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In-depth topic course

Mandatory Notifications and Practitioner Health and Impairment

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

  • 3 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 20-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

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About this course

Few parts of Australian health regulation cause as much anxiety as mandatory notifications. Practitioners worry that they will miss a duty to report a colleague, or that they will report something they did not need to. Many also avoid seeing their own doctor or psychologist because they believe any disclosure about their mental health or substance use will be passed to Ahpra. Both fears lead to harm: dangerous practice that goes unreported, and practitioners who struggle on without treatment.

This course sets out the law as it actually is. You will work through the four types of notifiable conduct in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, the reasonable belief test, and the very different thresholds that apply to colleagues, employers, treating practitioners and education providers, including the exemption for treating practitioners in Western Australia. It also covers the 2025 and 2026 amendments that protect notifiers from reprisals, stop non-disclosure agreements from silencing them, and change how sexual misconduct findings appear on the public register.

Just as importantly, the course looks at your own health: the difference between a health condition and an impairment, what to declare at renewal, what to self-report within seven days, how to respond if a notification is made about you, and where to find confidential support. Throughout, Australian case illustrations, decision frameworks and scripts help you act with confidence.

Written and reviewed by

Written by

Dr Hannah Whitmore PhD, MSc, RN

Nursing Education & Professional Practice

Reviewed by (legal reviewer)

Professor James Ellington LLB, LLM, PhD

Healthcare Law, Ethics & Professional Regulation

Reviewed by (editorial team)

Editorial Team Member

Healthcare ethics, professional conduct, patient safety and evidence-based education.

Last reviewed

Our authors and reviewers check course content for accuracy and currency. Completing a course does not guarantee any particular outcome with Ahpra, a National Board, a tribunal or an employer.

Who this course is for

  • Doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, psychologists, paramedics, dentists and allied health practitioners registered with Ahpra
  • GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists and others who treat health practitioners as patients
  • Nurse unit managers, clinical directors, practice principals and others with employer responsibilities
  • Clinical supervisors and educators of students on placement
  • Practitioners who are unsure what to declare at registration renewal or what to self-report
  • Practitioners currently managing their own health condition who want to understand their position
  • Anyone who wants a clear, practical understanding of the National Law's notification provisions

What you’ll learn

  • Decide with confidence

    Use an eight-step framework to decide whether a mandatory notification is required for your role, your jurisdiction and the concern in front of you.

  • Notify well, or not at all

    Write a factual, proportionate notification when it is needed, and recognise when concerns belong in local systems or a voluntary notification instead.

  • Treat practitioner-patients safely

    Explain the threshold to a practitioner-patient, use risk controls such as leave and modified duties, and document your reasoning.

  • Protect your own health and registration

    Meet your self-reporting and declaration duties, have your own GP, and know which confidential services to call.

Learning objectives

  • Explain the purpose of mandatory notifications within the National Scheme.
  • Identify the four types of notifiable conduct and apply the reasonable belief test.
  • Apply the correct threshold for non-treating practitioners, employers, treating practitioners and students.
  • Describe the Western Australian exemption and other exemptions from the duty to notify.
  • Prepare a clear, factual notification and describe the protections available to notifiers.
  • Meet your own self-reporting and registration declaration obligations.
  • Look after your own health and seek confidential support early.
  • Support unwell colleagues and contribute to a psychologically safe workplace.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • A colleague smells of alcohol at handover

    You see slurred speech and dropped equipment at the start of a shift. You work through making patients safe, whether you hold a reasonable belief, and the non-treating threshold for intoxication.

  • Treating a doctor with depression

    As the GP of a registered practitioner, you apply the substantial risk threshold, put a collaborative safety plan in place, and record your reasoning when you decide a notification is not required.

  • Grooming disclosed in therapy

    A practitioner-patient reveals online contact with a young patient. You learn why the lower treating practitioner threshold for sexual misconduct applies and how to act.

  • A quiet resignation offer

    A health service proposes a non-disclosure deal for a nurse who diverted opioids. You see why the employer duty remains and how the December 2025 amendments apply.

  • Your own renewal declaration

    You are unsure whether a past, resolved illness must be declared as an impairment. You learn how to read the question and where to get advice.

  • A notification about you

    You receive a letter from Ahpra. You learn the stages of the process, how to respond with insight through your MDO, and how to look after your health along the way.

Course contents

8 sections, 35 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: The National Scheme and Why Notifications Exist4 lessons
    • 1.1 Protecting the Public Under the National Law
    • 1.2 Three Different Routes: Mandatory, Voluntary and Self-Reports
    • 1.3 Notifications in New South Wales and Queensland
    • 1.4 Myths That Stop Practitioners Acting or Seeking Help
  2. Section 2: The Four Types of Notifiable Conduct4 lessons
    • 2.1 Impairment
    • 2.2 Intoxication While Practising
    • 2.3 Significant Departure From Accepted Professional Standards
    • 2.4 Sexual Misconduct in Connection With Practice
  3. Section 3: Thresholds: Who Must Notify and When5 lessons
    • 3.1 Forming a Reasonable Belief
    • 3.2 Non-Treating Practitioners and Employers
    • 3.3 Treating Practitioners and the Very High Threshold
    • 3.4 Exemptions, Including Western Australia
    • 3.5 Students and Education Providers
  4. Section 4: Making the Decision and Making the Notification5 lessons
    • 4.1 A Step-by-Step Decision Framework
    • 4.2 Seeking Advice Before You Notify
    • 4.3 Making the Notification
    • 4.4 Protections for Notifiers
    • 4.5 Voluntary and Vexatious Notifications
  5. Section 5: Self-Reporting and Being the Subject of a Notification5 lessons
    • 5.1 Your Own Obligations Under Section 130
    • 5.2 Health Declarations at Registration and Renewal
    • 5.3 What Happens After a Notification Is Made
    • 5.4 Responding With Insight and Support
    • 5.5 Looking After Yourself Through the Process
  6. Section 6: Practitioner Health and Impairment4 lessons
    • 6.1 Why Practitioner Health Matters to Patients
    • 6.2 Common Health Risks for Practitioners
    • 6.3 Your Own Health Care and Self-Prescribing
    • 6.4 Seeking Help Early
  7. Section 7: When You Treat Another Practitioner4 lessons
    • 7.1 The Practitioner-Patient
    • 7.2 Managing Risk Without a Notification
    • 7.3 When the Threshold Is Met
    • 7.4 Confidentiality, Records and the Therapeutic Relationship
  8. Section 8: Employers, Supervisors and a Healthy Workplace4 lessons
    • 8.1 The Employer's Role
    • 8.2 Supporting a Colleague Who Is Unwell
    • 8.3 Workplace Culture, Psychosocial Safety and Practitioner Health
    • 8.4 Return to Work and Practising With Conditions
  9. Final assessment and written reflection20 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    20 scenario-based questions. You need 16 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 3 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 3 hours of learning, to support your CPD plan
  • A written reflective account on notification decisions, your own health and workplace culture
  • A quick-reference threshold table for non-treating and treating practitioners
  • An eight-step notification decision framework and practical scripts for difficult conversations

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Does Ahpra accredit or approve this course?

No. This is an independent educational course. It is not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, any National Board or any professional body. Under the CPD registration standards you choose activities that suit your learning needs, so record the time you actually spend and decide whether the course fits your CPD plan.

Will my GP or psychologist have to report me to Ahpra if I seek help for my mental health?

Very rarely. Treating practitioners only have to notify if they believe you are placing the public at substantial risk of harm, which Ahpra describes as a very high threshold. Seeking treatment usually reduces risk. Treating practitioners in Western Australia are exempt from mandatory notification about their patients. The only lower threshold is for sexual misconduct.

What are the four types of notifiable conduct?

Practising with an impairment that places the public at risk of substantial harm, practising while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, practising in a way that is a significant departure from accepted professional standards and places the public at risk of harm, and engaging in sexual misconduct in connection with practice. The exact threshold depends on whether you are a treating practitioner, a non-treating practitioner or an employer.

Do I have to investigate before making a mandatory notification?

No. You need a reasonable belief based on direct knowledge or a reliable report, but you are not expected to investigate, interview people or search records. Rumour and gossip are not enough. If you are unsure, seek advice from Ahpra, your MDO or your indemnity insurer.

Can I be sued for making a notification?

A notification made in good faith is protected from civil, criminal and administrative liability, including defamation. Since 1 December 2025, taking reprisals against someone for notifying is a criminal offence, and non-disclosure agreements cannot stop anyone notifying Ahpra.

What must I self-report to my Board?

Within seven days you must tell your Board about specified events, including certain criminal charges and convictions, your professional indemnity insurance ceasing, restrictions on your hospital or Medicare billing rights, restrictions by a medicines and poisons regulator, and restrictions on overseas registration. You do not have to self-report a diagnosis, but you must answer renewal declarations honestly.

Is failing to notify a criminal offence?

No, but your National Board may take regulatory action, such as a caution, if you fail to notify when you were required to. Making a vexatious notification can also lead to action.

Does this course meet a condition or undertaking on my registration?

The course cannot satisfy a Board condition, undertaking or other mandatory requirement on its own. If you have a condition that requires education, confirm with Ahpra or your Board, and your lawyer or MDO, whether this course is acceptable before you enrol.