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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 practice locations in the register. We must approve practice locations. Before approving practice locations, we check that there are processes for monitoring the practitioner’s compliance with the remaining conditions.
Once we have approved a location, the practitioner must:
Further, if a practitioner tests positive for alcohol, they must not practise until they test negative. An approved person must supervise each breath test. A supervisor is generally another registered health practitioner.
We often apply this restriction due to concerns about a practitioner’s health. To protect the practitioner’s privacy, usually some of the restriction details are not publicly available.
We monitor compliance in several ways, including by checking that:
We check that the practitioner completes all required breath alcohol tests by comparing their logbook with records of their rosters and work hours. The senior person at the practitioner’s practice provides us with these records.
‘Treating mental health professional’ is defined as #a registered health practitioner, psychiatrist, general practitioner, nurse practitioner, addiction specialist, psychologist, or an alcohol, tobacco and other drugs counsellor or the equivalent#
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.
Registrants are responsible for the purchase of an approved breath testing device from the list below. Please use the links to the manufacturers’ websites to purchase the model that best suits your needs.
To maintain the accuracy and reliability of the breath testing device, the instrument must be recalibrated by the manufacturer at the interval for the device as specified by the manufacturer.
The registrant is responsible for meeting the cost of instrument calibration. Registrants may contact the relevant manufacturer to discuss whether loan units are available while calibration of their instrument is completed. If the registrant is not able to make alternate arrangements for breath testing whilst their approved device is undergoing calibration, they must not practise.
Board approved breath test supervisors are to use the Ahpra breath testing logbooks to record all tests undertaken and actual hours worked as part of the registrant’s requirements. It is the responsibility of the registrant to ensure the logbook is submitted to Ahpra to confirm compliance.
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.
Generally, we will provide you an opportunity to address any shortfalls in the nomination. We will not consider incomplete nominations. We will notify you if we require any further information to progress your nomination.
You must notify your case officer as soon as possible using the contact details on your monitoring plan. We will remove your practice location from the public register. If you have no other practice locations approved, you must not recommence practising until you have a new practice location approved.
Yes, only if we are satisfied that the senior person can give independent information about your compliance and be willing to provide reports to us if they identify concerns.
A conflict of interest may arise from being in a collegiate, family, social or financial relationship with those you nominate, which could compromise the nominee's judgment, decisions, or actions in performing their nominated role. If a conflict exists, and you are seeking to have one individual act as your breath test supervisor and the senior person, we may decide to refuse your nominated practice location.
If you have no approved practice locations published to the public register, you must not practise. You must only practise at approved and published practice locations.
If your break is 30 minutes or longer, you are required to breath test before recommencing practise after your break. If your break is less than 30 minutes, you are not required to breath test after your break.
You should comply with the relevant employment contract and relevant workplace health and safety requirements in relation to taking breaks and the duration of breaks.
You must notify your case officer of any incident where, due to a medical emergency, you are unable to undertake alcohol screening. We will assess how complying with your restrictions will affect your ability to provide care to patients in a medical emergency.
A medical emergency is 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.
We will treat any failure to notify of non-compliance in the circumstances of a medical emergency as a breach of the condition and may take further action in relation to a breach of conditions.
This means that if you do not notify us of any time that that you practised without a breath test in the case of an medical emergency, we will consider whether further regulatory action or restrictions are required to manage the noncompliance.
This helps us to confirm if your practice location is suitable, can help you comply with your restrictions, and provide us independent information so we can confirm you are practising safely.
The requirement to seek approval of a practice location, for the purpose of these restrictions, is intended to allow for closer scrutiny of the practice setting compared to other forms of action (such as, but not limited to, supervised practice).
In considering the appropriateness of a practice location for a practitioner subject to these restrictions, we place significant weight on the presence of independent persons (senior person) with whom we can communicate and seek assurances from regarding the practitioner’s compliance.
Senior persons and breath test supervisors play an important role in protecting the public. They are responsible for providing us with accurate practice information and are our primary contact to confirm you are practising safely. They must be trustworthy and sufficiently independent from a practitioner to be reasonably relied upon to allow for adequate monitoring.
It is important that your senior person and/or breath test supervisors are physically present at all times and are able to provide us with independent and reliable information to help us monitor your compliance with your restrictions.
It is generally considered that there is a reduced risk of relapse in circumstances where a practitioner is actively engaged in appropriate treatment.
Nominating a treating practitioner provides us with important information about your progress in treatment and the nature and severity of your health condition. This information is particularly important when assessing any issues of non-compliance and any application for review of the restrictions that you may choose to make.
Whilst in most cases your restrictions do not require you to attend for treatment, engagement in treatment is one of the factors that is considered when assessing whether further regulatory action is required and/or whether the restrictions can be removed from your registration.
Those practitioners that do attend regularly for treatment and who are able to provide comprehensive information from their treating practitioner about their health condition are generally considered less likely to relapse into alcohol use.
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.