New National Law amendments make retaliation or gagging through NDAs a criminal offence.
Whistleblowers in the health sector are now fiercely protected under new National Law amendments, which make punishing or silencing them through retaliation or non-disclosure agreements a crime.
The amendments announced today by AHPRA and National Boards make it a criminal offence to retaliate against whistleblowers or use NDAs to block investigations.
Individuals and organisations face fines of up to $60,000 and $120,000 respectively, while practitioners involved in reprisals may face disciplinary action.
The reforms make clear that people can lodge complaints regardless of previous NDAs, and it is now illegal to enter agreements that fail to preserve this right.
“No one can make you sign away your right to make a complaint about a practitioner,” AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner said.
“AHPRA’s number one priority is to prevent harm, and to do that we need all the available evidence and information. We expect the support and cooperation of all involved when it comes to public safety.
“While reprisals are, thankfully, uncommon, we will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who threatens notifiers or witnesses acting in good faith.”
The reforms, which apply nationally from today except in South Australia where they depend on proclamation, stem from the 2022 independent review into the cosmetic surgery sector, which found NDAs were being used in attempts to hinder investigations despite being unenforceable.
AHPRA received 13,327 notifications in 2024-2025, a 19% increase and the largest annual increase since the National Scheme began, with the agency finalising more matters and recording its fastest average time to closure since 2010.
Further changes to the National Law will expand what is published on the public register from early 2026, including additional information where a tribunal has made findings of professional misconduct involving sexual misconduct.
These changes will apply retrospectively to registered practitioners and will also cover practitioners who meet the criteria but are not currently registered, with new measures triggered should they reapply.
AHPRA has begun extensive consultation to guide implementation, alongside wider efforts to improve the complaints process and reduce distress for both notifiers and practitioners.
The AHPRA website has further information about the complaints process, and the support available to notifiers, including those with concerns about sexual misconduct by a practitioner.
Meanwhile, AHPRA’s Psychology Board announced updated regulatory expectations for psychologists from today, with a new code of conduct and revised professional competencies coming into effect after the first major overhaul since 2010.
The Psychology Board of Australia has developed its own regulatory code to replace the Australian Psychological Society’s Code of ethics, aligning it with the updated competencies that define the knowledge, skills, behaviours and values expected of psychologists.
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Psychology Board chair Rachel Phillips said the revised documents reinforced the profession’s commitment to public safety and reflect the diversity of contemporary practice, building on extensive research and the shared code of conduct released in 2022.
“Public safety is our priority, and we continue to set high standards for psychologists,” she said.
“These regulatory documents outline what the Board expects of psychologists and what patients should also expect of the people entrusted with their care.
“We want to foster a positive and supportive culture in the profession, for the benefit of the community, and value the ongoing contribution of Australia’s highly skilled and capable psychologists.”
The new materials embed cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and incorporate areas such as self-care, reflective practice and digital health.
There were 50,409 registered psychologists at the end of 2024/25, up 4.5% on the previous year, with the Board signalling the changes as part of an ongoing effort to maintain high standards across the profession.
Updated guidelines for the 5+1 internship and the national psychology exam also commence today, requiring all provisional psychologists and supervisors to follow the revised requirements, which include changed internship expectations, updated competencies for general registration and exemptions for some internationally qualified practitioners.
