AHPRA chief urges boards to ‘be the master of your own destiny’

Australia’s health watchdog has delivered a clear message to the national boards, urging them to lead reform or risk having changes imposed by health ministers.
 
Speaking at the Medical Board of Australia’s national conference, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) CEO Justin Untersteiner said governments have stipulated their expectations for the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
 
‘In my experience when working with ministers, there are two choices: illustrate you are listening by moving in the direction ministers signal they want to go,’ he said.
 
‘Or expect them to do it to you. And not always in the way you would prefer.
 
‘I think you should be looking at your structures and challenging yourselves with the question – what can we do to simplify structures and drive national consistency?
 
‘In other words, be the master of your own destiny.’
 
His comments come after health ministers accepted almost all recommendations of last year’s independent Dawson Review into the National Scheme, which concluded the system had become ‘too inward looking, too fragmented, and too slow to respond to emerging risks and opportunities’.
 
Mr Untersteiner said in his keynote that the review underscores the expectations governments now have of the regulator.
 
‘There are strong expectations from ministers, and the health department leaders who advise them, that the National Scheme continues to reform, to look outward, address fragmentation and do better at identifying and responding to the issues that are on the horizon,’ he said.
 
Feedback from governments and the medical community about what they expect from AHPRA has been both ‘affirming and challenging’ as the regulator faces a rapidly evolving system, he said.
 
‘We’ve begun to deliberately shift towards what it means to be a contemporary regulator in a complex and changing health system,’ Mr Untersteiner said, noting that ongoing change is expected in order for AHPRA to comply.
 
As a key focus over the past year, he said the National Scheme Strategy presents an opportunity to build a more ‘responsive, culturally safe system’, better aligned with the needs of communities.
 
Using feedback, he said the strategy is advancing towards a clear, shared direction centred on harm prevention, cultural safety, and a sustainable workforce.
 
‘Health ministers have tasked their jurisdictions with designing a decision-making framework that sets out criteria for consolidation of low-regulatory workload national boards into multi-profession boards,’ he said.
 
‘This work is another indication from ministers that they expect the momentum for change to continue.
 
‘For us to do all we can while we are in the positions we hold, to lean into the expectation that we are driving consistency and simplicity wherever, and whenever, we can.’
 
The National Scheme Strategy’s core strategic themes are effective harm prevention, a culturally safe healthcare system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and a sustainable health workforce, with the goal to build a trusted, transparent and responsive scheme.
 
With the medical profession facing ‘highly complex and high volumes’ of regulatory matters, Mr Untersteiner says reviews to streamline structures to ensure national consistency and best outcomes, must continue.
 
Acknowledging the ‘rapid change and uncertainty’ facing the health system, Mr Untersteiner vows that the nation’s peak health regulator will continue to strengthen its partnerships with governments, professions and communities, with a focus on stewardship and governance.
 
‘We need to support the health workforce of today and tomorrow to feel confident that they have the skills and support to do their jobs and provide the essential service that is healthcare to the Australian public,’ he said.
 
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AHPRA Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency health regulation National Scheme Strategy