Commenting on health care

To make a formal complaint, you need to contact your state or territory health ombudsman or relevant complaints commission.

If you are unable to make the complaint yourself, then a relative, friend, guardian or health professional may be able to lodge the complaint on your behalf.

• Complaints should be made in writing and can often be made via an online form.
• In most cases, you will be assigned a case officer, who may provide a copy of the complaint to the health care provider and ask them to give their version of events.
• Your case officer may also obtain your medical records or other relevant information from the health care provider, with your consent.
• Once the case officer has completed their assessment, the ombudsman or commissioner decides how to manage your complaint. They may decide to refer it to mediation or conciliation, which is when the parties meet to try to agree to a resolution. Public health and safety issues are referred elsewhere within the ombudsman or commission’s office for formal investigation.

Serious cases against a practitioner may result in prosecution, and some cases can be referred to a registration board or another organisation.

The health professionals are required to be registered and accredited nationally through professional registration boards.

These boards are responsible for ensuring that only trained and competent health professionals practise in their profession. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) oversees the work of the registration boards – see ahpra.gov.au.

All registration boards have a process for handling complaints. If you have an unresolved problem with a registered health professional, you should contact the relevant registration board.

Health professionals that need to be registered

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners
• Chinese medicine practitioners
• Chiropractors
• Dentists
• GPs and specialists
• Nurses
• Occupational therapists
• Optometrists
• Osteopaths
• Pharmacists
• Physiotherapists
• Podiatrists
• Psychologists
• Radiation practitioners

Unregistered health practitioners

Allied and complementary health professions may be self-regulated. This means practitioners are not legally required to be registered, but they can choose to join a professional association that sets education and practice standards. These practitioners may be called ‘accredited’.

If you have an issue with an unregistered practitioner, talk to them first.

If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can lodge a complaint with their professional association (if they are a member), or with the health ombudsman or complaints commission.

Health professionals have a duty to treat patients with reasonable care and skill. If you receive an injury caused by inadequate treatment or care, you may be able to claim compensation (medical negligence claim).

Inadequate treatment may include:

• failure to diagnose or treat promptly
• failure to advise you of risks of procedures, or injury as a result of treatment.

Medical negligence claims about cancer diagnosis and care are uncommon.

Is there a time limit to lodging a complaint?

In most states and territories, the time limit for lodging a complaint is three years from the date the injury occurred.

How do you prove negligence?

You may have to attend court, and the process can be expensive.

How do I make a medical negligence claim?

Contact the Law Society or Institute in your state or territory to find a lawyer who specialises in medical negligence.

Advocacy means speaking out on behalf of others to achieve positive change.

Cancer advocates lobby the government and key organisations to convince them to reduce cancer risks and improve services.

For more information about advocacy, call Cancer Council 13 11 20 or visit cancervoicesaustralia.org.

Click on the icon below to download a PDF booklet on Cancer Care and Your Rights