Practitioner wellbeing: limiting the impact of notifications

At Avant, we regularly see the significant impact that complaints from patients can have on medical practitioners. Doctors want to do their best for their patients and receiving a complaint can be confronting and distressing, in addition to causing anxiety about the risk of impact to reputation, income or career.

The increasing numbers of complaints is concerning because even though the majority result in ‘no further action’, the process of being involved in a complaint can have a devastating effect on a practitioner’s self‑confidence and health.

While Ahpra has been working to improve the notifications experience for practitioners (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Improving the notifications experience), Avant continues to advocate to ensure that its members are not subjected to unnecessary stress or distress as a result of the notifications process.

We were heartened when representatives of the Avant team were invited to participate in a recent forum convened by Ahpra which considered and sought to improve the regulatory experience for practitioners.  The forum followed on from a previous discussion which considered the published study (Biggar et al., 2023), describing the “virtually daily grief” reported by many practitioners involved in the regulatory complaints process.

The participants in the forum included a range of stakeholders from across the registered professions, all of whom were committed to seeking to lessen the high level of distress experienced by many healthcare practitioners when under investigation.

One of the issues our members raise when they receive a complaint is their fear about losing their registration. Indeed this was the focus of a recent discussion with our members who identified the sense of isolation they feel when they receive a complaint because of the reluctance to talk to others about it.

We encourage members to call us if they receive a complaint and discuss the matter. In most cases we can reassure them losing their registration is very unlikely.

At the symposium, it was agreed that one of the most effective tools to combat distress is clear information and transparency about the notifications process. In particular, explaining how the regulatory system operates and what to expect if a notification is received can reduce the stress a practitioner experiences. 

Another issue doctors report is their distress about the uncertainty and unpredictable timing of the regulatory process. Ahpra described its efforts to better communicate throughout the process and their attempts to reduce timeframes for dealing with notifications.

Future education will likely focus on students and early career doctors to ensure they understand how the system works, before they experience a notification.  It is hoped that if practitioners are familiar with the process at an early stage and understand that most cases Ahpra investigate result in no further action, the impact of receiving a notification will be reduced. We also hope that doctors receive the message that receiving a complaint does not mean that you are a bad doctor. At the forum, the Ahpra (2025) shared data highlighting how common this experience is, with medical practitioners having an 83.9% chance of receiving at least one notification over a 30-year career.

Avant has worked for many years highlighting the impact of complaints on doctors, and regularly provides feedback to regulators about our members’ experiences. Participating in these forums, with like-minded stakeholders, is one step toward reducing the stressful impact of complaints for our members.

We hope that improvements can be made to better support doctors who have a complaint, while still ensuring an effective process to keep patients safe. This work is ongoing, but it’s heartening to know we are all committed to make the complaints process less stressful for medical practitioners. In the meantime, if you're concerned about a notification – or any other medico-legal issue – please contact us or call 1800 128 268.

For medico-legal advice, please contact us here, or call 1800 128 268, 24/7 in emergencies.