What we do

We champion fairness in the regulation of Australia’s registered health professions through our work in three key areas:

• complaint resolution
• systemic improvements
• community engagement.

Our strategic directions also set out our focus on influencing systemic improvement, engaging and communicating, building capacity and enhancing accountability.

Learn more about our strategic directions

Complaint resolution

Our office provides a free, impartial and independent complaint handling service for the public and health practitioners. We accept:

Complaints to the Ombudsman

Privacy complaints to the Commissioner

Applications for review of Ahpra's FOI decisions

While our office has different powers based on the type of matter being raised, we generally:

• listen to concerns and identify common complaint trends
• consider whether the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), the National Boards and accreditation organisations, including specialist medical colleges, have followed or acted consistently with the relevant laws, policies and information
• provide meaningful explanations and outcomes to individuals.

Read more about how we can help

Systemic improvements

We also work collaboratively to:

• identify and address system-wide issues and problems
• ensure administrative processes are reasonable and transparent.

The Ombudsman and Commissioner can also conduct ‘own motion’ investigations. This means we can investigate an issue of interest even if we do not receive a complaint specifically about that issue.

The main purpose of an own motion investigation is to identify areas for improvement in Australia’s health practitioner regulation system.

Read more about the Ombudsman and Commissioner’s own motion investigation – a review into safeguarding the confidentiality of people making notifications about health practitioners.

Find out more about the review

Community engagement

We provide insight into issues that have been raised by Ahpra, the National Boards, accreditation organisations or other organisations whose work could influence how the National Scheme operates.

We also speak with community members and health practitioners to raise the profile of our services. This includes presenting at public events such as conferences or meetings, and also through our work with the media.

Read our reports and publications