Response to the Ahpra consultation about the Draft Data Strategy

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) welcomed the opportunity to respond to the public consultation about the Ahpra Draft Data Strategy, and the three identified focus areas: the public register, data sharing and advanced analytics.

In responding to the consultation questions, the APS acknowledges Ahpra’s primary role is to protect the public and ensure public confidence in the safety of services provided by registered health practitioners. As per National Law, Ahpra is also required to operate in a transparent, accountable, effective and fair way and respect the privacy of an individual’s data. The APS recognises the complexity that can be involved in balancing public safety and practitioner privacy and fairness considerations and take this opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing work of Ahpra staff as they work with various stakeholders to navigate these issues.

APS feedback about the strategy and focus areas included:

• The strategic objectives could better reflect the Ahpra commitment to practitioner data privacy and decision-making fairness.
• Incorporate ongoing measurement and evaluation within the strategy and identify the actions, accountabilities and time frames associated with the strategic objectives.
• Avoid adding information to the public register that shifts the purpose of the register from primarily a consumer safety mechanism to a consumer navigation tool or including information that will potentially prejudice practitioners (e.g., disciplinary or registration history).
• Add critical information for the psychology profession to the public register, which will help inform health professional workforce planning and research (e.g., AoPE).
• Adopt a cautious approach to expanding data sharing and implementing advanced analytics/artificial intelligence and machine learning for decision-making about health practitioners and the health practitioner workforce.

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