If you practise in Queensland, a complaint or notification about you goes first to the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO), not to Ahpra. The OHO is the single point of entry for health service complaints and notifications in Queensland, and it works in a co-regulatory model with Ahpra: for a registered practitioner, the two consider the matter together. The OHO then decides whether to accept the complaint and how to deal with it, within 7 business days. It may resolve it, assess it, refer it to Ahpra and your National Board, take immediate action, or investigate it. The Health Ombudsman must keep serious matters: those where a practitioner may have behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct, or where another ground may exist for suspending or cancelling their registration (Health Ombudsman Act 2013, s 91C). Contact your indemnity insurer before you respond.
If a concern has been raised about your practice, Dealing with a Complaint or Investigation Professionally covers how to respond to a complaint, what the regulator looks for in your response, and how to show insight and remediation. It is A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) for 2 CPD hours, self-paced, with a dated certificate on completion.
If your matter has been referred to Ahpra, read the Ahpra investigation process explained for the steps from there.
Why a complaint goes to the Queensland Health Ombudsman (OHO)
Queensland is a co-regulatory jurisdiction. All complaints about health services, and all mandatory and voluntary notifications about health practitioners, are made to the Health Ombudsman. For registered practitioners the OHO works alongside Ahpra, and the Health Ombudsman can refer a matter to Ahpra and the National Board for your profession. Some matters must be referred; others are kept by the Health Ombudsman.
| Body | Its part in a Queensland complaint |
|---|---|
| Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) | Receives every complaint and notification. Decides how each is dealt with, can take immediate action, and investigates the most serious complaints. |
| Director of Proceedings | An independent position within the OHO. Decides whether a matter about a registered practitioner goes to QCAT, and prosecutes it if so. |
| Ahpra and your National Board | Deal with matters the Health Ombudsman refers to them, under the Ahpra notification process. |
| Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) | Hears matters the Director of Proceedings refers, and can review certain decisions of the Health Ombudsman. |
The OHO complaint process, step by step
- Triage. The OHO has 7 business days from receiving the complaint to decide whether to accept it and how to deal with it. For a registered practitioner this can vary slightly, because the OHO must jointly consider the matter with Ahpra.
- Early resolution. Where it is suitable, the OHO may resolve the matter quickly without formal action, working with the complainant and with you.
- Assessment. The OHO gathers and analyses information from everyone involved to decide whether and how to proceed. The Act requires the assessment to be completed within 22 business days. The OHO can extend this by up to 22 more business days (44 in all) because of the size or complexity of the complaint or the time needed to get information.
- Local resolution or conciliation. Local resolution is a voluntary process in which you and the complainant resolve the complaint directly, with the OHO's help. Conciliation is a voluntary process for complex or sensitive complaints, run by OHO conciliators; what is said is confidential and cannot be admitted as evidence in a proceeding before a court, tribunal or disciplinary body.
- Referral. The OHO can, and sometimes must, refer a matter about a registered practitioner to Ahpra. Referral can happen at triage or after another step such as assessment. The OHO says it will tell the complainant about a referral and share the information it has collected.
- Investigation. Formal investigations are kept for the most serious complaints. The OHO investigates an individual practitioner where there may be evidence of professional misconduct or the practitioner poses a serious risk to persons.
The OHO may decide to take no further action at any stage, and says it will give the reason.
What the Health Ombudsman keeps and what goes to Ahpra
The Health Ombudsman must keep serious matters: those where a practitioner may have behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct, or where another ground may exist for suspending or cancelling their registration (Health Ombudsman Act 2013, s 91C). Other matters about registered practitioners can be referred to Ahpra and your National Board, and from then on the Ahpra process applies: assessment, possible investigation, and a Board decision. Our guide on Ahpra investigation outcomes explains each outcome, from no further action to conditions and referral to a tribunal.
Immediate action by the Health Ombudsman
Immediate action is kept for the most serious cases, where the Health Ombudsman acts urgently because a practitioner poses a serious risk to public health and safety, or because the public interest requires it. For a registered practitioner the options are:
- imposing conditions on your registration, which limit how you may practise;
- suspending your registration, so that you cannot practise while the suspension lasts;
- accepting an undertaking from you, which is a voluntary written commitment to do, or not do, something in your practice.
The OHO monitors compliance with immediate action conditions and restrictions, and it has a process for applying to vary them. Undertakings can appear on the OHO's public register and the national register. Our guide on conditions on your registration explains how to meet conditions, and unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct explains the terms.
What to do when the OHO contacts you
- Call your indemnity insurer, medical defence organisation or legal adviser before you respond. The OHO itself suggests contacting your insurer or legal adviser, and your professional association.
- Read every letter in full and note each deadline. You can contact the OHO to discuss your concerns and the process.
- Keep the records exactly as they are. Do not change existing clinical notes, and speak to your insurer before you add anything to a record.
- Respond to the concern itself. Set out what happened, with accurate dates, and what you have done since. If the complaint can be resolved directly with the patient, the OHO has guidance on resolving complaints with consumers.
- Comply with any immediate action in full while it is in place, and ask your insurer about applying to vary it if your circumstances change.
- Get support. The OHO lists Doctors' Health in Queensland (07 3833 4352), Dental Practitioner Support (1800 377 700), Nurse & Midwife Support (1800 667 877), the Pharmacists' Support Service (1300 244 910) and The Essential Network for Health Professionals.
Where a remediation course fits
Whether the Health Ombudsman keeps your matter or refers it to Ahpra, the decision-maker looks at what has happened since the event. A course on the subject of the complaint, completed before a decision, gives you a dated certificate and the material for a written reflection that shows what you have understood and changed. Our guides on writing a reflection after a notification, insight and remediation and choosing a remediation course apply in Queensland too.
The courses that fit are Dealing with a Complaint or Investigation Professionally, Insight for Fitness to Practise, Reflection for Fitness to Practise, and the course on the subject of the complaint. Not ready to choose? The free 15-minute notification course covers the first steps, which apply in Queensland as well.
Sources and further reading
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: What happens when you make a complaint
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: A complaint or notification has been made about me
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: For providers
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: What we do
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: Undertakings
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: Investigations
- Office of the Health Ombudsman: Retaining serious matters policy
Frequently asked questions
Is a complaint to the Office of the Health Ombudsman the same as an Ahpra notification?
In Queensland, all complaints and all mandatory and voluntary notifications about health practitioners go to the Health Ombudsman first. The Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) works in a co-regulatory model with Ahpra and considers matters about registered practitioners jointly with Ahpra. It can keep a matter or refer it to Ahpra and your National Board.
How long does the OHO take to deal with a complaint?
The OHO says it has 7 business days from receiving a complaint to decide whether to accept it and how to deal with it; for registered practitioners this can vary slightly because of joint consideration with Ahpra. The Act requires the assessment to be completed within 22 business days. The OHO can extend this by up to 22 more business days (44 in all) because of the size or complexity of the complaint or the time needed to get information. Conciliation and investigation have no set timeframe.
Which complaints does the Health Ombudsman keep rather than refer to Ahpra?
The Health Ombudsman must keep serious matters, which are matters where a practitioner may have behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct, or where another ground may exist for suspending or cancelling registration. It has a limited discretion to refer some of these. Other matters about registered practitioners can be referred to Ahpra and the National Board, and some must be.
Can the Health Ombudsman suspend my registration?
Yes. In the most serious cases the Health Ombudsman can take immediate action where a practitioner poses a serious risk to public health and safety, or where the public interest requires it. For a registered practitioner this can mean suspending registration, imposing conditions or accepting an undertaking.
What is the Director of Proceedings?
An independent position within the OHO that decides whether a matter about a registered practitioner should be referred to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). It considers the health and safety of the public (the main consideration), the seriousness of the matter, the likelihood of proving it before QCAT and the orders QCAT might make. If it refers the matter, it prosecutes it for the Health Ombudsman.
Should I start a remediation course before the OHO decides?
A course on the subject of the complaint, completed now, gives you dated evidence of what you have done since the event, for your response to the OHO or, if the matter is referred, to Ahpra and your Board. Speak to your indemnity insurer about how and when to include it.
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.