Survey of Quasi-Judicial Decision-Makers in NSW and The National Registration Scheme for Health Practitioners

Mary Chiarella; Claudette S Satchell; Marie Nagy; Terry Carney; Merrilyn Walton; Belinda Bennett; Patrick J Kelly

Survey of Quasi-Judicial Decision-Makers in NSW and The National Registration Scheme for Health Practitioners

J Law Med. 2018 Feb;25(2):357-379.

Authors

Mary Chiarella¹, Claudette S Satchell², Marie Nagy³, Terry Carney⁴, Merrilyn Walton⁵, Belinda Bennett⁶, Patrick J Kelly⁷

Affiliations

¹ Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
² Project Manager, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
³ Research Assistant, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
⁴ Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
⁵ Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
⁶ Professor, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD.
⁷ Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

PMID: 29978642

Abstract

This study is part of a larger, Australian Research Council-funded project studying comparative analyses of complaints and notification handling between the NSW system and National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (2010). This article explores the assessments and decisions made by Tribunal and other quasi-judicial decision-makers involved in the two schemes, including the key decision-management stages during a disciplinary process. Respondents recruited from both systems completed an online questionnaire comprising a series of closed and open-ended questions to case vignettes. While we found no significant difference between jurisdictions in relation to their decision-making processes in this case, the article provides insights into the rationales for their decisions and the outcomes or sanctions selected by decision-makers as being appropriate to the circumstances presented.

Keywords: complaints; fitness to practise; judgments; notifications; quasi-judicial decision-making; sanctions, therapeutic jurisprudence..

MeSH terms

Accreditation
Australia
Decision Making*
Health Personnel*
Registries*
Surveys and Questionnaires