Regulatory Systems
Regulatory Systems
The Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia is committed to collaboration with regulators in Australia in the quest to maximise patient safety. The College membership is bound by a Constitution and by a variable number of legislations, which are almost entirely administered and executed by state health departments. The regulatory system of the medical profession therefore in Australia is complex and unique. The Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia is committed to uphold the regulatory components of the medical profession in general, as well as specific to cosmetic medical procedures. In Australia, each state has adopted a state law named the Health Practitioners National Law Act (2008). Not all states of Australia adopt all parts of the National Law. Each state also has Therapeutic Goods and Poisons Acts. There is a wide variation in these miscellaneous state laws that govern the practice of medicine in each locality. Hospitals and private clinics come under the jurisdiction of state governance and responsibility. The Federal Health Department regulates therapeutic goods pursuant to The Therapeutic Goods Act, controlling the listing of therapeutic items on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). Items not listed on the ARTG are prohibited for use in Australia, and it is unlawful to import items for therapeutic use, either by members of the public or registered health professionals, where these items are not listed upon the ARTG. The CPCA is committed to follow and collaborate pursuant to the Therapeutic Goods Act and strongly opposes the illicit importation of foreign goods for therapeutic use in Australia, even in the case of products that are similarly legally sold. All therapeutic goods must be supplied by a local (Australian) sponsor as a wholesaler or licensed distributor and all such products must be obtained from these companies and not directly imported.