News
Meeting update: Ahpra
AMA Queensland met with Ahpra and the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia on 30 June for an update on their current work.
AMA Queensland met with Ahpra and the Queensland Board of the Medical Board of Australia on 30 June for an update on their current work. Key projects discussed included the following.
- Current delays in processing IMG applications:
- AMA Queensland has been raising this issue with Ahpra on behalf of members – both IMGs and their colleagues or supervisors – due to the significant impact the delays are having on ongoing employment contracts and hospital staffing.
- Some of the delays are due to the rollout of a new operating system by the regulator.
- Ahpra have advised they will release more updates on the issue soon and provide it to AMA Queensland for distribution to our members.
- Ahpra have also agreed for AMA Queensland to provide them with the names of IMG members affected to assist with resolution. If you or your staff are impacted and would like us to raise it with Ahpra on your behalf, please contact us via email on amaq@amaq.com.au - Notifications:
- Ahpra is receiving approximately 1000 notifications a month across Australia, and Queensland and Victoria still have the highest rates of all jurisdictions. The regulator is actively looking into how they can reduce the overall volume of notifications, including educating the community about what meets the threshold for a complaint and improving systems to encourage local resolution in the first instance. On average, 12% of notifications result in regulatory action.
- The MBA and Ahpra have established a navigator service that puts a navigator in contact with notifiers as soon as possible to seek the best avenue for resolution and divert minor complaints. Where notifications are complex, the regulator is using a team-based approach rather than allocating these cases (which involve a significant volume of work) to a single investigator. This is improving the time taken for investigations. - Mandatory self-reporting: AMA Queensland requested Ahpra increase their efforts to educate practitioners about the thresholds for mandatory self-reporting, following member confusion about requirements in certain situations. Self-reporting in cases where an employee has been stood down for employment (and not competency) reasons remains poorly understood by practitioners and medical defence organisations. We have recommended Ahpra publish more case examples and FAQs to assist.
- Funding for SIMG processing cost: Ahpra have accepted the concerns raised by current registered practitioners that their fees are being used to implement the Kruk Review recommendations, including the significant cost associated with SIMG processing. The regulator will put the argument (as raised by practitioners) to the federal government that it should provide specific funding for SIMG processing. Updates will be provided in the coming months.
- Improving the culture of medicine: This remains a significant concern for the MBA and Ahpra following recent surveys and reports from practitioners, particularly doctors in training. There appears to be inertia within the profession to address cultural issues and there must be profession-wide acknowledgement to take the steps needed for improvement.
AMA Queensland will be meeting with new Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner in the coming weeks. State Manager Heather Edwards has also agreed to attend a future AMA Queensland Council meeting and other AMA Queensland events to enhance engagement with the profession.