The Indian-trained doctor, who declined to be named due to fears of further reputational damage, said the complaint against him was racially motivated as the pharmacist had referenced his accent in her complaint.

The doctor has complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), alleging institutional racism played a role in the initial complaint against his practice and AHPRA’s subsequent investigation.

The AHPRA spokesperson said they “did not accept racial discrimination” was involved but declined to comment further due to the AHRC complaint.

The spokesperson highlighted statistics showing AHPRA had improved its timeliness – 36 per cent of notifications were completed in less than three months in 2021-22 and 47 per cent the following year.

“We know that timeliness in managing notifications is important to practitioners and notifiers. It is also important to AHPRA and national boards. Together, we have undertaken a program of continuous improvement in all aspects of our regulatory functions,” the spokesperson said. “We also note that the NHPO found the notification you raise ‘moved quite quickly after contact was made’ with the practitioner.”

This masthead revealed last year that there were widespread concerns about the quality and length of AHPRA investigations, which insiders said was placing both the public and industry at risk.

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Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, former president of the Australian Medical Association, said the six-month delay was “totally unacceptable” but “unfortunately, not surprising”.

“They’ve made some attempts to improve their systems, but the overall standing of AHPRA within our profession is that it is far too cumbersome and does not recognise the hurt when these notifications are made,” he said.

Haikerwal said delays in the complaints process created problems for practitioners as memories fade but also created a risk to the public if dangerous doctors continue treating patients while legitimate complaints sit idle.

Health Minister Mark Butler launched a rapid review of past efforts to reform AHPRA in February last year following media attention about investigations and handling of sexual harassment complaints against healthcare practitioners, yet there has been no update on this review publicly released.

The AHPRA spokesperson outlined five ways in which the regulator had sought to improve its processes, including risk-rating complaints and ensuring a single case manager is allocated to each complaint “for its whole life”.

Butler’s office was contacted for comment.

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