Answer: Due to the strict confidentiality provisions contained in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) (section 216), the Council is unable to discuss individual cases. These restrictions prevent the Council from discussing the receipt or details of specific complaints, or commenting on any investigations, which are undertaken by the Health Care Complaints Commission.
Matters referred to a disciplinary hearing - a Professional Standards Committee or the Medical Tribunal - are prosecuted by the HCCC. Medical Tribunal hearings are generally open to the public and are listed in the daily Sydney Civil Court Lists of the NSW District Court. Any inquiries should be directed to the NSW District Court Registry. PSCs constituted after 1 October 2008 are to be open to the public except where the Committee directs otherwise. (PSCs constituted before this date were required to conduct hearings in private.) PSC hearings are listed weekly on the Medical Council website.
The Council is not a party to these proceedings. As the Tribunal or a PSC may order that an inquiry be closed, or that certain details not be published, the Medical Council is unable to release any details about a pending hearing matter other than the relevant name and date of the hearing. Interested persons should attend the hearing to hear the particulars of a case and to confirm any non-publication orders made.
If any action is taken that affects a doctor's registration, the online National Register of Medical Practitioners will show the publicly available information such as a doctor's registration status, any practice conditions, or disciplinary orders. The Council publishes disciplinary decisions on its website.
