Submission: Draft Health Practitioner Regulation (NSW) 

Overview of the consultation 

We recently responded to the NSW Government’s consultation on the Draft Health Practitioner Regulation where feedback was sought on the composition of the NSW Health Professionals Councils and infection control standards.  

Our feedback 

The feedback we provided was guided by questions provided by the Ministry of Health in the consultation paper as well as general feedback. Key points from our response include: 

• Osteopathy’s omission from infection control standards: We pointed out that osteopathy was excluded from the list of relevant health professions subject to infection control standards, despite regulatory expectations and professional standards that would imply they should be.  

• Support for NHMRC Guidelines. We expressed our support of the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (NHMRC guidelines) as the standard presented in the Draft Regulation.  

• Support for the council composition changes: We agree with the proposed changes to the composition of Councils in the Draft Regulation.  

• Concerns about co-regulatory model. Highlighting that NSW is the only state with a co-regulatory model where individual profession Councils which is being self-funded by practitioners. We have called for the NSW Government to subsidise these costs or to abolish the co-regulatory model. 

We are acting on what matters most to you, and this is why we are lobbying for these changes. You can read our full submission here.