Why AHPRA makes you declare parking fines (in some states)

Have you ever failed to pay a parking fine in Western Australia? Or been caught going a little too fast on a Tasmanian backroad?
 
AHPRA needs to know, at least according to existing requirements.
 
While the regulator recently opened up a review into the criminal history registration standard, a factsheet designed to guide health practitioner applications clearly lays out what is currently needed.
 
The regulator notes variations in definitions of criminal history in different states and territories, and outlines some of the relevant offences.
 
‘You must let us know if: you’re in Western Australia and you’ve been convicted for unpaid parking fines; you’re in Queensland and pleaded guilty to an offence charge and the outcome was guilty without conviction; you’re in Tasmania and you’ve received a speeding or parking fine,’ it states.
 
AHPRA says that a complete criminal history ‘irrespective of the time that has lapsed since the charge was laid or the finding of guilt was made’ must be supplied.
 
Noting that under National Law spent convictions legislation ‘do not apply to criminal history disclosure requirements,’ the regulator warns of potential problems if full details are not disclosed.
 
‘Your application will be significantly delayed if you do not declare your criminal history in your application and a criminal history is found during the screening process,’ it warns.
 
Once health practitioners have registered, those renewing must advise of any changes to their criminal history, according to AHPRA.
 
Several GPs in Tasmania, the state with the most apparently stringent definition of criminal history with the inclusion of parking and speeding fines, query why.
 
‘I don’t understand how a parking fine has any bearing on one’s medical registration, and certainly can’t understand why this would be state-specific,’ Dr Toby Gardner, a Launceston GP and practice owner, as well as the RACGP Tasmania Deputy Chair, said.
 
‘I also wonder if this applies to parking fines in private carparks or just council parking spaces; it’s certainly not clear.
 
‘There would be few people who would have never received a parking fine, though I wonder if everyone actually declares this? How does AHPRA police this?’
 
The RACGP Tasmania Chair Dr Tim Jackson made similar points, querying why the process is not the same across states, and the relevance of parking and speeding fines to clinical practice.
 
Another GP, Dr Emil Djakic, who works in northern Tasmania and is a member of the RACGP Expert Committee – Funding and Health System Reform, described the approach as ‘over-reach’.
 
He said it appears to be a systemic legacy that has not been properly addressed.
 
In response to a newsGP inquiry, an AHPRA spokesperson said that laws about what constitutes a criminal offence vary between states and territories and are not within the regulator’s control.
 
‘We guide practitioners to tell us about these offences because they are classified in such a way by each respective state or territory that they appear when routine criminal history checks are undertaken,’ they said.
 
‘When AHPRA conducts a criminal history check search, these offences will be reported.
 
‘AHPRA has a screening process in place which ensures that no action is taken against practitioners if they notify us of minor offences like parking tickets, regardless of which state or territory these offences were recorded in.’
 
According to AHPRA, there were 75,543 domestic and international criminal history checks for health practitioner renewals and applications across all the national boards in 2021–22.
 
Of those, they said 15 were registered with restrictions, with six having their applications rejected.
 
For Dr Sean Stevens, a Perth GP and practice owner in a state where unpaid parking fines need to be declared, the reporting requirement is also a step too far.
 
‘AHPRA has a legitimate and very important role to make sure the public is kept safe,’ Dr Stevens said.
 
‘But I can’t see how unpaid parking fines are going to influence a doctor’s ability to treat the public or their safety around that.
 
‘The profession needs to push back against an over-intrusive and progressively encroaching invasion into doctors’ private lives.
 
‘We’re individuals as well. We have a right to privacy for things that don’t affect our ability to treat the public, and I think we need to guard that as best we can.’
 
Dr Stevens also queried the direction of a registration process he believes has become more onerous.  
 
‘As a profession, we need to ensure that the things that need to be done to keep the public safe and to keep doctors practising properly are done, and no more,’ he said.
 
‘If you add five minutes onto each renewal, then you’re talking about months and months of doctor time that could be far better spent seeing and treating patients.
 
‘Like any bureaucracy, AHPRA needs to be very cognisant of the administrative impact that it’s having.’
 
The current standard came into force in 2015 and applies to those applying for registration and renewals for registered health practitioners, but not to students.
 
The regulator says it is reviewing the standard ‘to make sure it is up to date and is still relevant today’.
 
‘This work is part of our blueprint for reform to strengthen public safety in health regulation, which has a focus on sexual misconduct in healthcare,’ AHPRA’s website states.
 
According to the current document, a review into the criminal history registration standard is due to happen ‘at least every five years’.
 
The review of AHPRA’s criminal history registration standard is open for consultation until 14 September, with details including a consultation paper on the AHPRA website.
 
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AHPRA criminal history registration standard