Here’s an update on a few of the issues AMA Victoria is working on for members, including:
Consultations: conversion practices, SafeScript and life support protections
TAC and WorkSafe public hospital funding model and Item 104
WorkSafe administrative burden- member feedback sought
E-scooters: new shared scheme safety requirements.
Consultations: conversion practices, SafeScript and life support protections
AMA Victoria’s advocacy reflects the views and experience of the profession, informed by members and carried into our work with government, departments, regulators and other decision makers. Member input remains central to that work. We are currently seeking feedback on three consultations.
Review of Victoria’s conversion practices law
The Victorian Law Reform Commission is reviewing how the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 is operating in practice.
The Act prohibits practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but includes an exception for health services providers acting within their reasonable professional judgement.
AMA Victoria supports the objective of the Act. The issue is how it operates in clinical settings, particularly psychiatry, and whether it allows appropriate care to be provided.
In 2021, AMA Victoria raised a number of concerns about the drafting of the legislation. Several of those issues remain live in practice. The boundary between prohibited conduct and legitimate therapy is still not clear. The distinction between conversion practices and standard exploratory therapy remains uncertain, despite this being central to day-to-day psychiatric care.
The health practitioner exception remains a key issue. The use of “necessary” in the context of a health service provider exercising their reasonable professional judgment introduces uncertainty and does not reflect how clinical judgement is exercised. There is a risk this narrows consultations, drives earlier referral, or deters clinicians from managing more complex presentations. In some cases, it may discourage practitioners from taking on vulnerable patients.
There are also broader workability questions. No prosecutions to date suggest the criminal provisions are not doing much work. Low awareness among clinicians indicates the framework is not well understood. The issue appears to be clarity and operation rather than intent.
The focus of any AMA Victoria submission is likely to be refinement, particularly clearer drafting of the health practitioner exception and clearer guidance distinguishing prohibited practices from legitimate care.
The Consultation Paper can be found here.
Members with relevant experience are invited to provide feedback to Lewis Horton at [email protected] by Saturday 21 March.
Drugs, poisons and controlled substances regulations review
The Department of Health is reviewing the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Regulations ahead of their remake in 2027.
The Department’s Discussion Paper covers issues that go directly to prescribing and day-to-day practice. This includes proposed changes to SafeScript, such as requirements to take additional steps to coordinate care where multiple prescribers are involved, and increased oversight of medicinal cannabis. It also includes proposals relating to storage requirements for Schedule 4, 8 and 9 medicines, including exemptions for small quantities in clinical settings.
AMA Victoria has previously supported SafeScript in principle, while raising concerns about operability, process and administrative burden. Any expansion of requirements will need to be workable in practice and proportionate to risk.
The paper also considers changes to permissions to possess, supply and administer medicines across different practitioner groups. These are not abstract questions. They go to who is making prescribing decisions, how care is coordinated, and where responsibility sits when things go wrong.
Members are invited to provide feedback on any aspect of the paper.
The discussion paper can be found here.
Feedback can be sent to Lewis Horton at [email protected] by Friday 3 April.
Essential Services Commission: life support protections
The Essential Services Commission has released a draft decision on reforms to protections for life support customers.
AMA Victoria previously provided feedback on an earlier consultation in this review. Members highlighted practical issues with current arrangements, including assessment of equipment dependence within standard consultations, multiple non-standard forms, medico-legal uncertainty when patient needs change, and delays in communication between practitioners, patients and energy retailers.
The current draft decision proposes a more developed model. This includes a new “life-threatening condition” flag, changes to registration and deregistration processes, a yearly check-in, and updated communication requirements. It also proposes a standardised medical confirmation process, developed with national input.
We are seeking member views on whether the proposed approach is workable in practice, particularly the medical confirmation requirements and associated administrative impacts.
Consultation materials are available here.
Members with views on the proposed medical confirmation and other doctor-facing requirements are invited to provide feedback to Lewis Horton at [email protected] by Monday 13 April.
TAC and WorkSafe public hospital funding model and Item 104
AMA Victoria continues engagement with TAC, WorkSafe Victoria and the Department of Health regarding bundled funding for compensable care in public hospitals from July 2026 (TAC) and July 2027 (WorkSafe).
Members have raised concerns regarding implementation uncertainty, clinician remuneration, participation in trauma and complex care, and the risk that compensable funding may be absorbed into consolidated hospital budgets.
The key issue now is how this will be implemented at hospital level, where the interface with practitioners will sit.
We are seeking feedback from members on what they have been told by their health services. How are hospitals intending to manage the bundled funding model in practice? What guidance has been provided to clinicians? What changes are expected to referral pathways, billing or service delivery?
AMA Victoria is also engaging with TAC regarding concerns about how pre-operative consultations are now being treated under the “complete medical service” principle, including implications for MBS Item 104. Members have questioned how a pre-operative consultation, particularly where the patient has not previously been consulted, can be regarded as part of the surgical procedure. Concerns have also been raised that this approach is out of step with how Medicare and private insurers handle these items.
Members with experience or concerns, including how their health service is managing the public hospital funding model change or TAC’s current approach to pre-operative consultations in practice, are encouraged to contact Lewis Horton at [email protected].
WorkSafe administrative burden - member feedback sought
AMA Victoria continues to raise with WorkSafe Victoria about the rising administrative burden linked to WorkCover, based on consistent member feedback.
Doctors report that procedural requirements are increasingly shaping whether they participate in the scheme. This is not reluctance to treat injured workers. Rather, some experienced clinicians are reducing or ceasing WorkCover work due to duplication, approval delays in straightforward cases, unclear decision-making authority, use of non-medical assessors for surgical approvals, non-routine outcome reporting, and expectations that unfunded administrative work can be absorbed within existing fees.
AMA Victoria continues to press for a simpler, clinically grounded and sustainable model. Further recent examples from members would assist this advocacy.
Members may provide feedback to Lewis Horton at [email protected].
E-scooters: new shared scheme safety requirements
AMA Victoria continues advocacy for stronger regulation of high-powered e-scooters following coronial findings and ongoing concerns raised by clinicians, building on consistent advocacy since the 2023 e-scooter trial period.
Most recently, AMA Victoria supported legislative amendment in Victoria to enable forfeiture of high-speed e-scooters used on public roads, and has called at the Commonwealth level for tighter controls on importation and sale.
Since then, new state requirements for shared hire e-scooter operators took effect on 18 February 2026. These introduce a formal approval process through the Department of Transport and Planning and mandate a range of safety features, including footpath detection, helmet verification, geofencing and parking controls, along with minimum standards for insurance, maintenance and operator suitability.
Further detail on the new requirements and application process is available here: https://www.vic.gov.au/shared-hire-schemes
These changes address aspects of safety in the shared hire scheme. Broader issues remain, particularly in relation to high-powered private devices and national consistency of regulation.
AMA Victoria will continue to advocate for coordinated national settings and effective enforcement to reduce preventable harm.