The Medical Board of Australia's draft proposed Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors

Under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme), the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) is responsible for all matters related to the regulation of the medical profession in Australia. The MBA is a national body established by the states and territories through the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (the National Law) and is supported in its role by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

The MBA’s Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors (the Code) sets out the legal requirements, professional behaviour and conduct expectations for medical practitioners in Australia. The Code outlines the principles that characterise good professional practice and makes explicit the standards of ethical and professional conduct expected of medical practitioners by their peers and the community.

The current Code came into effect on 17 March 2014. To ensure codes and guidelines remain current and in line with best practice, the MBA regularly undertakes reviews. As required under the National Law, any proposed revisions are subject to wide ranging public consultation to ensure members of the profession and the community are able to present their views on the content. The MBA conducted public consultation on the draft proposed Code from 13 June 2018 to 17 August 2018.

Health Ministers are not responsible for the approval or endorsement of professional codes or guidelines under the Scheme. This decision is at the discretion of the relevant National Board.

The MBA has acknowledged that it has received over 800 submissions to the draft proposed Code and are now carefully considering the views expressed prior to finalising the Code. This may take some time. Submissions are publicly available and can be found on the MBA website.

It is important to note that until the MBA approves any revisions to the Code, the current Code will remain in effect.