The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, that will come into effect on 1 July will require health practitioners, employers and educators to compulsorily report a health practitioner or a student whose behaviour, on the basis of reasonable belief, meets the criteria for notifiable conduct.
ANF (Victorian Branch) understands the obligation to report unprofessional conduct will be mandatory and, along with sanctions for failure to report, enshrined in legislation from July 2010. However we consider it to be an unnecessary and heavy handed approach to the all important issue of protection of the public.
ANF's submission to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia offers commentary and recommendations to inform the NMBA of the many vexed and difficult situations which will no doubt arise as a result of mandatory notification. Guidelines are essential to ensure that notifications are made in good faith in a timely manner about practice that is not acceptable, based on objective verifiable evidence so that the prime objective of protection of the public is achieved. However, the Guidelines in their current form are not sufficient.
