Today I have written to the Premiers and Chief Ministers urging them to support the establishment of a national health registration and accreditation scheme for health professionals at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in April.
COAG will examine the details of a national scheme commencing on 1 July 2008 for nine health professions: medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, physiotherapy, psychology, osteopathy and chiropractors.
A national scheme will deliver many benefits to the Australian community. Health professionals will be able to move easily between states and territories, ensuring that services are delivered where and when they are needed without being held up by red tape.
If a pharmacist or doctor needs a locum, they will be able to draw on a professional from any part of Australia as long as they are registered nationally. For the first time, the community will know that if they are dealing with a nationally registered health professional, the same standards will apply whether the service is being delivered in Broome or Bondi.
Since the Premiers, Chief Ministers and I agreed to a national scheme at COAG last July, consultations have been conducted with the professional groups affected by the proposal and many submissions received. This has informed the further development of the scheme to be considered by COAG.
The nine health professions initially covered by the proposed scheme support national registration, but want to ensure that service quality is not compromised in any way. I do not consider that COAG will sign up to anything that diminishes the high standards of professional health services in Australia. COAG will be interested, I am sure, in guaranteeing public safety, enabling portability of practice and reducing red tape.
I look forward to working with Premiers and Chief Ministers on a result at COAG that will ensure a sustainable, high-quality health workforce into the future.