More than 100 health practitioners – 50 of them doctors – have had existing sexual misconduct findings recorded against their name on the register.
Ahpra had been working through thousands of cases as part of a high-level review of misconduct cases over the past 16 years.
A spokesperson for the regulator told Medical Forum it had been reviewing 5000 tribunal decisions that may have a finding involving sexual misconduct, dating back to the start of the National Scheme in 2010.
As of April 10 sexual misconduct findings are set to be permanently published on the public register in line with changes to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.
The first round of updates saw 107 health practitioners have sexual misconduct findings published against their name. Of those, 86 were on the list of cancelled practitioners.
Ahpra chief executive Justin Untersteiner said such behaviour by health professionals constituted 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,” he said.
“Sexual misconduct not only breaches professional and ethical standards, it breaches the trust placed in practitioners by their patients, colleagues and community.”
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.
Most tribunal decisions are 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.
RELATED: Doctors to have sexual misconduct findings permanently listed
In the lead up to the first publication of findings, a spokesperson for Ahpra told Medical Forum the move to permanently publish these findings would help people make choices that “feel safe and appropriate” for them.
It is understood the total number of registered practitioners who will have sexual misconduct information added to their register entry will be substantially smaller than the 5000 initially examined.
In 2023, a review by ABC News’ Four Corners program found that more than 160 health practitioners practising at the time had been sanctioned by tribunals for sexual misconduct involving patients since 2010.
The National Boards use the Guidance: Sexual misconduct and the National Law document, which includes a page of types of sexual misconduct and examples, to determine whether sexual misconduct was a basis for a tribunal’s professional misconduct finding.
Ahpra’s spokesperson said: “National Boards will continue to follow a fair and transparent process when deciding whether to add information to the register, with public safety the primary concern.”
While acknowledging the change may be distressing for some patients and practitioners they noted that “sexual contact of any kind between practitioners and their patients is never acceptable”.
“The vast majority of registered practitioners share this view and are deeply committed to providing safe, appropriate care,” they said.
The high-level review is being based solely on tribunal findings, matters will not be reinvestigated.
In any new finding of sexual misconduct, doctors and other health professionals will have 28 days to appeal the decision.
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