COVID-19 FAQ and advice

The ATAGI recommendations for booster vaccines continue to be updated as the course of the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.

The Department of Health provides information on timing of booster eligibility however this may vary with availability in each State/Territory.

Further information on clinical guidance for COVID-19 vaccine providers including vaccine preference recommendations, considerations for special populations and variation of vaccination schedules can be found here.

Updated:27 Jan 2022

Where you are not aware of any dispute regarding treatment (e.g., one parent consents and there is no indication of refusal of consent by the other parent), immunisation can be given with the consent of one parent. The source of consent should be included in the records (e.g. “Presents with mother”). This advice arises out of the general principle that the consent of one parent (absent knowledge of disagreement by the other) is sufficient. There is no requirement for a doctor providing vaccination to make enquiries as to whether the other parent is in agreement.

When there is a known family dispute, it is essential that the practitioner reviews any relevant court orders. MDA National article – Your guide to navigating family disputes is essential reading when managing children whose parents are in a family dispute.

When there is a disagreement between parents about vaccination:

• There may be relevant court or parenting orders regarding medical decision making, and if so, the doctor should review those and proceed in accordance with the orders. It is reasonable to delay vaccination while consent refusal is still an issue.
• If there are either no court orders, or the court orders do not specify medical decision making, then the doctor could immunise if it is felt to be overall in the best interests of the child. However, the doctor should also consider the likely conflict that could develop between the parents and the damage that may cause to the child as a result when making this analysis of the best interests. Anticipate a complaint being made. To date we are not aware of a doctor who has decided to immunise in this circumstance and who has then faced a complaint to a health complaints entity with a serious outcome. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for the parents to take the issue back to court for a decision.
• The Family Court of Australia has already set up a COVID-19 list to prepare for hearing disputes about children being vaccinated against COVID-19. For more information see Family Law Practice Direction – National COVID-19 List | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (fcfcoa.gov.au)

When one or both parents don’t want their ‘mature minor’ child vaccinated

Can a mature minor consent to being vaccinated?

Some States have specific age-related requirements relating to COVID-19 vaccination, but others rely on the principles of Gillick competence.

In general, if the child is approximately 14 or 15 years or older, they can consent to proposed treatment. To demonstrate Gillick competency, they must have decision making capacity, the legal competence, maturity, and intelligence to make the decision. The doctor must be satisfied that the child understands the necessity for the treatment, the reasons for it and the risks. They must also understand the intended benefits and outcomes of the proposed treatment and alternatives, including not having treatment.

Updated:27 Jan 2022

If you are in private practice and have a private practising category listed on your insurance certificate, then you don’t need to let us know. E.g. GPs who have a GP non-procedural or GP procedural category are in a private practice category.

However, if you are employed in a public hospital (including students, interns and post graduate categories) and you plan to administer the vaccine outside of the public system, then you will need to let us know and arrange suitable cover.

Similarly, if you work in the public system, other than as an employee, you may be indemnified through the hospital. Please check with your workplace’s administration to clarify your indemnity situation.

The Australia Government strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination, however it is not mandatory and individuals can choose not to be vaccinated. In some cases it may be a requirement of employment, and in the future may become a requirement in other circumstances. 

A collaborative approach to staff vaccination in the workplace including discussing, planning and facilitating COVID-19 vaccinations for staff is important. This includes consideration of providing leave or paid time off to get vaccinated.

In some situations, employers may be considering whether a workplace policy about coronavirus vaccinations is necessary and appropriate for their workplace.

Before implementing a new workplace policy or changing an existing policy about vaccinations, employers should consider their workplace, employees’ circumstances and the obligation to provide a safe working environment. They should consider whether they need legal advice about their obligations.

Employers can direct their employees to be vaccinated if the direction is lawful and reasonable. Whether a direction is lawful and reasonable will be fact dependent and needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account a range of factors.

Further information can be found on the Fairwork website, as well as information regarding work health and safety obligations at Safe Work Australia.

The OAIC has also released guidance on the obligations that organisations have to their workers if they want to inquire about workers’ COVID-19 vaccination status or keep records of their workers’ vaccinations.

Many hospitals and child care require immunisation of staff, however we are unable to provide a response which takes into account every practice’s individual circumstances. Below are some of the issues to consider:

Clinical considerations

• Vaccine efficacy, vaccine risks, contraindications, whether the vaccine prevents severe disease vs whether the vaccine prevents being infected or being infectious.
• Public Health and Policy advice – including illness risk, vaccine availability, infection rates, public advice and policy - e.g. public health updates; vaccine product information; Immunisation Handbook (including vaccination advice for persons with specific occupational risk; RACGP Standards (5^th Ed at Criterion C3.5 Work health and Safety; Medical Colleges;Medical Board Code of Conduct at 11.2.4 “11.2.4 Making sure that you are immunised against relevant communicable diseases AHPPC advice for aged care facilities

Employment considerations

• The laws allowing for certain workplace direction (e.g. a requirement to be immunised) vary between different jurisdictions, awards and contracts.
• The requirement, if not appropriately implemented, may be discriminatory or a breach of workplace law
• Do you have an existing workplace policy employment requirement in relation to immunisation or are you bringing in a new policy or employment requirement It could be challenging to argue for compulsory COVID-19 vaccination if the requirement has not been in place for influenza
• Assess role based level of staff risk. If staff have a medical exemption or contraindication to vaccination, consider whether role modification or re-deployment.
• What steps will you take in the event of a breach, and are those actions lawful.

Further information

https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au/coronavirus-and-australian-workplace-laws/health-and-safety-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccinations-and-the-workplace

In March 2021 new MBS items became available to enable GPs and suitably qualified health professionals to assess patients for their suitability to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and administer the vaccine if appropriate. There are specific requirements – please see MBS factsheet.

The vaccine suitability assessment service is free to patients, and the MBS items must be bulk billed.

Ahpra have released a position statement for health practitioners providing care to patients in the current COVID-19 environment. Continue reading

The rules around billing have changed a number of times during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is important for doctors and practice staff to be up to date with current guidelines.

The links below provide information for billing of telehealth and COVID-19 vaccinations:

• MBS telehealth services
• Vaccine suitability assessment service
• Services Australia- MBS changes

Updated: 27 Jan 2022

In respect of whether a doctor/practice can refuse to see unvaccinated patients, the answer is complex.

In general, doctors are not required to treat any patient unless it is an emergency. Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia states that good practice involves keeping health practitioners and their staff safe when caring for patients - but it is expected that health practitioners will facilitate access to care in the current COVID-19 environments.

Ahpra has released guidelines, Ahpra’s Facilitating access to care in a COVID-19 environment, and there is some useful information here, regarding minimising the risk in a Primary Health Care setting, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has useful information COVID-19 infection prevention and control risk management.

The Department of Health and Aged Care provides detailed information and guidance on what an employer should do to keep staff and business safe.

Advice regarding suspected cases and recommended management (e.g. self isolation; non-participation in health care) is rapidly evolving. You need to seek advice from the relevant public health advisory service.

ACT

NSW (for any health related information in NSW, click here)

NT

QLD

SA

TAS

VIC

WA

National Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080). 

Updated: 21 July 2020

This is a complex situation which may depend on contractual arrangements / staff awards etc. However, the general position is that a permanent/non-casual employee who has to take time off because of a health issue would be entitled to using their accrued sick leave (presuming the practice was still operating).

If a health care provider falls under the recommendation to self-isolate and they are engaged under an independent contractor agreement, thus not an employee, there is no obligation on a practice to subsidise or compensate the individual for their financial loss of earnings.

More information is available at:

Fairwork Ombudsman Coronavirus and Australian workplace laws

Updated:22 Sept 2021

The Practice Indemnity Policy will cover both the practice entity itself and employed staff at the practice for their administering of the COVID-19 vaccine on the basis that:

• staff administering the vaccine are employed by the practice
• staff administering the vaccine are AHPRA-registered health professionals
• the practice and staff adhere to all relevant regulatory and legislative requirements with respect to the COVID-19 vaccination roll out.

Please note, the Practice Indemnity Policy does not cover medical practitioners, or staff such as contractors who are not directly employed by the practice, and medical practitioners and non-employed staff would be required to secure their own indemnity coverage.

If your practice does not currently hold a Practice Indemnity Policy, please contact our Member Services team for a discussion of your needs and a quote.

Am I obligated to still see them? What about other people entering the practice?

This is a complex area that must be approached with care and on a case by case basis. There are different mask requirements and directions in each state and territory, and the situation is subject to change.

Many practices have made mask wearing a condition of entry for patients, and other persons entering the practice. At times during the pandemic, some jurisdictions have issued a public health directive for mask wearing for anyone without a valid exemption.

Practices have an obligation under Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia and work, health and safety legislation to provide a work place that is safe for staff and other persons at the practice.

However, your practice must also comply with discrimination laws, which are different in each state and territory. The requirement of the practice for patients to wear masks, and how the practice provides care to these patients that cannot, must be shown to be ‘reasonable’ in the circumstances. Relevant public health orders, the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community, the physical space, the length of stay required, the vulnerable nature of other people within general practices are all taken into account in this assessment of ‘reasonableness’.

Practices have an obligation to ensure that patients who do not want to wear a mask or face covering or have an exemption are able to access medical services. Practically this could mean offering these patients a telehealth appointment, or treatment at the practice at a time when there are no other patients present, or referral to a local clinic or hospital.

If a patient has a valid medical exemption from wearing a mask, then you can offer them alternative options for accessing medical care. If the patient refuses the alternative options for care and insists on a face-to-face consultation, then you may be required to allow them to enter the practice and receive treatment as though they were wearing a mask.

If the patient is medically exempt from wearing a mask and is refused access, then they could claim you, or the practice has discriminated against them based on a disability. The law in this area is not settled and is different in each state and territory in Australia. Therefore, it is important to get specific advice with regards to your practice’s circumstances and your speciality.

Abusive or threatening behaviour is never appropriate, and you may be required to end care in some circumstances.

You can find out more about face masks and discrimination law here.

Please check the face mask requirements for your jurisdiction:

ACT:     Face mask requirements

NSW:   Face mask rules

NT:       Information about face masks

QLD:    Mandatory face masks

SA:       Face masks

TAS:     Face masks

VIC:      Face mask

WA:      Face masks

Updated 12 Jan 2022

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the country and the number of positive cases is rising dramatically, private practitioners are being asked to participate in COVID-19 care at-home programs.

If you are considering assisting the Health Department in your State, or you have patients who have asked you to be involved in their home care with COVID-19, there are some excellent resources available.

The Department of Health and Aged Care provides detailed advice regarding managing home care through COVID-19.

RACGP has published Home-care guidelines for patients with COVID-19, and this guide may be useful for doctors who are treating COVID-19 patients.

It is important to be familiar with the requirements and recommendations of your State:-

• NSW
• QLD
• SA 
• Victoria (which includes a link to clinical guidance and resources for managing patients)

Other States and Territories are a work in progress with the bulk of care currently being provided through the State health system:-

• ACT recommends that practitioners contact the Care@Home team on (02) 5124 3085 and refer to the National Taskforce resource
• NT
• Tasmania
• WA

All Members are covered in accordance with the terms and conditions of their MDA National Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy for advice given to patients regarding COVID-19 vaccination.

This includes advice given in a face to face consultation, or a telehealth consultation, (providing the usual telehealth conditions are followed) or phone or email advice.

Further information regarding the COVID-19 specific telehealth specialist items is located here.

Face coverings have been compulsory at various times in specific areas according to State/Territory public health orders. A range of useful information about face masks, including when exceptions may apply, is available on the Victorian Health and Human Services website

• NSW 
• QLD
• WA
• SA
• TAS
• ACT
• NT

If appropriate, doctors can supply a letter to their patient as below:

Dear (patient)

I confirm that you have a diagnosis of [a medical condition].

Dr X

The Medical Board’s Code of Conduct (at 10.8) states doctors should only sign statements that they know, or reasonably believe, to be true.

Updated: 02 July 2021

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has released a guide to help doctors talk with vulnerable patients about ways they can manage their increased risk. The guide contains up to date and accurate information on the situation in Australia.

Updated: 20 July 2020

When faced with such a request, the doctor should consider a range of factors including: the patient’s age, comorbidities, workplace, local community spread, public health advice and transmission risk. These factors should be discussed with the patient, including that our understanding of COVID-19 is still limited. 

SafeWorkAustralia provides some useful guidance on risk assessments, as does the guide released by the Deputy Chief Medical officer. 

If the doctor considers that the patient understands their particular risks,  the doctor can offer to provide a medical certificate (where objective standards are met) or a letter of support (where there is no objective basis for the request, or the doctor is not willing to certify the patient is fit to return but is happy to support that the patient’s request is considered). Relevant clinical information can be provided (with the patient’s consent).

As always, doctors should be honest and not misleading when writing letters and certificates and only sign documents that they believe to be accurate. 

See letter template (below) which you can adapt to suit your needs.

Dear Mr Jones

I write in support of your plan to return to your workplace, notwithstanding that you have a number of chronic health conditions. I can find no objective reason that would contraindicate your return to work, despite the risks discussed below.

I can confirm that I have discussed with you the potential risks of acquiring COVID-19, and how to minimise your risk. 

The Commonwealth Government also provides advice on how to protect yourself, including practising good hygiene, physical distancing, and following the rules for public gatherings, quarantine and isolation.

I have also discussed with you that if you develop a COVID-19 infection, you are in a higher risk category where significantly more serious complications of infection, including death, may occur [or words which are appropriate for your patient].

The Commonwealth Government notes that “People aged 70 years and over, people aged 65 years and over with chronic medical conditions, people with compromised immune systems, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50, are at greater risk of more serious illness if they are infected with coronavirus”.

I understand that despite the above, you are keen to discuss your options with your employer, and what risk mitigation can occur at your workplace to reduce your risk of developing infection.

Updated: 15 June 2020

This is a situation where a letter of support may be more appropriate than a medical certificate.

Medical certificates

A doctor should only provide a medical certificate in a situation where they reasonably believe the patient has / had a certifiable health condition. Doctors may decide to take a patient at their word (e.g. ‘Doc I was up all night with gastro’) because there may be no objective findings on examination (perhaps the consultation is by phone or tele-link). See this Medical Council of NSW document for a detailed discussion about medical certificates.

If a doctor is not satisfied the patient was ‘sick’ with a health condition, then they should not agree to provide a medical certificate. This is because a doctor has an obligation under the Medical Board Code of Conduct (at 10.9) to ensure a signed statement is reasonably true, not misleading, accurate, and they have not omitted relevant information deliberately.

Letters of support

A doctor may be sympathetic to a patient’s plight, but can’t certify that the patient is is unfit for work. In this case the doctor can offer to provide a letter of support, rather than a medical certificate. Relevant clinical information can be provided (with the patient’s consent) without certifying the patient unwell or unfit.

Example 

Dear Mr Jones

I confirm I have been treating you for [list conditions] since [enter date]. You are currently on [list medications] to manage your chronic health conditions.

You have indicated that you are concerned you will be at higher risk of serious infection if you contract COVID-19, due to your underlying health issues and/or age.

I understand you are keen to discuss your options with your employer to limit your potential exposure to the virus. According to the Health Department website “those most at risk of serious infection are…people with chronic medical conditions” so any modifications you can agree with your employer in order to reduce your risk would be sensible.

Updated:  15 April 2020

Doctors are not obliged to treat patients unless it is an emergency, or a contractual requirement.

Doctors may consider a range of issues when deciding who they treat, and this circumstance has been contemplated by the Medical Board of Australia in Good medical practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia:

• 3.4.5 One of the considerations relates to your ability to keep …yourself and your staff safe when caring for patients. If a patient poses a risk to your health and safety or that of your staff, take action to protect against that risk. Such a patient should not be denied care, if reasonable steps can be taken to keep you and your staff safe.
• 3.5 Treating patients in emergencies requires doctors to consider a range of issues, in addition to the patient’s best care. Good medical practice involves offering assistance in an emergency that takes account of your own safety, your skills, the availability of other options and the impact on any other patients under your care; and continuing to provide that assistance until your services are no longer required.

If you feel you are not in a position to keep yourself, your staff, or your other patients safe in light of COVID-19, then you can decline to treat or suggest high risk patients postpone non-urgent appointments. This will be taken into account by Ahpra in the event of a complaint.

If a patient cannot be seen at the practice, they should be directed to an appropriate alternative to access care, taking into account local resources. 

Updated 23 Sept 2021

Clearly document your assessment and advice to the patient including your concern of the risk to themselves and others.

COVID-19 is still a reportable disease. If you have public safety concerns, you can notify your local public health unit who can assess the need to follow up with the patient.

Updated: 16 March 2020

Electronic prescriptions are an alternative to paper prescriptions, and are available as a ‘token’. The ‘Active Script List’ to manage tokens is currently in development, and will be more convenient for patients on multiple medicines.

The basic steps are:

1. The doctor offers and the patient chooses to receive an electronic script rather than a paper one
2. The doctor generates the script as a token (unique QR barcode) through their practice software and sends it to the patient by SMS and/or email
3. The patient takes or sends the token to a pharmacy, where the token is scanned and the medication dispensed
4. If the prescription has repeats, the pharmacy provides a new token to the patient by SMS or email, which can be used at any participating pharmacy

To generate an electronic prescription, there are certain technical requirements:

• Doctor/practice:
  • capable prescribing software
  • registration with the Healthcare Identifiers (HI) service, having the associated unique healthcare identifier for organisations (HPI-O) and professionals (HPI-I)
  • a National Authentication Service (NASH) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate to allow secure connection with the HI service
  • connection to a Prescription Delivery Service through a Prescription Exchange Service (eRx or MediSecure)

• Patient: IHI (a unique 16-digit number assigned to all individuals enrolled in Medicare or the Department of Veteran Affairs, and already used for My Health Record)
• Pharmacist: capable software

Further:

• A token can only hold the prescription for one medication – multiple medications require multiple tokens
• Once the token is scanned and used by a pharmacy to dispense the medicine, it is invalid and cannot be reused
• Schedule 8 drugs and private scripts can be supplied this way

Further information: https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/get-started-with-digital-health/electronic-prescriptions/for-prescribers

An Active Script List (ASL) is another way of electronic prescribing, which is more convenient for patients on multiple medicines. The ASL is a token management system that provides a list of the patient’s active prescriptions. It has the ability to display all current active eligible barcoded paper and electronic prescriptions any time a prescriber/pharmacist accesses the patient's ASL. Patients are able to elect which prescriptions are sent to their ASL and which prescribers and pharmacist can view their ASL. The steps involved are:

1.  A patient attends their preferred pharmacy prior to attending the doctor and requests to be registered for an ASL. The patient needs to accept the terms and conditions, agreeing that all prescriptions will go to their ASL unless they withdraw their consent.
2. The patient attends the doctor and requires a prescription.
3. If the patient chooses, an electronic prescription is provided and is automatically added to the ASL unless they ask the doctor not to. The patient does not need a token but can receive one if they want.
4. The patient then presents to their preferred pharmacy, validates their identity and receives their medicine.
5. If there are repeats, they will be added to the ASL depending on the patient’s choice.

Telehealth (healthcare services provided by video conference or phone) is covered under your indemnity policy, provided both you and the patient are located in Australia and the service is provided in accordance with the guidelines of the Medical Board, the relevant College and Medicare requirements.

You MUST notify us if you are undertaking ‘instascript’ or text based prescribing.

If you are undertaking any other telehealth services, and wish to request an extension of cover for these services, please provide the following details in writing to peaceofmind@mdanational.com.au:

• country where you will be located
• country where the patient will be located
• an estimate of the period you or the patient will be outside of Australia
• whether you meet the registration requirements in the overseas jurisdiction you or the patient will be located
• the nature and scope of your practice
• how long will you be undertaking this telehealth practice
• whether there is an existing doctor-patient relationship

Please note, in all circumstances MDANI will not extend cover for proceedings arising outside of Australian jurisdiction, in relation to the provision of healthcare services via telehealth.

Updated: 30 March 2020

Please see our Telehealth Toolkit which you can access here.

The Department of Health has a checklist to assist you to comply with your privacy obligations when delivering telehealth services here

Updated: 06 Sep 2023

MDA National does not recommend specific software. For guidance regarding online conferencing contact your practice’s IT provider, your local Primary Health Network, ACRRM, the RACGP, and the University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health.

The RACGP supports the use of free apps like Skype if doing telehealth on an ad hoc basis but for an ongoing telehealth service a professional platform will provide greater quality and sustainability.

Medicare requires practitioners to ensure that their chosen telecommunications solution meets their clinical requirements and satisfies privacy laws.

When evaluating a product from a privacy perspective you can look at the website and/or Terms & Conditions and look for:

• a Privacy Policy which mentions the APPs
• servers in Australia; no data sent overseas
• security features like encryption and two-factor authentication
• no health information such as chat interactions, documents, images are retained by the commercial service provider

Other considerations include:

• technical support
• bandwidth requirements
• waiting room functionality
• browser compatibility

Updated: 21 Jan 2021

Documentation of telehealth consultations should contain the same level of detail as a face to face consultation, as well as the type of consultation and the patient’s location. The RACGP also recommends documenting information such as:

(a) the rationale for a video consultation instead of a physical consultation

(b) responsibility for any follow-up actions

(c) the presence of other parties and the patient’s consent for those parties to be present

(d) any technical malfunctions which may have compromised the consultation

Consent to conduct a telehealth consultation can be verbal or written, and the patient should be informed that telehealth has some limitations, for instance:

(a)  no physical examination

(b)  possible technical issues, e.g. poor image resolution impeding diagnosis, Wi-Fi dropout etc

(c)  security of the transmission may not be guaranteed (if using an app, is it encrypted?) and there is an extremely small risk it could be seen by a third party

The default position is that telehealth consultations are not recorded (by audio or video), just as face to face consultations are not recorded. If any part of a video consultation is recorded, written consent is recommended. An example of a written consent form is available at ehealth.acrrm.org.au

If patients send in photos, they should be told how secure the process is (e.g. unencrypted email) and whether the photos will be stored in the medical records or deleted.

Updated: 19 March 2020

We anticipate that government indemnity will be extended to all medical students who are engaged /employed in public hospitals. We advise Members to ensure their engagement and contract terms clearly set out the terms of such indemnity prior to commencing any duties. Medical students also need to ensure that their Ahpra registration is appropriate to their circumstances.

MDA National is pleased to advise that we will extend cover for student members under the Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy to provide an additional layer of support and protection.  
Specifically for those MDA National student Members who are engaged to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will extend indemnity  under the Policy to cover the costs of defending student Members against  hospital or professional body investigations or inquiries as well as employment issues in  accordance with the Policy terms and conditions.  

This means that any student Member of MDA National who has a Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy issued by us should contact us for advice if they are required to respond to any inquiry or investigation. 
This cover is provided at no cost to student Members.

Not a MDA National student member? Join for free here 

Updated: 3 April 2020

MDA National will provide cover free of charge for those who elect to join the surge workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Note that for practitioners with temporary registration to support the COVID-19 response, on the 2021 sub-register, their registration expires on 21 September 2022.

If you are a retired or non-practising Member of MDA National, it is very straightforward. Please contact us via email at peaceofmind@mdanational.com.au or on 1800 011 255 and we will issue you with a policy and confirmation of indemnity. 

If you are not a retired MDA National member, you should in the first instance seek cover through your previous medical indemnity provider, as they will have all your details.
Please also check that you are included on the Ahpra pandemic response sub-register of practitioners that fast tracks the return to practice of experienced and qualified health practitioners to assist with responding to the pandemic. 

If you are currently indemnified under the Federal Government’s Run off Cover Scheme (ROCS), any employment as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response will not invalidate or impact your existing ROCS cover. 

If you are not eligible for the ROCS and are currently covered under MDA National’s Run off cover category, we will simply amend that cover to reflect your COVID 19 work. 
The cover we provide in this circumstance is only in relation to the work you are employed to do in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy does not cover you for any work you undertake outside the scope of your employment or any work you undertake beyond the official pandemic period as set by the Australian Government. 

Updated: 9 April 2020

We are happy to confirm Members will be covered in the event of a claim or investigation arising as the result of (alleged) transmission of COVID-19.

It is expected that Members will comply with all relevant Government, Hospital and Health Department directives in relation to COVID-19.

MDA National understands that you may be asked or required to provide care outside your usual specialty or area of expertise as part of the response to the COVID-19 crisis. Although there is a need for flexibility in the current circumstances, you should try to remain within what you consider to be your scope of practice and competence.

The Medical Board and Ahpra recognise that the way you provide care may need to be adjusted:

"As an overriding principle, the Boards are prepared to be flexible in their approach although safety remains our first priority for National Boards and Ahpra. In this context, we are considering how our regulatory requirements can adapt to emergency health service needs and support health service delivery while continuing to protect the public."

"We encourage all registered health practitioners to work with colleagues and people using services, to use your professional judgement to assess risk, and to deliver safe care informed by any relevant guidance and the values and principles set out in professional standards and the codes of conduct for your profession."

Updated: 30 March 2020

MDA National recognises that some of our Members may face financial hardship following this health crisis.

We have a process in place to assist our members. Please contact our membership team on 1800 011 255 or email peaceofmind@mdanational.com.au to discuss your options.