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Conduct, conditions and hearings

Preparing for a Panel or Tribunal Hearing

What Happens at Health, Performance and Professional Standards Panels and Tribunals

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

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About this course

A letter saying your matter has been referred to a panel or tribunal changes everything. Questions arrive faster than answers: Is the hearing public? Can my lawyer speak? Who are the panel members? What should my references say? Could I lose my registration? Many practitioners spend the first weeks frozen by fear, and lose time they could have used to prepare well.

This course gives you a clear, practical map. It explains the difference between health panels, performance and professional standards panels and the responsible tribunals in each state and territory, how New South Wales and Queensland run their own pathways, and what each body can decide. It then works through preparation step by step: mapping each allegation, getting advice early, writing a statement in your own words, obtaining references that actually carry weight, presenting remediation evidence, answering questions and cross-examination, and understanding sanctions, costs, publication and appeals.

It also treats you as a person, not just a respondent. You will plan how to look after your health, what to tell your employer and others, and how to move forward after the decision. The course is educational and does not replace advice from your lawyer, insurer or medical defence organisation.

Who this course is for

  • Registered health practitioners who have been, or may be, referred to a panel or tribunal
  • Practitioners in NSW and Queensland facing Professional Standards Committees, Impaired Registrants Panels, NCAT or QCAT
  • Supervisors, practice owners and managers asked to give references or support a colleague
  • Family members and support persons who want to understand the process
  • Practitioners who want to understand the top tier of the regulatory system before any concern arises
  • Students in health programs referred to a health panel

What you’ll learn

  • Know your forum

    Identify which body will hear your matter, whether it is public or private, and exactly what outcomes it can impose.

  • Prepare strong evidence

    Build a truthful statement, informed references, targeted remediation evidence and a clear, consistent bundle.

  • Handle the day

    Answer panel questions and cross-examination briefly, honestly and calmly, with phrases that help rather than hurt.

  • Act on the decision

    Understand sanctions, costs, publication on the register and appeal deadlines, and plan honest disclosure and recovery.

Learning objectives

  • Explain when a matter is referred to a panel or a responsible tribunal and how the two differ.
  • Identify the responsible tribunal in each state and territory and the co-regulatory pathways in NSW and Queensland.
  • Map allegations, engage advice and organise material and deadlines for a hearing.
  • Prepare a truthful, specific statement and obtain informed references and targeted remediation evidence.
  • Answer panel questions and cross-examination calmly, honestly and consistently.
  • Describe the outcomes, costs, publication and appeal rights that follow panel and tribunal decisions.
  • Plan honest disclosure and look after your own wellbeing during and after the process.

Scenarios covered

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

  • The notice of referral

    A GP receives a notice listing four allegations and a hearing date. You will learn to map each allegation, its evidence and your position so that nothing important is missed.

  • Can my lawyer speak?

    A physiotherapist assumes he must face a panel alone. You will see how to ask, in advance, for a representative to speak and how lawyers help even when they cannot.

  • References that miss the mark

    An enrolled nurse gathers warm letters from colleagues who do not know the allegations. You will learn what makes a reference informed, specific and persuasive.

  • Under cross-examination

    A psychiatrist is questioned about an undocumented call from a pharmacist. You will practise calm, honest answers that build credibility on contested points.

  • Media attention

    A tribunal matter appears in the news and a friend wants to defend the practitioner online. You will learn why silence and advice protect everyone involved.

  • The decision arrives

    A midwife receives conditions and wants to appeal. You will learn about short appeal deadlines and why compliance usually continues in the meantime.

Course contents

7 sections, 29 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: Panels and Tribunals: The Big Picture4 lessons
    • 1.1 Why a Matter Is Referred to a Hearing
    • 1.2 Panels: Health and Performance and Professional Standards
    • 1.3 Tribunals and Where Your Matter Is Heard
    • 1.4 New South Wales and Queensland: Different Pathways
  2. Section 2: Before the Hearing: First Steps and Getting Organised4 lessons
    • 2.1 Reading the Notice and the Allegations
    • 2.2 Legal Advice, Indemnity and Representation
    • 2.3 Understanding the Timetable
    • 2.4 Organising Your Material and Your Life
  3. Section 3: Preparing Your Evidence5 lessons
    • 3.1 Your Own Statement
    • 3.2 References That Help
    • 3.3 Evidence of Remediation and Insight
    • 3.4 Expert, Health and Other Evidence
    • 3.5 Building a Clear Bundle
  4. Section 4: At a Panel Hearing4 lessons
    • 4.1 What the Day Looks Like
    • 4.2 Answering Questions Well
    • 4.3 Support Persons and Representatives
    • 4.4 Health Panels
  5. Section 5: At a Tribunal Hearing4 lessons
    • 5.1 Steps Before the Final Hearing
    • 5.2 Giving Evidence and Being Cross-Examined
    • 5.3 Public Hearings, Media and Confidentiality
    • 5.4 Submissions on Sanction
  6. Section 6: Decisions, Outcomes and Appeals4 lessons
    • 6.1 What Panels Can Decide
    • 6.2 What Tribunals Can Decide
    • 6.3 Appeals and Time Limits
    • 6.4 Publication and the Register
  7. Section 7: Wellbeing, Disclosure and Life After the Hearing4 lessons
    • 7.1 Looking After Yourself Through the Process
    • 7.2 Telling the Right People
    • 7.3 After the Decision
    • 7.4 Supporting a Colleague Through a Hearing
  8. Final assessment and written reflection15 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

    15 scenario-based questions. You need 12 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 2 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 2 CPD hours of learning, for your CPD record
  • A reflective account written against three hearing-focused prompts
  • An allegation-mapping template and a one-page hearing preparation quick-reference guide
  • Phrases and holding statements for answering questions and handling enquiries

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

Is this course recognised by Ahpra or a National Board?

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. You can record the time you actually spend against your own CPD plan if it is relevant to your learning needs. If you are subject to a condition, undertaking or order, check with Ahpra or your Board, and your lawyer or defence organisation, before relying on any course for that purpose.

What is the difference between a panel and a tribunal?

Panels are set up by a National Board, are private, and deal with impairment or with performance and conduct concerns that do not involve alleged professional misconduct. Tribunals are independent state and territory bodies, generally sit in public, hear the most serious matters and can suspend or cancel registration, fine and disqualify.

Can I bring a lawyer to an Ahpra panel hearing?

Yes, you may be accompanied by a lawyer or another person. Whether they may speak is decided by the panel, so you need to ask Ahpra before the hearing. At a tribunal, practitioners are usually represented by a lawyer and the Board is too.

Which tribunal will hear my matter?

The responsible tribunal in the state or territory where the conduct occurred, such as VCAT, NCAT, QCAT, SAT, SACAT, TASCAT, ACAT or NTCAT. If the conduct spans more than one jurisdiction, it is the tribunal where your principal place of practice is.

Are tribunal decisions published?

Usually, yes. Tribunal proceedings are generally open to the public, decisions are usually published on the tribunal website and legal databases, and Ahpra links adverse decisions from your public register entry. The tribunal decides whether any identifying information should be suppressed.

How long do I have to appeal?

Time limits are short. In NSW, for example, NCAT allows 28 days after you receive the decision to file an appeal. Check the deadline in your decision letter and get advice immediately.

Do I have to comply with conditions if I am appealing?

Generally yes. Unless a tribunal or court orders otherwise, conditions or suspension take effect and must be followed while an appeal is pending. A breach in that period can create a new concern.

How should references be written for a hearing?

Referees should know the allegations, explain how they know you, describe what they have directly observed about your practice and any change since the events, and write in their own words. A few informed references are worth more than many generic letters.