Committee Details

Bill lapsed

The 57th Parliament has been dissolved by proclamation dated 1 October 2024. Therefore all Bills, all portfolio committees, and any committee inquiries have lapsed.

At some time after the State election, a new parliament will commence and new committees will be appointed.

Where relevant, a new committee may have regard to evidence and submissions received by its predecessor committee.

About the Bill

On 11 September 2024, the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women introduced the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 into the Queensland Parliament.  The Bill was referred to the Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee (committee) for detailed consideration.   

View: Bill
View: Explanatory Notes
View: Statement of compatibility

The Bill amends the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (National Law). Australian Health Ministers agreed in July 2024 to amend the National Law to improve public protection and public confidence in the safety of services provided by registered health practitioners. The objectives of the amendments are to:

• protect public safety by establishing a nationally consistent process for practitioners to regain registration after their registration has been cancelled, or they have been disqualified from registration, by a tribunal – cancelled and disqualified practitioners will be required to obtain a reinstatement order from a responsible tribunal before applying to a National Board for re-registration
• increase transparency for the public about disciplinary action against health practitioners who have been found by a tribunal to have engaged in serious sexual misconduct – National Boards will be required to permanently publish additional information on the national public registers
• strengthen protections for notifiers (complainants) against reprisals or other detriment, threats and intimidation, and clarify consumer protections in relation to nondisclosure agreements about the health, conduct or performance of health practitioners.

The Bill also amends the Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Qld) and makes modifications to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (Qld) to ensure the reforms operate effectively within Queensland’s co-regulatory arrangements.

Call for submissions

The closing date for written submissions was Friday, 27 September 2024. Submissions accepted by the committee can be accessed under the “View Submissions” tab above.