From April, practitioners who have a tribunal finding of professional misconduct involving sexual misconduct will have a note permanently attached to their registration.
Sexual misconduct tribunal findings will be permanently added to AHPRA registrations from next year, even where there is no criminal prosecution for the conduct or it was consensual.
Basically, every time a health practitioner of any kind faces tribunal for professional misconduct, the relevant board will then also consider whether there was an element of sexual misconduct.
If it decides that there was, then the board is legally required to put a permanent note on that practitioner’s registration.
According to guidance released by AHPRA this week, that note will contain a statement saying that the practitioner engaged in sexual misconduct, information on whether they were sanctioned and a link to the relevant tribunal decision.
Because the term “sexual misconduct” is not defined in National Law, the national boards will instead “apply a consistent set of principles and examples” to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a practitioner needs to have a note added to their registration.
Importantly, the sexual misconduct does not necessarily need to be the sole or primary basis for a tribunal ruling that the practitioner has engaged in professional misconduct.
AHPRA’s guidance splits sexual misconduct into three broad categories: violation of a professional boundary related to a patient which could be considered sexual, misconduct by a practitioner that relates to a person other than a patient and conduct giving rise to a criminal conviction.
The first encompasses acts like making sexual comments, suggestions or gestures to a patient, engaging in any form of sexual activity with a patient, conducting an intimate physical examination without informed consent or using social media to send inappropriate messages or images to a patient.
Sexual misconduct in relation to a patient can count even if the patient consents, initiates or otherwise willingly participates in the conduct.
Related
The second category covers the violation of a professional sexual boundary between the practitioner and a carer, as well as workplace sexual abuse or sending unwanted inappropriate messages or images to colleagues.
The third broad category of sexual misconduct is where a practitioner has been found guilty or been convicted of sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment or possession of child exploitation material, whether in relation to the practitioner’s profession or not.
According to examples given by AHPRA, it would be unlikely that a board would find conduct like hugging a patient to count as sexual misconduct, in the broader context of a professional misconduct finding of inappropriate prescribing.
In instances where a tribunal has not made an express finding in relation to sexual misconduct, the board is obligated to consider factors like the nature and location of any physical contact, the experience of those affected, whether the conduct was potentially clinically justified and any power imbalance.
Once the board makes a decision, the practitioner will have 28 days to lodge a submission; the relevant board then has 28 days to respond.
This process will only kick off when appeal periods have expired.
The new rules apply retroactively from April 2026.
