Increase in reports of sexual misconduct in healthcare

Those complaints ranged from inappropriate or sexualised remarks, intimate touching of a patient without consent to aggressive sexual, criminal offending according to the new data.

Patients made 841 complaints about more than 700 health practitioners across Australia in the past 12 months, a staggering 223 percent higher than three years ago.

"While it's distressing to hear about any case of sexual misconduct in the health system, it's even more devastating if these incidents go unreported," Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) CEO Martin Fletcher said.

"Greater reporting provides greater opportunity to act. When we are told of instances where practitioners are failing to behave ethically and professionally, we have opportunities to respond."

Doctors, nurses and psychologists faced the highest number of complaints in 2022-23.

There has also been a steady rise in complaints about physiotherapists, with 33 sexual boundary violation notifications relating to that profession in the last financial year.

Founding members of the Medical Board of Australia's specialist committee Christine Gee said a cultural shift in conversations about sexual misconduct had strengthened systems for dealing with complaints.

"It is so encouraging to see more patients reaching out each year to tell us about their experiences, as difficult as it is for victims to share their stories," she said.

Of the boundary violation notifications dealt with in the past 12 months, 114 were referred to independent tribunals for disciplinary action and 239 resulted in regulatory actions such as restricted practice, education or cautions.

Australian Medical Association president Professor Steve Robson said the organisation condemned sexual misconduct.

"The AMA has always been clear in its stance that inappropriate behaviour must be met with strong regulatory action," he said.

"The vast majority of health practitioners do behave ethically, but improvements can of course be made."

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More than 850,000 health practitioners are registered in Australia.