Since October 2023, MAPW has been advocating for members and colleagues who have been reported to the regulator for their advocacy for Palestine.
In a letter to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), we urged the agency to give guidance, clarification and reassurance about health practitioners’ rights and responsibilities when conducting health advocacy.
We told Ahpra:
Some Australian health practitioners have rightly responded to…calls to speak up for the lawful protection of healthcare facilities and staff in Palestine, and for the preservation of Palestinian civilians’ right to seek and receive medical care during war. These are basic and universal principles that apply in Palestine just as they do in any other part of the world. Yet some of those who speak up for Palestine – even in private forums – appear to be targeted for complaints, professional threats, and vexatious notifications.
As Ahpra has noted in the 2020 framework for identifying and dealing with vexatious notifications, “consequences for a practitioner of being the subject of a vexatious notification can be serious and damaging, both professionally and personally.” Vexatious claims also cause broader harm when they seek to punish and stifle advocacy on gross social and health inequities in certain populations.
In January 2024, MAPW met with Ahpra representatives and repeated our request for the agency to be proactive, and make a statement to supplement the Code of Conduct and to specifically address the current controversy and context.
Regrettably, Ahpra has declined to issue such a statement.