Osteopaths Registration Board of Victoria

Full description

Establishment

The Osteopaths Registration Board of Victoria was established by the Osteopaths Registration Act 1996 (No. 75/1996) and came into operation on 1 July 1997. Prior to this, Osteopaths were registered by the Chiropractors and Osteopaths Registration Board of Victoria (VA 1341). The Board operated under the Health Professions Registration Act 2005 from 1 July 2007.

The purpose of the Board was to make further provision for the registration of osteopaths, investigate professional conduct and fitness to practise, regulate the advertising of osteopathic services and to establish the Osteopaths Registration Board of Victoria and the Osteopaths Registration Board fund.

Formation and Membership of the Board

The Board consisted of seven members nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor in Council. This included four registered osteopaths, one lawyer and two persons who were not osteopaths.

In 2007 the Board structure changed with the passing of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005. The Act established a board with at least 9 and not more than 12 members, with half of the members to be osteopaths, 1 lawyer and 3 members who were not osteopaths.

Function and Operation

The functions of the Board were to register persons who complied with the requirements of the Act, to accredit courses which provide qualifications for registration and practice, to regulate standards of practice, to investigate the professional conduct or fitness to practise of osteopaths and impose sanctions where necessary, and to issue guidelines about appropriate standards of practice.

In October 2002, the Victorian Department of Human Services commenced a review of the regulatory framework governing the registered health professions in Victoria. The review provided the opportunity not only to update all of the health practitioner registration Acts, but also to review the Victorian model of health practitioner regulation to ensure that the legislative framework satisfactorily equipped the registration boards to protect the public and address emerging challenges in the regulation of the health professions. The review resulted in the passage of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005, which came into operation on 1 July 2007. The key outcome was a single legislative framework that incorporated all of the relevant health professions and established a new registration board for each profession.


Abolition

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009) came into operation on 1 July 2010. The purpose of his Act was to provide for the adoption of a national law to establish a national registration and accreditation scheme for health practitioners. The Act prescribed the establishment of 14 new National Boards, 10 of which commenced on 1 July 2010. The National Boards may establish a State or Territory Board, where members are to be appointed by the responsible Minister for the participating jurisdiction.

The Health Professions Registration Act 2005 (No. 97/2005) was amended as a consequence of the enactment of the Health Practitioner Regulation Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009). The piece of legislation that enabled these amendments was the Statute Law Amendment (National Health Practitioner Regulation) Act 2010 (No. 13 of 2010), proclaimed in the Government Gazette on 30 March 2010. The purposes of this Act included the abolition of the Osteopaths Registration Board of Victoria and the removal of any references to this board.