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6,147 chiropractors
0.8% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
41.7% female; 58.3% male
142 notifications lodged with Ahpra about
115 chiropractors
214 notifications about 173 chiropractors made Australia-wide, including HPCA and OHO data
2.8% of the profession
12 immediate actions taken
13 mandatory notification received
47 practitioners monitored for health, performance and/or conduct during the year
39 cases being monitored at 30 June:
20 criminal offence complaints made
16 closed
3 matters decided by a tribunal
No matters decided by a panel
1 appeal lodged
The Chiropractic Board of Australia built on planned initiatives to ensure the public continues to receive safe, competent and ethical care from chiropractors, and supported chiropractors to provide safe care, particularly in the challenging pandemic environment. For much of the year the Board continued to carry out its work remotely; however, it was pleased to be able to return to meeting with stakeholders and practitioners in person when possible.
The Board released a revised Code of conduct in partnership with several other Boards.
The Board received regular updates from its stakeholders and regulatory partners, including professional associations, the Chiropractic Council of New South Wales and the Council on Chiropractic Education Australasia, about the impact of the pandemic on the profession, approved programs and students.
The Board continued its work with Ahpra to provide relevant information and updates. This included a joint statement from Ahpra and all National Boards, the Health Care Complaints Commission, the Office of the Health Ombudsman and the Therapeutic Goods Administration about reliable, evidence-based sources of information in relation to COVID-19 and vaccines; and a joint statement from Ahpra and all National Boards about facilitating access to care in the COVID-19 environment.
Jointly with the National Boards and Ahpra, the Board released the revised Regulatory principles, which encourage a culturally safe, response- and risk-based approach to regulation.
The Board released the cross-profession Supervised practice framework.
We were able to return to face-to-face information forums in June for chiropractors in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with a joint forum with the Chiropractic Council of New South Wales that focused on the revised Code of conduct and gave chiropractors an opportunity to engage with the Board and the Council.
We continued our program of presentations to final-year students throughout the year to welcome them to the profession and help them understand the expectations and requirements. Students of chiropractic programs receive the Board’s newsletter, which is issued to practitioners three times per year.
In November, the Board held a successful virtual forum for all chiropractors and key stakeholders to explore the concept of evaluative judgement in learning in professional practice and particularly its applications to the health professions. Videos and resource materials were published on the Board’s website.
The Board welcomed four new members, Ms Kim Barker, Mrs Colleen Papadopoulos and Mr Ken Riddiford (community members) and Dr Michael Shobbrook AM (practitioner member from the Australian Capital Territory). We thank outgoing members Dr Michael Badham (practitioner member from the Australian Capital Territory), Ms Anne Burgess AM and Mr Frank Ederle (community members) for their valuable contribution and commitment to the regulation of the chiropractic profession during their time on the Board.
Dr Wayne Minter AM