AHPRA CEO doubles down on reform agenda

The medical watchdog’s new CEO has doubled down on a bold plan to overhaul Australia’s notification and regulation systems, saying changes must better serve practitioners and patients.
 
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) CEO Justin Untersteiner, who took over the role in April, has once again outlined significant changes he plans to make to the regulator.
 
Addressing an Australian Medical Association’s Colleges, Associations and Societies meeting in Canberra this week, Mr Untersteiner said since he took over as CEO, ‘most of our efforts up until this point’ have been focused on responding to harm that has already taken place – via a notification.
 
‘We must embrace new ways of regulating for the betterment of both practitioners and patients,’ he said.
 
‘We have started to trial some new ways of working in the Rapid Regulatory Response Unit, with a focus on prevention rather than response, but this needs to be expanded across all ways that we work and how we regulate.’
 
Mr Untersteiner said it is an ‘important moment in time for both the scheme and for AHPRA’.
 
‘The question isn’t whether AHPRA and the scheme should reform, the question is what does reform look like and when do we get there,’ he said.
 
‘The work we do together, across professions, jurisdictions and communities, underpins the safety, quality and trust that Australians rightly expect from their healthcare system.’
 
His comments come just weeks after Mr Untersteiner first declared ‘the system isn’t working as it should’, saying it must be changed to be timely and efficient, transparent with strong and clear communication, and demonstrate high levels of procedural fairness.
 
Earlier this year, the National Health Practitioner Ombudsmen revealed it received 435 complaints about AHPRA’s handling of notifications in 2023–24, with a rise in concerns about alleged failures to identify vexatious notifications.
 
Speaking this week, Mr Untersteiner said Australia’s healthcare system is currently in a time of ‘dramatic change’.
 
This comes in addition to ongoing issues of supply and demand, and patient access and affordability, he noted.
 
‘Geopolitical challenges are accelerating a loss of trust in institutions – an issue that has been on the rise in recent times and certainly impacts AHPRA and other authorities,’ Mr Untersteiner said.
 
‘We are seeing new technologies impact health business models. Some of these are very positive, telehealth for example, that provides greater and more flexible access to care across multiple professions.’
 
He also pointed to workforce challenges in the health sector.
 
‘Patients with little access to Australia’s otherwise well-regarded health system, or who are being served by tireless practitioners who deserve more support,’ Mr Untersteiner said.
 
‘This becomes even more bleak when you consider regional and remote communities, and harder again when you look at the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Practitioners registered in our system.’
 
Mr Untersteiner is only the second CEO in AHPRA’s history, after Martin Fletcher stepped down in December last year after 15 years in the role.
 
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