Health service principles

You should expect safe and ethical healthcare from every health service you use. This applies in all healthcare settings, including public and private hospitals, community health services and individual practitioners' rooms.

All Victorian health services must:

  • Be accessible
  • Be safe and of high quality
  • Provide their services with appropriate care and attention
  • Treat consumers and their carers with respect, dignity and consideration
  • Provide adequate and clear information about treatments, costs and other options
  • Apply an inclusive approach with consumers when making decisions about healthcare
  • Respect the privacy and confidentiality of personal information
  • Ensure comments or complaints about the service can be made easily and that any comments or complaints are addressed.

You can view the full set of health service principles in Part 1, section 4 of the Health Complaints Act 2016.

General code of conduct

A general code of conduct applies for all general health service providers in Victoria.

General health service providers are those offering a health service that is not legally required to be registered with, and regulated by, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). General providers include counsellors, massage therapists, paramedics, music therapists, doulas, beauty therapists, naturopaths, alternative therapists any many others. General providers are also known as non-registered providers.

Under this code, general health services:

Must

  • Provide safe and ethical healthcare
  • Obtain consent for treatment
  • Take care to protect you from infection
  • Minimise harm and act appropriately if something goes wrong.
  • Report concerns about other practitioners
  • Keep appropriate records and comply with privacy laws
  • Be covered by insurance
  • Display information about the general code of conduct and making a complaint.

Must not

  • Mislead you about their products, services or qualifications
  • Put you at risk due to their own physical or mental health problems
  • Practice under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Make false claims about curing serious illnesses such as cancer
  • Exploit you financially
  • Have an inappropriate relationship with you
  • Discourage you from seeking other health care or refuse to cooperate with other practitioners if you do.

You should view the full text of the general code of conduct, taken from schedule 2 of the Health Complaints Act 2016, to understand your health service provider's obligations.

If you think your health service has breached these standards in any way please let them know so they can try to resolve the issue. If you cannot approach the provider or are not satisfied with their response, make a complaint to us.