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Regulation of Health Practitioners (LAWS70401)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5Not available in 2023
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
Overview
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Over the past few years there have been profound changes in the regulation and registration of the health professions. Fifteen professions are now included in a national scheme and others may join them. All of the registered professions are covered by the same legislation for accreditation, registration and the monitoring of practice, to ensure that standards are maintained to protect the public. More than 700,000 health practitioners are registered under the national scheme and, when it was adopted in July 2010, 66 acts of parliament were repealed and about 85 health professional boards were abolished. This subject will provide a detailed examination of the scheme, which has centralised the disciplinary process, with the state and territory registration bodies acting under delegated authority from the federal board. The subject will also provide an understanding of how health practitioners, their employers and educators can report ‘notifiable conduct’ of practitioners to the national regulator, and how healthcare consumers (patients) can lodge a ‘notification’ about the practice of a health practitioner. The course will scrutinise the concept of revalidation, and the health, fitness/character, performance and conduct pathways, analysing the factors that lead to different forms of disciplinary findings and determinations for different forms of problematic conduct, including sexual misconduct and serious error. It will examine what differentiates permissible from impermissible advertising, will evaluate how unregistered practitioners are now regulated and will explore how registered, unregistered and deregistered practitioners’ conduct is regulated by consumer protection legislation.
Principal topics include:
- Legal requirements for accreditation, registration and monitoring of practice of health practitioners in Australia
- The process and grounds for disciplinary action
- An examination of specific disciplinary proceedings against health practitioners, looking at issues of conduct, health, performance and fitness
- A comparison of disciplinary proceedings and other legal action against health practitioners
- Analysis of the regulatory mechanisms applicable to unregistered practitioners
- An evaluation of the new registration scheme and its operation to date
- A review of consumer protection actions that can be taken against health practitioners, both those who are registered and those who are not.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have examined the legal and theoretical issues underlying the regulation and registration of health practitioners
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of disciplinary law and practice in relation to the 15 regulated health professions
- Be familiar with the taxonomies of inappropriate conduct and the determinations that can be imposed by ‘responsible tribunals’
- Have a sophisticated appreciation of issues of trust, trustworthiness and currency of practice for health practitioners
- Have an advanced knowledge of the law and practice relating to the accountability of health practitioners for forensic work and scholarly misconduct
- Have examined issues relating to consumer protection regulation of health practitioners
- Have critically examined the forensic relevance of health conditions for regulation of health practitioners
- Have reflected on the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence and its practical operation in relation to the regulation of health practitioners.
Last updated: 24 January 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 24 January 2023
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class presentation
| During the teaching period | 10% |
Option 1: Take-home exam
| 9 - 12 April | 90% |
Option 2: Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 5 May 2021 | 90% |
Attendance Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 24 January 2023
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2023
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 24 January 2023
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 24 January 2023