Complaints About AHPRA Reach Record Levels Amid Registration System Issues
20 Nov 2025
The NHPO annual report notes a near tripling of complaints about AHPRA’s registration process, rising from 123 to 355, following the rollout of a new operating system and practitioner portal in March. Complaints also increased ahead of the May registration deadline for nurses and midwives.
Notification-handling complaints grew 17% to 508, accounting for more than half of all complaints. Medical practitioners were linked to more complaints than any other profession, with 566 complaints recorded—up from 453 the previous year. Of these, 336 related to notifications.
The NHPO report highlighted that most complaints are made by the person who initially lodged the notification. It also noted a sharp rise in registration complaints linked to higher Medical Board fees, although most were not formally investigated.
AHPRA’s annual report shows the regulator managed 111,294 registration applications and 870,569 renewals in 2024–25, with 148,185 medical practitioners registered, including 36,456 GPs. Around 6.1% of registered doctors were subject to a complaint, although data is not broken down by specialty.
By June 2025, registration-related complaints were declining as AHPRA addressed early issues with the new system. The regulator provided resources, guides and portal support to assist doctors, receiving positive feedback from users.
The NHPO also contributed to a Federal Government “complexity review” of the National Scheme, noting ongoing confusion about which organisation to contact for complaints and delays caused by referral processes. The Ombudsman’s review of vexatious notifications, with all 17 recommendations accepted by AHPRA, was also highlighted.
Source: National Health Practitioner Ombudsman (NHPO), AHPRA
