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Online course · Australia

Mandatory Notifications and Practitioner Health and Impairment

When You Must Notify, When You Need Not, and Looking After Your Own Health

  • About 3 hours
  • 20 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Mandatory notifications are widely misunderstood: some practitioners notify when they need not, others hold back when they must, and many avoid seeking help for their own health out of fear. This three-hour course sets out the thresholds clearly and puts practitioner health at the centre where it belongs.

The course opens with the protective purpose of the National Law, the difference between mandatory, voluntary and self-reports, the arrangements in NSW and Queensland and the myths that stop practitioners acting or seeking help. It then works through each kind of notifiable conduct, from impairment and practising while intoxicated to significant departures from accepted standards and sexual misconduct.

Thresholds get detailed treatment, including forming a reasonable belief, non-treating practitioners and employers, the very high threshold for treating practitioners, exemptions including Western Australia, and students. A step-by-step decision framework covers seeking advice, making the notification, protections for notifiers and vexatious notifications.

Later sections address self-reporting under section 130, health declarations, what happens after a notification, practitioner health risks, self-prescribing, treating another practitioner, the employer's role, supporting an unwell colleague, psychosocial safety and returning to work with conditions.

What you will learn

  • Explain why mandatory notifications exist and how they protect the public
  • Name the four kinds of notifiable conduct and test whether your belief is reasonable
  • Apply the correct threshold whether you are a colleague, an employer, a treating practitioner or a student
  • Know how the WA exemption for treating practitioners works and what other exceptions exist
  • Make a clear, factual notification and explain the protections for notifiers
  • Meet your own self-reporting and declaration obligations
  • Seek confidential help for your own health early
  • Support an unwell colleague and help build a psychologically safe workplace

Who this course is for

  • Registered practitioners in every profession
  • Practitioners who treat other practitioners
  • Employers, managers and clinical directors
  • Supervisors and education providers
  • Practitioners worried about their own health and registration

How the course works

  1. After checkout the course is added to My Courses in your account, so you can start straight away on any device with a modern browser.

  2. Move through 8 sections (35 lessons in total) in your own time; lessons open in sequence and the player remembers where you stopped on that device.

  3. Each section ends with key points and prompts for reflection. Your notes can be downloaded as a Word course pack or printed for your portfolio.

  4. Sit the 20-question assessment at the end. Score 80% or more (16 of 20) to pass; answer options are reshuffled if you retake.

  5. Complete the reflective account and feedback to finish. Your certificate of completion shows the estimated learning time (about 3 hours), and you record the time you actually spend in your CPD log.

Course content

9 sections · About 3 hours · 20-question final assessment

1The National Scheme and Why Notifications Exist4 lessons
  • Protecting the Public Under the National Law
  • Three Different Routes: Mandatory, Voluntary and Self-Reports
  • Notifications in New South Wales and Queensland
  • Myths That Stop Practitioners Acting or Seeking Help
2The Four Types of Notifiable Conduct4 lessons
  • Impairment
  • Intoxication While Practising
  • Significant Departure From Accepted Professional Standards
  • Sexual Misconduct in Connection With Practice
3Thresholds: Who Must Notify and When5 lessons
  • Forming a Reasonable Belief
  • Non-Treating Practitioners and Employers
  • Treating Practitioners and the Very High Threshold
  • Exemptions, Including Western Australia
  • Students and Education Providers
4Making the Decision and Making the Notification5 lessons
  • A Step-by-Step Decision Framework
  • Seeking Advice Before You Notify
  • Making the Notification
  • Protections for Notifiers
  • Voluntary and Vexatious Notifications
5Self-Reporting and Being the Subject of a Notification5 lessons
  • Your Own Obligations Under Section 130
  • Health Declarations at Registration and Renewal
  • What Happens After a Notification Is Made
  • Responding With Insight and Support
  • Looking After Yourself Through the Process
6Practitioner Health and Impairment4 lessons
  • Why Practitioner Health Matters to Patients
  • Common Health Risks for Practitioners
  • Your Own Health Care and Self-Prescribing
  • Seeking Help Early
7When You Treat Another Practitioner4 lessons
  • The Practitioner-Patient
  • Managing Risk Without a Notification
  • When the Threshold Is Met
  • Confidentiality, Records and the Therapeutic Relationship
8Employers, Supervisors and a Healthy Workplace4 lessons
  • The Employer's Role
  • Supporting a Colleague Who Is Unwell
  • Workplace Culture, Psychosocial Safety and Practitioner Health
  • Return to Work and Practising With Conditions
9Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (20 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 3 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

Do I have to notify Ahpra if I treat a doctor with depression?

Not simply because they have a health condition. Treating practitioners must notify only when they reasonably believe there is a substantial risk of harm to the public from the practitioner's impairment, among other narrow circumstances. The course explains the threshold in detail.

Is Western Australia different?

Yes. Treating practitioners in WA are exempt from the mandatory notification duty in relation to their practitioner-patients in specified circumstances. The course explains the exemption and its limits.

Am I protected if I make a notification in good faith?

Yes. A person who notifies honestly cannot be sued, prosecuted or disciplined for doing so, and threatening or punishing a notifier is itself an offence under the National Law.

Does seeking help for my mental health mean I will be reported?

Usually not. The thresholds were designed so that practitioners can seek treatment without fear. The course explains why most health conditions never reach the notification threshold.

What evidence do I get when I finish?

You receive a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time, and you can download a course pack holding your learning record, a revision sheet and your own reflections. Your CPD log should show the time you actually spend.

Does completing the course satisfy a condition or undertaking?

Not automatically. Where a Board has set education as a condition or undertaking, the course usually has to be nominated and accepted first, so check with Ahpra or the Board, and your legal adviser or defence organisation, before you enrol.

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