Since 2015, right-touch and risk-based regulation has been referenced in a variety of our documents and presentations.
More recently, practitioners will have seen and heard these references during our review of recertification. Over the last five years, we have talked about right-touch and risk-based regulation in our strategic planning and Council meetings.
Right-touch and risk-based regulation is based on the commonly accepted principles of proportionate, consistent, targeted, transparent, accountable and agile regulation.
Council has decided to fully articulate and publish these regulatory principles on our website so all practitioners and stakeholders can better understand what being a right-touch risk-based regulator means in practice and how we apply this regulatory approach to our work, decision-making processes and to the other tools we use to fulfil our statutory roles and responsibilities.
For us, right-touch regulation is about using the appropriate response to manage risks posed by practitioners. In some cases, this may mean a practitioner receives a phone call to discuss an issue that has come to our attention. In other cases, the seriousness of the action (or lack of action) and the risk of harm posed to patients may require a more intensive hands-on approach. In every instance, our aim is to match our response and level of intervention to the circumstances.
As a right-touch regulator, we aspire to incorporate risk-based regulation into our work as our data and information capabilities mature and evolve.
In developing our regulatory principles, we have leveraged our work, as have Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and other New Zealand responsible authorities, from the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for Health and Social Care and risk-based regulatory expert, Professor Malcolm Sparrow.
