AHPRA Prepares for More Complaints in New Five‑Year Plan
19 Mar 2026
AHPRA’s National Scheme Strategy 2031 says three big trends will change health regulation: a growing older population, people finding health information on their own, and more use of technology like AI, telehealth and social media.
The strategy says that new technology, such as AI tools, robotic surgery and bioengineering, will mean more challenges and more questions about how health practitioners make decisions. It also warns that services run from overseas could cause problems.
AHPRA says it needs to work better with state and territory complaint systems and make sure it can manage more notifications while improving its systems.
The plan was launched by AHPRA CEO Justin Untersteiner. It focuses on stopping harm, making the health system culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and supporting a strong health workforce.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President Dr Michael Wright said all these areas are important, and he wants the complaints process to be clear and fair for both the public and health practitioners.
Dr Wright said it’s important that minor concerns are sorted quickly and that investigations happen without long delays. GPs and other doctors find the uncertainty about timing very stressful.
AHPRA’s own data shows complaints have risen. Last year overall complaints went up by 19%, and long‑standing notifications (older than a year) grew by more than 30%. The average time to finish a notification is the shortest on record, but that is mostly because low‑risk matters are being finished faster.
The strategy admits the current notification process can be hard to follow and stressful for everyone involved. AHPRA says it wants to be timely, clear, fair and understanding when handling complaints.
AHPRA also says it is testing AI to help scan public websites and social media for possible issues. The agency stresses that AI will not make decisions — AHPRA staff will review anything flagged and people will make all regulatory decisions.
The plan also confirms AHPRA will introduce a single practitioner identifier that health professionals will use from training through to retirement. This idea was suggested in a review that also proposed AHPRA might stop handling minor complaints in the future.
AHPRA says the new strategy was shaped by this review, plus feedback from staff and other health groups.
A webinar on mandatory reporting is being run by the RACGP and Avant on 21 April — more details are on the RACGP website.
https://www.racgp.org.au
Sources: newsGP, RACGP