The latest report from a health complaints service found most AHPRA notification-related complaints concerned its failure to act on reports about doctors.
This past financial year, the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman fielded slightly fewer complaints about AHPRA than last year’s record high – but growing discontent with the regulator’s handling of notifications, not registrations, drove most complaints.
The NHPO, led by the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and National Health Practitioner Privacy Commissioner Richelle McCausland, is one of the main bodies responsible for handling complaints about decisions made by AHPRA, the national boards, specialist medical colleges and accreditation authorities.
In the 2025-25 financial year, it received a total of 873 complaints from 600 people, down from a high of 980 in 2024-25.
Overall, complaints about the medical profession were most common, but they fell from 566 to 485, which the NHPO largely attributed to fewer complaints about medical registration fees.
This was potentially due to the new policy of offering a 30% rebate to practitioners who take at least six months’ leave during the registration year, which commenced on 1 July 2025.
“Last financial year … we experienced an unusual increase in registration-related complaints. This growth was primarily caused by increased complaints about specific issues that arose during 2024-25, but did not occur to the same extent this financial year,” the report read.
Namely, medical practitioners raised complaints about their registration fees, which increased from $860 in 2023 to $995 in 2024 to $1058 in 2025.
However, AHPRA’s 4.2% increase in medical registration fees in August – roughly $44 more than last year and above the 4% health services Consumer Price Index – could test whether registration-related complaints spike again.
In total, the ombudsman received 248 complaints about registration and finalised 258.
Across all registration types, the most common issues were perceived unfair processes and delays.
The number of complaints specifically about AHPRA’s handling of notifications totalled 492 from 302 people, down roughly 3% from the previous year’s 508. In total, they made up 56% of all complaints to the Ombudsman.
Related
Notifier dissatisfaction is rising
Of the complaints that related to AHPRA’s handling of a notification, 70% were from notifiers themselves. More than double the number of notifiers raised issues about the process being unfair compared to 2024-25.
Complaints from practitioners who were the subject of a notification fell from 150 to 96 in 2025-26.
“This appears to indicate increased dissatisfaction with the notifications process by notifiers, alongside increased satisfaction from health practitioners subject to notifications,” the report read.
The top five reasons for complaints to be raised with the NHPO all had to do with notifiers who were concerned that the AHPRA notification they had raised had been closed with no further action.
By contrast, last financial year, practitioners’ concerns about delays in AHPRA or National Board processes ranked third.
“Our office is the only avenue for notifiers to express dissatisfaction with an external, independent body about a decision not to take regulatory action,” the report read.
Unlike practitioners, notifiers cannot appeal outcomes to a tribunal, so the ombudsman said it had anticipated a “significant number of complaints”.
Complaints about doctor-related notifications remained unchanged from last year, totalling 336.
AHPRA staff can now make no-further-action decisions
Since April 2025, senior AHPRA staff may dismiss low-risk matters without board referral if a clinical advisor agrees the matter poses low risk and no practitioner response is needed.
The NHPO reported no significant concerns but warned that telling notifiers a practitioner met an “acceptable standard” could be interpreted as diminishing the seriousness or impact of their negative experience.
It recommended AHPRA and the national boards frame assessments around risk, including future public risk.
AHPRA confirmed it would consider this feedback in its planned review of notifications and compliance.
Investigations more than double
The NHPO commenced 36 investigations in 2025-25, more than double that of the previous year.
Accreditation-related investigations accounted for the largest share, rising from three to 14. Registration investigations increased from two to 11, while notification investigations remained unchanged at 10.
“An increase in the complexity of complaints and complainant dissatisfaction appears to have contributed to this increase in the number of investigations commenced,” the report read.
The NHPO said this was likely due to recalibrating its threshold for initiating preliminary inquiries or advancing a complaint to an investigation.
Of the 32 investigations finalised, the most common outcomes were a further explanation to the complainant and feedback to the organisation complained about. Only three resulted in an apology or acknowledgement from the organisation.
RACGP drew the most college training complaints
The RACGP received the most complaints about its training program – 11 of 30 across 16 accredited colleges, compared with one for ACRRM.
The RACGP received four complaints about its assessments of specialist IMGs alone, second only to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, which received five.
Most cases required no investigation. Of the four investigated, complainants received fuller explanations, and one also received an apology from the relevant college.
Across the 30 complaints received, 12 individuals raised a total of 90 issues. Most concerned exams (27) and colleges’ merit reviews (25).
The NHPO finalised 27 complaints about college training programs, two of them following an investigation.
In both, it provided the college with feedback on how changes to selection processes are documented, the criteria applicants are assessed against when seeking re-entry to training, and whether exam policies accurately reflected the methods colleges used, including prompt correction of errors.
After AHPRA reported two accidental disclosures in December 2025, the commissioner received 28 privacy complaints from 27 people, up from 16 the previous year. The ombudsman deemed serious harm unlikely.
Read the full report here.
