1. Concerns About an Outdoor Health Service or Practitioner
OHA is a member association – we support people working in outdoor health but we don’t endorse or regulate services or practitioners. We’re not able to investigate concerns about the quality or safety of services, or about professional conduct.
Direct Communication
OHA encourages people to speak directly with the practitioner or service first, where safe and appropriate to do so. This can help resolve concerns quickly and may be all that’s needed. AHPRA provides guidance on how to approach communicating feedback when you have a concern.
AHPRA guidance on talking to your health practitioner
Where to Take Your Concern
Outdoor health practitioners come from many different professional backgrounds, and each has their own appropriate place to raise concerns:
Registered Health Practitioners (AHPRA)
If the practitioner is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), you can make a notification:
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA): 1300 419 495
Website: www.ahpra.gov.au
AHPRA registers health practitioners including:
- Psychologists
- Occupational therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners
- Nurses
- Other medical and allied health professionals
Other Health Provider Professional Bodies
If the practitioner belongs to a professional association, you may be able to raise concerns through their complaints process:
- Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA)
www.pacfa.org.au - Australian Counselling Association (ACA)
www.theaca.net.au - Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
www.aasw.asn.au (or state based registration schemes) - Other relevant professional bodies for the practitioner’s field
State Health Complaints Bodies
Each state and territory has a health complaints commission:
NSW: Health Care Complaints Commission
www.hccc.nsw.gov.au | 1800 043 159
VIC: Health Complaints Commissioner
www.hcc.vic.gov.au | 1300 582 113
QLD: Office of the Health Ombudsman
www.oho.qld.gov.au | 133 646
SA: Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
www.hcscc.sa.gov.au | 1800 232 007
WA: Health and Disability Services Complaints Office
www.hadsco.wa.gov.au | 1800 813 583
TAS: Health Complaints Commissioner
www.healthcomplaints.tas.gov.au | 1800 001 170
NT: Health and Community Services Complaints Commission
www.hcscc.nt.gov.au | 1800 004 474
ACT: Human Rights Commission (Health Services)
www.hrc.act.gov.au | (02) 6205 2222
Disability Services (NDIS)
National Disability Insurance Scheme services
Education/Teacher Services
- Australian Capital Territory: Teacher Quality Institute
www.tqi.act.edu.au - New South Wales: NSW Education Standards Authority
www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au - Northern Territory: Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory
www.trb.nt.gov.au - Queensland: Queensland College of Teachers
www.qct.edu.au - South Australia: Teachers Registration Board of South Australia
www.trb.sa.edu.au - Tasmania: Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania
www.trb.tas.gov.au - Victoria: Victorian Institute of Teaching
www.vit.vic.edu.au - Western Australia: Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia
www.trb.wa.gov.au
Early Childhood Education and Care
For centre based care, family day care, outside school hours care (OSCH), preschool, kindergarten, and Bush Kindy.
State based regulators for the National Quality Framework:
www.acecqa.gov.au/help/contact-your-regulatory-authority
Urgent or Serious Matters
If someone is in immediate danger or you have concerns about:
- Criminal conduct → Contact Police: 131 444 or 000
- Child safety → Contact your state/territory child protection agency
- Immediate safety risk → Emergency services: 000
- Professional misconduct by a registered health practitioner → AHPRA: 1300 419 495
Please don’t wait for OHA’s process in these situations – contact the appropriate authority directly.
2. Concerns or Feedback about Outdoor Health Australia
We welcome your thoughts about our services, events, website, governance, or anything related to how OHA operates.
We encourage you to start with informal feedback
Many concerns can be resolved through open conversation. Simply contact us and let us know what’s on your mind.
How to Provide Feedback or Make a Complaint about Outdoor Health Australia
Email us: [email protected]
Please include:
- The word “Feedback” or “Complaint” in your e-mail subject line
- Details of your concern or feedback
- Your contact information (unless you prefer to remain anonymous)
- What outcome you’re hoping for
What happens next:
- We’ll acknowledge your message within 14 business days (volunteer capacity permitting)
- If your concern needs a formal response, our Board will review it at their next meeting
- We’ll respond as soon as practicable within our volunteer capacity
- If you’re not satisfied with the response, you can request the Board review it again with any additional information you’d like to provide
Questions?
If you’re not sure where to direct your concern, or you have questions about our complaints process, contact us at [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help.
Anonymous Feedback
You can provide feedback or make a complaint anonymously if you prefer. However, our ability to investigate or respond will be limited if we can’t contact you
Our Commitment
We treat all feedback and complaints:
- Seriously and respectfully
- Confidentially (within the limits of what’s needed to respond appropriately)
- Fairly and objectively
- As opportunities to learn and improve
We’re a small volunteer-run organization, which means our response times depend on volunteer availability. We’re committed to responding as promptly as we can while ensuring we give each matter appropriate attention.
Disclaimer
The information on this page is provided as general guidance only. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional advice. OHA is a member association and is not a regulatory body – we cannot investigate complaints about professional practice or service quality.
If you are experiencing a crisis or emergency, contact emergency services immediately on 000. For concerns about professional conduct or service quality, contact the appropriate regulatory authority directly.
While we endeavour to keep the information on this page current, regulatory bodies and contact details may change. We recommend confirming current contact information directly with the relevant authority.
