compliance page
If you have not yet received contact details for your case officer, please email your enquiry.
We are here to support and guide you through your compliance.
The contact details for your case officer are included on all our correspondence with you.
We also encourage you to use independent support services, including those provided on our Practitioner support services page.
You can also contact your legal representative or professional union to support you.
You are not permitted to practise without an approved and published practice location.
You must not commence practise or recommence practise until after we have assessed and approved a practice location and the approval has been published on the public register.
We will consider any practise without published approval to be a breach of the restrictions and may take further regulatory action, even if your nominated practice location is subsequently approved.
For these restrictions, we need to be confident that there are adequate processes for monitoring your compliance with the restrictions at each practice location.
We consider how appropriate a practice location is for a practitioner who is subject to these restrictions. We place significant weight on practice locations having independent people who we can communicate with and seek assurance from about the practitioner’s compliance.
Senior people and practice staff play an important role in protecting the public. They:
Senior people and practice staff should be physically present at the practice location. They should be sufficiently independent from a practitioner that we can reasonably rely on them to monitor the practitioner adequately.
If there is no senior person or you are the senior person at the practice location, we may:
For example, we may ask local drugs and poisons authorities or Services Australia for regular audits and independent reporting.
At the time of booking the patient’s sex and gender will be confirmed and will be asked if they intend to bring a support person to the appointment. Remember that for patients who meet the definition of prohibited patient, you and your staff must not book or allow them to attend an appointment with you.
When patients ask why they cannot book with you, practice staff will:
Patients who meet the definition of prohibited patient must not be booked for an appointment or be permitted to have contact with you.
“Patient” includes any person accompanying the individual awaiting, requiring, or receiving the professional services of the practitioner and includes any spouse, partner, parent, dependent, family member or guardian/carer.
When more than one person wants to attend an appointment with you, practice staff must check whether they meet the prohibited patient definition.
Generally, we will give you the opportunity to:
You must stop practising until we publish the approved practice location on the public register.
Send us confirmation that you no longer practise at the location. For example, a termination letter.
We will remove the publication of the practice location from the public register.
If you only had one approved practice location, you must stop practising until we publish another approved practice location on the public register. If you want to start practising at a new location, you must nominate a new practice location in line with the requirements of the restrictions and the Protocol.
If you had more than one approved practice location, you can continue practising at your other approved practice location while we assess your new nomination.
If you treated a patient in breach of your conditions, you must notify your case officer, even if it was a medical emergency. We will consider whether the situation was a genuine medical emergency.
We define a medical emergency as an event when it is not possible or reasonable:
A medical emergency is defined as an event where it is not possible or reasonable to have a patient with a serious or life-threatening condition seen by another practitioner or transferred to the nearest hospital.
If you fail to notify us of your non-compliance in a medical emergency, we will treat this as a further breach of the condition and take further action.
Senior people and practice staff must complete our Compliance Third Party Induction because we use it to:
The appointment report must list all the appointments booked for the practitioner and include:
The billing report must list all services the practitioner billed and include:
You must contact your Ahpra case officer or team as soon as possible if you have had a change of circumstances or are unable to comply with the requirements for any reason. See your monitoring plan for contact information.
You may be able to apply for a change in your restrictions, or an extension of the date of commencement of the requirement for supervision. Circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis.