TRANSFER OF THE HEALTH PRACTITIONERS TRIBUNAL TO SA CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALOn 4 July 2019, the Statutes Amendment (SACAT) Bill 2019 was passed by both houses of Parliament. Part 16 of this legislation amends the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) 2010 Act to name the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) as the responsible tribunal under the National Law in South Australia, instead of the SA Health Practitioners Tribunal (SAHPT). The conferral of the SAHPT to SACAT will occur on 9 August 2019, which will coincide with the retirement of President Michael Ardlie who will reach compulsory retirement age for a magistrate in South Australia in August this year. The amendment legislation provides for the automatic transition of SAHPT members (whose terms are in force immediately before the transition day) to SACAT as assessors on the day of conferral. If you have any questions about the transition process, please contact the Department for Health and Wellbeing at HealthPolicyLegislation@sa.gov.au. If you have questions about SACAT or the role of assessors, please see the guide for contact details.

In 2006 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a national reform of registration and accreditation of health professionals with the objective of reducing complexity of regulation in the fields of health practice listed below and in March 2008 signed and intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to establish a national scheme.