The Health Professional Councils Authority is an administrative agency of the NSW Ministry of Health. We provide administrative, clinical and legal advice and services to the 15 health professional councils of NSW. These services support the decision-making of the councils' and their delegates in response to complaints about health practitioners in NSW. We also provide shared finance, IT and other services.

The councils are funded by a proportion of the annual registration fees of NSW-based health practitioners and they provide the financial resources for our operation.

The councils consult with the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) to decide which organisation will manage each complaint. Serious complaints may be investigated by the HCCC. Complaints referred to the councils are managed through the health, performance or conduct pathways. The aim of these pathways is not to punish, but to enhance a practitioner's ability to perform their work.

Depending on the pathway, the councils may:

• collect information from relevant parties, in writing or via an interview
• require the health practitioner to attend a health and/or performance assessment
• hold a panel or committee meeting to decide whether or not we need to restrict the health practitioner's practice to protect the safety of the public
• direct the health practitioner to attend counselling about professional standards.

The councils consider:

• the health practitioner's individual circumstances, the complaint, their response to the complaint, and any other relevant information (including information requested from other parties and previous complaints)
• if the incident was serious, or is likely to occur again
• if the health practitioner has reflected and can demonstrate an understanding of why your practice or behaviour may have fallen short of acceptable standards
• the impact of their health on their practice
• if they have taken any action to ensure that a similar complaint does not occur again.

The outcome of these assessments will determine the ongoing management of the complaint. Possible outcomes include:

• no further action
• counselling
• education about specific aspects of practice
• supervision/mentoring
• conditions placed on a practitioner's registration
• prescribed treatment for a health condition
• a requirement to have ongoing testing for drug or alcohol use
• suspension of a practitioner's registration while a complaint is further investigated.

The councils will advise Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency of these decisions so it can update the national register of health practitioners. The councils will monitor a practitioner's ongoing compliance with any orders or conditions on their registration.

The complainant will be kept informed at key points of the process.

We work with different partners and stakeholders in NSW and across Australia to protect the public by regulating registered health practitioners.

Engaging with the community is important to us. Our website enables the public to make complaints or provide us with feedback.

We also engage with the community and particular groups such as health practitioner students through public presentations about our work. For more information about this service, contact us.

The health professional councils aim to improve public safety and wellbeing through fair, efficient and consistent regulation of health practitioners in NSW. If you have any concerns about the way we do our work, you can make a complaint, provide feedback or make an inquiry about our policies, procedures or processes.

We are always looking for ways to improve the quality of our work and welcome your feedback.

People providing feedback have rights and responsibilities, including:

• providing feedback that is reasonable, lawful and appropriate
• to be treated with courtesy and respect
• to be provided with adequate information in a timely manner.

You can provide feedback about our administrative and business processes using our online form or via email at hpca-mail@health.nsw.gov.au