AHPRA Annual Report 2015/16

Appendices

Appendix 1: Regulatory principles for the National Scheme

These regulatory principles underpin the work of the Boards and AHPRA in regulating Australia’s health practitioners, in the public interest. They shape our thinking about regulatory decision-making and have been designed to encourage a responsive, risk-based approach to regulation across all professions.

The Boards and AHPRA administer and comply with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory. The scope of our work is defined by the National Law.
We protect the health and safety 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.
While we balance all the objectives of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, our primary consideration is to protect the public.
When we are considering an application for registration, or when we become aware of concerns about a health practitioner, we protect the public by taking timely and necessary action under the National Law.
In all areas of our work we:
- identify the risks that we are obliged to respond to
- assess the likelihood and possible consequences of the risks, and
- respond in ways that are proportionate and manage risks so we can adequately protect the public. This does not only apply to the way in which we manage individual practitioners but in all of our regulatory decision-making, including in the development of standards, policies, codes and guidelines.
When we take action about practitioners, we use the minimum regulatory force appropriate to manage the risk posed by their practice, to protect the public. Our actions are designed to protect the public and not to punish practitioners. While our actions are not intended to punish, we acknowledge that practitioners will sometimes feel that our actions are punitive.
Community confidence in health practitioner regulation is important. Our response to risk considers the need to uphold professional standards and maintain public confidence in the regulated health professions.
We work with our stakeholders, including the public and professional associations, to achieve good and protective outcomes. We do not represent the health professions or health practitioners. However, we will work with practitioners and their representatives to achieve outcomes that protect the public.

Appendix 2: National Board consultations 2015/16

Note: All-Board consultations, completed 2015/16: Nil

Board-specific consultations, completed 2015/16, are set out below:

Board	Consultations completed, July 2015 - June 2016
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board	Nil
Chinese Medicine Board	Draft guidelines for health record keeping Released: 30 July 2015 Closed: 24 September 2015
Chiropractic Board	Nil
Dental Board	Proposed entry level competencies for dental specialists Released: 30 November 2015 Closed: 15 February 2016
Medical Board	Draft revised registration standard for specialist registration Draft revised registration standard for granting general registration to medical practitioners in the standard pathway who hold an AMC certificate Released: 24 March 2016 Closed: 31 May 2016
Medical Radiation Practice Board	Draft National Exam guidelines Released: 17 August 2015 Closed: 16 October 2015
Nursing and Midwifery Board	Registration standard for scheduled medicines endorsement - rural and isolated practice Released: 16 December 2015 Closed: 22 February 2016 Public consultation on review of the registered nurse standards for practice Released: 11 May 2015 Closed: 3 July 2015
Occupational Therapy Board	Nil
Optometry Board	Revised guidelines for continuing professional development for endorsed and non-endorsed optometrists Revised guidelines on prescription of optical appliances Released: 25 September 2015 Closed: 20 November 2015
Osteopathy Board	Nil
Pharmacy Board	Review of guidance on expiry of compounded parenteral medicines Released: 1 February 2016 Closed: 30 March 2016
Physiotherapy Board	Nil
Podiatry Board	Nil
Psychology Board	Review of registration standard and guidelines for area of practice endorsements Released: 11 January 2016 Closed: 4 March 2016 Ending the higher degree exemption from sitting the National Psychology Exam Released: 7 August 2015 Closed: 2 October 2015

Appendix 3: Approved registration standards, codes and guidelines

For the reporting period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016, a number of registration standards for the 14 currently regulated health professions were submitted for approval by the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council (AHWMC) in accordance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as in force in each state and territory (the National Law). Codes and guidelines were also developed and approved by the relevant National Boards. Prior to approval, there must be public consultation on the proposed registration standards, codes and guidelines. Registration standards, codes and guidelines are developed by the relevant National Board in accordance with the National Law and AHPRA’s procedures for the development of registration standards, codes and guidelines.

Board(s)	Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Chiropractic Board of Australia Dental Board of Australia Medical Board of Australia Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Optometry Board of Australia Osteopathy Board of Australia Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia Pharmacy Board of Australia Physiotherapy Board of Australia Podiatry Board of Australia Psychology Board of Australia	Professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements registration standard (revised)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	Medical: 1/01/16 Nursing and midwifery: 1/06/16 Chiropractic, dental, osteopathy, optometry, medical radiation practice, pharmacy, physiotherapy and podiatry: 1/07/16 NB: The Psychology Board of Australia did not revise its standard
Chiropractic Board of Australia Dental Board of Australia Medical Board of Australia Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Optometry Board of Australia Osteopathy Board of Australia Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia Pharmacy Board of Australia Physiotherapy Board of Australia Podiatry Board of Australia Psychology Board of Australia	Recency of practice (RoP) registration standard (revised)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	Dental, chiropractic optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy: 1/12/15 Nursing and midwifery: 1/06/16 Medical: 1/10/16 Medical radiation practice, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology: 1/12/16
Chiropractic Board of Australia Dental Board of Australia Medical Board of Australia Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Optometry Board of Australia Osteopathy Board of Australia Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia Pharmacy Board of Australia Physiotherapy Board of Australia Podiatry Board of Australia Psychology Board of Australia	Continuing professional development (CPD) registration standard (revised)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	Chiropractic, dental, osteopathy, medical radiation practice, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology: 1/12/15 Medical: 1/10/16 Nursing and midwifery: 1/06/16 NB: The Optometry Board of Australia did not revise its standard
Dental Board of Australia	Dental guidelines on continuing professional development (revised)	National Board	21 November 2014¹	1/12/15
Chiropractic Board of Australia	Continuing professional development guidelines for chiropractors (revised)	National Board	27 August 2015	01/07/16
Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia	Continuing professional development guidelines for medical radiation practice (revised)	National Board	21 October 2014¹	1/12/15
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia	Guidelines: continuing professional development for nurses and midwives (revised)	National Board	27 August 2015	01/06/16
Osteopathy Board of Australia	Osteopathy continuing professional development guidelines (revised)	National Board	27 November 2014¹	1/12/15
Pharmacy Board of Australia	Guidelines on continuing professional development for pharmacists (revised)	National Board	17 October 2014¹	1/12/15
Physiotherapy Board of Australia	Physiotherapy guidelines on continuing professional development (revised)	National Board	26 September 2014¹	1/12/15
Podiatry Board of Australia	Podiatry guidelines: continuing professional development (revised)	National Board	25 February 2015¹	1/12/16
Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia	Guidelines: Professional indemnity insurance arrangements for medical radiation practice (revised)	National Board	21 October 2014	To commence on 1 July 2016
Physiotherapy Board of Australia	Physiotherapy guidelines on recency of practice (revised)	National Board	26 September 2014¹	To commence on 1 December 2016
Podiatry Board of Australia	Podiatry guidelines: Recency of practice	National Board	29 August 2014¹	To commence on 1 December 2016

Note:

The guidelines were approved by the National Board on this date subject to approval of related registration standards. The registration standard was approved in this reporting period, hence the guidelines are also included in this year’s annual report.

Chinese Medicine Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Limited registration standard for teaching or research	AHWMC	27 August 2015	9/10/15

Dental Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Conscious sedation registration standard	AHWMC	27 August 2015	27/10/15

Medical Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Limited registration standard (area of need) Limited registration standard (public interest) Limited registration standard (post grad training or supervised practice) Limited registration standard (teaching or research) (revised standards)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	01/07/16
Guidelines for short-term training in a medical specialty	National Board	24 September 2014¹	01/07/16
Guidelines for registered medical practitioners who perform cosmetic medical and surgical procedures	National Board	23 March 2016	1/10/16

Note:

The guidelines were approved by the National Board on this date subject to approval of related registration standards. The registration standard was approved in this reporting period, hence the guidelines are also included in this year’s annual report.

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Safety and quality guidelines (revised)	National Board	30 July 2015	01/01/17
Registration standard for scheduled medicines endorsement for midwives (revised standard)	AHWMC	22 October 2015	01/01/17
Registration standard: endorsement as a nurse practitioner (revised standard)	AHWMC	22 October 2015	01/06/16

Optometry Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Guidelines on the prescription of optical appliances	National Board	24 March 2016	01/06/16

Pharmacy Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Registration standard: Examinations for eligibility for general registration (revised standard)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	1/12/15
Registration standard: Supervised practice arrangements (revised standard)	AHWMC	27 August 2015	1/12/15
Guidelines for dispensing of medicines (revised)	National Board	24 July 2015	7/12/15
Guidelines on practice-specific issues (revised)	National Board	24 July 2015	7/12/15
Guidelines for proprietor pharmacists (revised)	National Board	24 July 2015	7/12/15
Guidelines on dose administration aids and staged supply of dispensed medicines (revised)	National Board	24 July 2015	7/12/15

Podiatry Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
Guidelines: Infection prevention and control (revised)	National Board	26 August 2015	04/04/16

Psychology Board of Australia
Registration standard, code or guideline	Approved by	Date of approval	Commencement date
General registration standard (revised standard)	AHWMC	6 November 2015	02/05/16

Appendix 4: Meetings of national and state boards and committees in 2015/16

The table below details the number of National Board, national committee, state board and state committee meetings held during 2015/16. Each Board has a different committee structure to support its day-to-day regulatory decision-making and policy work, largely determined by both the volume and risk profile of tasks (see Appendix 5 for the National Boards’ structure). The purposes of the committees vary, and include both decision-making about individual practitioners (e.g. registration, notifications, immediate action and compliance matters) and policy-oriented committees looking at standards, codes and guidelines for the profession. All the meetings listed as state board or state committee, along with the majority of national committee meetings, would have been engaged in regulatory decision-making affecting individual practitioners. Numbers include out-of-sessions and immediate-action committee meetings where those occurred.

National Board	National Board meetings	National committee meetings	Total national meetings	State board meetings	State committee meetings	Total state meetings	Total
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice	4	14	18				18
Chinese Medicine	11	33	44				44
Chiropractic	23	43	66				66
Dental	11	5	16		111	111	127
Medical	11	9	20	112	631	743	763
Medical Radiation Practice	11	55	66				66
Nursing and Midwifery	20	49	69	122	423	545	614
Occupational Therapy	10	29	39				39
Optometry	11	24	35				35
Osteopathy	14	25	39				39
Pharmacy	12	92	104				104
Physiotherapy	11	39	50		12	12	62
Podiatry	11	26	37				37
Psychology	12	27	39	58	16	74	113

Appendix 5: National Boards’ structure

National Board	National committees	Regional boards	State and territory boards	State and territory/ regional committees
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia	Registration and Notifications Committee	None	None	None
Chinese Medicine Board of Australia	Accreditation Committee Registration and Notifications Committee Policy, Planning and Communications Committee	None	None	None
Chiropractic Board of Australia	Immediate Action Committee Registration, Notifications and Compliance Committee Accreditation, Assessment and Education Working Group Communications and Relationships Working Group CPD Working Group Governance, Finance and Administration Working Group Regulatory Policy and Standards Working Group Statutory Offences Unit Liaison Group	None	None	None
Dental Board of Australia	Expert Reference Group - Specialist Oral Surgery Advisory Panel Conscious Sedation Advisory Panel Review Panel for endorsement for conscious sedation refresher programs Accreditation Committee Recency of Practice Advisory Panel Registration and Notifications Committee (until August 2015)	None	None	Immediate Action Committee (excluding New South Wales) Registration Committee (New South Wales only) Registration and Notifications Committee (excluding New South Wales)
Medical Board of Australia	Finance Committee	None	All states and territories	Health Committee (excluding New South Wales) Immediate Action Committee (excluding New South Wales) Notifications Committee (excluding New South Wales) Registration Committee (all jurisdictions)
Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia	Accreditation Committee National Examination Committee Registration and Notifications Committee Overseas Qualifications Assessment Committee	None	None	None
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia	Registration and Accreditation Committee Finance, Governance and Communications Committee Policy, Compliance and Notifications Committee State and Territory Chairs' Committee	None	All states and territories	Immediate Action Committee (excluding New South Wales) Notifications Committee (excluding New South Wales) Registration Committee (all jurisdictions)
Occupational Therapy Board of Australia	Immediate Action Committee Registration and Notifications Committee	None	None	None
Optometry Board of Australia	Finance and Risk Committee Policy and Education Committee (since September 2015) Registration and Notification Committee Scheduled Medicines Advisory Committee Immediate Action Committee Policy, Standards and Guidelines Advisory Committee (until September 2015) Continuing Professional Development Accreditation Committee (until September 2015)	None	None	None
Osteopathy Board of Australia	Registration and Notifications Committee Immediate Action Committee Statutory Offences Unit Liaison Group	None	None	None
Pharmacy Board of Australia	Finance, Risk and Governance Committee Immediate Action Committee Notifications Committee Policies, Codes and Guidelines Committee Registration and Examinations Committee	None	None	None
Physiotherapy Board of Australia	Continuous Improvement Committee Registration and Notifications Committee (except Victoria; until March 2016) Immediate Action Committee (except Victoria; until March 2016) Registration and Notifications Committee Immediate Action Committee	None	None	Victorian Registration and Notifications Committee (until March 2016) Victorian Immediate Action Committee (until March 2016)
Podiatry Board of Australia	Immediate Action Committee Registration and Notifications Committee Scheduled Medicines Advisory Committee Strategic Planning and Policy Committee	None	None	None
Psychology Board of Australia	Governance Working Group (including Finance) Examination Committee Regulatory Risk Working group Regulatory Reform Working group	Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Victoria Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia	New South Wales Queensland	ACT/TAS/Vic Immediate Action Committee NT/SA/WA Immediate Action Committee Queensland Immediate Action Committee