The relevant health professional council will write to you to let you know that they have received your complaint.

The council will then inform the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) of your complaint and make a preliminary joint assessment. Together with the HCCC, the council will assess the risk to the public and agree on what to do next, including whether the council or the HCCC should manage the complaint.

The council will also tell the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency about your complaint as they are responsible for registering practitioners as well as dealing with complaints in other states and territories.

Councils deal with complaints in a way that is best suited to the concerns that have been raised. Councils have separate pathways for health, performance or conduct concerns. You can read more about these different pathways.

The practitioner can ask that their response be only used to assess the matter. If this is the case, the council must ask for the practitioner’s consent before giving you their response.

Yes. The council will write to you and tell you what has been decided and what has happened as a result of your complaint. The council will do this when they have finished managing your complaint.