Notifications and mandatory reporting--two years on

It has been over two years in Australia since the adoption of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (the National Law) and the implementation of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme). A significant element of the National Scheme was the legislative imposition of mandatory notification obligations on registered health practitioners, employers of health practitioners and education providers. Both the processes of voluntary notification and the imposition of mandatory reporting obligations under the National Law are aimed at protecting the public from the risk of harm. This column considers the operation of the mandatory and voluntary notification provisions in the current Australian health care context.