The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has begun adding sexual misconduct findings to the public register of practitioners and the register of cancelled practitioners under its landmark changes to the National Law.
Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said: “Sexual misconduct by registered health practitioners is an unacceptable breach of trust that undermines public health and safety.
“Publishing sexual misconduct findings on the public register empowers patients to make informed choices about their care and reinforces that breaches of trust will not be hidden.”
The first round of changes, published last week, resulted in additional information being added to the register entries of 107 practitioners. Of these, 86 are on the list of cancelled practitioners.
Sexual misconduct covers a wide range of behaviours, including professional boundary violations, sexual harassment and criminal offences. These can occur inside and outside of a practice setting.
Ahpra said most tribunal decisions were already published online, with a link included on the public register. Under the changes, the register entry will now clearly state when the decision involved sexual misconduct.
This change will apply to all tribunal decisions dating back to the beginning of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, July 2010.
Under official guidance released in December, the information being added to the register is drawn from a previous tribunal finding of professional misconduct with a basis of sexual misconduct.
To implement the changes, Ahpra said it had undertaken extensive legal analysis and review, including a show-cause process.
Health ministers decided in April 2024 to amend the National Law to add these changes and further improve public safety.
The changes form part of Ahpra’s broader, ongoing action to prevent sexual misconduct and respond decisively when it occurs, it said
“Sexual misconduct not only breaches professional and ethical standards, it breaches the trust placed in practitioners by their patients, colleagues and community,” Untersteiner said.
For individuals who have been the subject of a sexual misconduct finding, but who are not currently registered, the National Law changes also impose new, nationally consistent requirements in the event they seek to regain registration.
The changes included new consumer protections that came into effect in December 2025.
