Yes. A notification or an investigation does not on its own stop you from practising. You can keep working while Ahpra looks into a concern unless your National Board limits your registration: by taking immediate action, which can mean suspension or conditions, by accepting an undertaking from you, or by imposing conditions. Your employer can also restrict your work. Ahpra's FAQ says that if the Board intends to make a decision to stop you from working, you "will be advised in writing" and "given an opportunity to respond before any action is taken". So the answer depends on two things you can check today: what your letter from Ahpra says, and what your employment contract says.
If you want to use the time well, two courses speak to the question the Board asks when it decides whether you can keep practising: Fitness to Practise and Insight for Fitness to Practise. Each is A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) for 2 CPD hours, with a dated certificate you can put in your response.
What a notification alone does to your registration
Nothing, by itself. A notification is a concern raised with Ahpra, and an investigation is a later stage that a Board starts when it sees risks to the public that are significant: a single serious concern that has not been dealt with, or a series of concerns that may show a pattern. Neither changes what you can do in practice. Your registration stays as it is on the public register until the Board makes a decision that changes it.
Ahpra's outcomes page describes a scheme built around "supporting practitioners to keep practising wherever it is possible and safe to do so". It says "a properly managed health condition should be no barrier" to a registered practitioner continuing to practise. And only a court or a tribunal has the power to cancel a practitioner's registration; a Board cannot.
What a notification does change is what is being looked at. During an investigation, Ahpra investigators can compel you to provide information and documents, and can obtain patient records, witness statements, expert opinions and records from pharmacies, health insurers or Medicare. They may speak to your workplace. Our guide to the Ahpra investigation process sets out each stage.
What can stop you working, or limit your work
| Step | Who decides | Effect on your work |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate action: suspension | Your National Board, after giving you notice and a chance to make a submission | You cannot practise while the suspension is in place |
| Immediate action: conditions | Your National Board, after giving you notice and a chance to make a submission | You keep working within the conditions, such as supervision or a limit on the work you do |
| Undertaking | You give it; the Board accepts it. Ahpra says a Board "cannot seek an undertaking" | Once accepted, "it becomes a legal obligation" and limits your practice in the way it states |
| Conditions as an outcome | Your National Board, "with or without the practitioner's agreement" | You keep working within the conditions |
| Workplace restrictions | Your employer | Ahpra's "What to expect" page lists a workplace's own steps, which can include restricting practice where appropriate |
Each step by the Board is recorded. Ahpra's FAQ says restrictions on your practice, "including restrictions that stop you working", are documented on the National Register of Practitioners. Restrictions that relate to your health are not published in the same way: Ahpra's immediate action page says restrictions are published "unless they relate to the practitioner's health". Our guide to conditions on your Ahpra registration explains how conditions work and how to apply for review.
Immediate action: the one step that can stop you quickly
Immediate action is the step that answers this question for practitioners who cannot keep working. Ahpra describes it as "an interim step that National Boards can take while more information is gathered". It "limits a practitioner's registration and their practice in some way", and a Board can take it at any time "if it believes this is necessary to protect the public".
Ahpra says the threshold is high. The Board must reasonably believe one of these:
- Serious risk. Because of your conduct, performance or health, you pose a serious risk to persons, and immediate action is needed to protect public health or safety.
- Improper registration. Your registration was improperly obtained.
- Action elsewhere. Your registration was cancelled or suspended in another jurisdiction.
Ahpra's outcomes page adds that "a National Board may suspend a practitioner as a form of immediate action in the public interest". The forms immediate action can take are suspending your registration, imposing a condition on it, accepting an undertaking from you, or accepting the surrender of your registration.
You are heard first. Ahpra says a Board may suspend or impose conditions only "after giving the practitioner an opportunity to make a submission about the proposal". The Board gives you notice that it proposes to take immediate action and what it proposes. The time you have to respond "will vary based on the degree of risk to the community", and you can make written or verbal submissions. The Boards encourage practitioners to seek advice and representation through their insurer or a lawyer at this point.
How long immediate action lasts
Immediate action takes effect on the date you are given notice, or on a later date stated in the notice. It has no fixed end date. Ahpra says it continues until it is set aside on appeal to the responsible tribunal, the Board revokes a suspension or removes conditions, or the Board and you agree to end an accepted undertaking. A suspension or conditions can be appealed to the responsible tribunal. The notification itself carries on while the immediate action is in place, and Ahpra says it updates you at least every three months in longer matters. Our guide How long does an Ahpra investigation take? sets out the published timeframes for each stage.
What you must tell your employer
Ahpra's FAQ sets out three points:
- Your contract may require it now. "Your employment agreement or contract may require you to inform your employer about a concern." Read your contract or ask your adviser before you decide.
- You must tell them if the Board acts. "You need to tell your employer if a National Board decides to take action on your registration": Ahpra lists suspension, conditions, accepting an undertaking, a caution or a reprimand. Ahpra adds that under the National Law it must also advise your employer in writing.
- Ahpra may contact them. "We may also need to speak to your employer during an investigation." Ahpra adds: "We will usually tell you we are going to do this before we do so. This is not always the case."
An employer can also be the person who made the notification, under the mandatory notification duty. Our guide to being reported to Ahpra by an employer or colleague covers that path.
What to do now, so you can keep working
- Get advice before you reply. Ahpra encourages "engaging the supports you need early and throughout the process", including indemnifiers, professional associations and colleges.
- Read the letter for what it asks. Note the stage the matter is at, what Ahpra wants from you and the date. A letter about assessment or investigation is not a notice of immediate action.
- Check your contract. Find out whether you must tell your employer now, and agree with your adviser how you will do it.
- Do not alter any clinical record. If a record needs a later note, make it a dated addendum.
- Do not contact the person who made the notification, and do not discuss the matter with colleagues who may be witnesses.
- Show the risk is managed. Ahpra says it considers "any steps taken by you or your workplace to strengthen your practice". Supervision, an audit of your own records, and courses on the subject of the concern, with dated certificates and a written reflection, are steps a Board can see.
- Write your response with insight. What happened, what you have learnt, what you have changed. Our guide What does Ahpra mean by insight and remediation? sets out what the Board looks for.
Where the courses fit
The question behind every decision to limit a practitioner's work is whether the public is safe if you keep practising. The part of that answer you control is what you have done since the concern was raised. Fitness to Practise covers what fitness to practise means after a notification, and Insight for Fitness to Practise covers how to show the Board you understand what went wrong and why it mattered. Add the course on the subject of the concern, whether that is records, prescribing, communication, consent, honesty, or a boundary with a patient or a colleague. You can also record the hours as CPD. Each National Board page lists the courses for that profession: doctors (Medical Board), nurses and midwives (NMBA), dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and physiotherapists. Our guide to Ahpra investigation outcomes explains each decision the Board can reach at the end.
Sources and further reading
- Ahpra: Notifications, frequently asked questions
- Ahpra: Immediate action
- Ahpra: Possible outcomes
- Ahpra: Investigating practitioners
- Ahpra and the National Boards: Has a concern been raised about you? What to expect
Frequently asked questions
Can I work during an Ahpra investigation?
Yes, unless your National Board limits your registration. A notification or an investigation does not on its own suspend you or place conditions on you. Your practice changes only if the Board takes immediate action, you give an undertaking, or the Board imposes conditions, or if your employer restricts your work. Ahpra says that if the Board intends to stop you from working, you will be told in writing and given a chance to respond first.
Does Ahpra suspend you during an investigation?
Not as a matter of course. Suspension during a matter is a form of immediate action, an interim step the Board can take at any time if it believes it is necessary to protect the public. The threshold is high: the Board must reasonably believe, for example, that you pose a serious risk to persons because of your conduct, performance or health. Ahpra also says a Board may suspend as immediate action in the public interest.
Do I have to tell my employer about an Ahpra investigation?
Your employment agreement or contract may require you to tell your employer about a concern, so check it. You must tell your employer if the Board takes action on your registration, such as suspension, conditions, an undertaking, a caution or a reprimand, and Ahpra says it must also advise your employer in writing under the National Law. Ahpra may also speak to your employer during an investigation.
How long does immediate action last?
It takes effect on the date you are given notice, or a later date in the notice, and continues until it is set aside on appeal to the responsible tribunal, the Board revokes the suspension or removes the conditions, or the Board and you agree to end an undertaking. Ahpra describes it as an interim step taken while more information is gathered, not the final outcome of the notification.
What can I do to keep working while Ahpra investigates?
Get advice from your indemnity insurer or professional association first. Then show the Board that any risk is being managed: supervision or changes your workplace has made, records you have reviewed, and courses on the subject of the concern with dated certificates and a written reflection. Ahpra says it considers steps taken by you or your workplace to strengthen your practice.
This article is published by Healthcare Ethics Australia for general information. It is not legal advice and does not replace advice from your indemnity insurer, professional association or a lawyer about your own matter.