AHPRA CEO steps down

Longtime AHPRA chief executive Martin Fletcher has announced he will step down when his term ends in December this year.
 
Mr Fletcher has been leading the agency for the past 15 years but says ‘the time [is] right to hand over the reins’.
 
Making the announcement on Thursday, AHPRA itself said Mr Fletcher has led the regulator from ‘challenging beginnings’.
 
But Mr Fletcher said now is the time for a new boss to lead the organisation into its ‘new era’.
 
‘I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, that we’ve never rested on our laurels and always looked at how we can keep learning and do the important work of regulation better,’ he said.
 
‘It’s not just about administering a law. It’s about making sure all the moving parts in the National Scheme are guided every day by our core role of protecting the public, while ensuring fairness and respect for practitioners.
 
‘The time is right for me to take on new challenges, and for a new AHPRA CEO to approach emerging frontiers including AI in healthcare, global workforce shortages and rapidly evolving ways of delivering health services.’
 
Starting from scratch in 2010, Mr Fletcher helped to create AHPRA, which now has 15 national boards to oversee the registration and regulation of more than 900,000 practitioners.
 
However, the watchdog has long drawn the ire of GPs.
 
A survey found that doctors have the most negative view of AHPRA of any health practitioner group in Australia, with just 35% of medical practitioners having a positive view of AHPRA, compared with 52% overall.
 
A report collating the survey results relating to the Medical Board of Australia also found that ‘both trust and confidence in the Board have declined since the first survey in 2018’.
 
Despite this, looking back on his 15 years, Mr Fletcher says regulation has become more outward looking and more transparent.
 
‘We’re a better regulator because we work with others. We collaborate with other agencies who also have a role in making the health system safer for patients,’ he said.
 
‘There is a much stronger focus on the diverse communities that we serve, who are at the heart of everything we do.
 
‘We want the respect of the professions that we regulate, and the trust of the communities we serve.’
 
The AHPRA Board will now start a global search for a new chief executive.
 
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AHPRA CEO health regulator