Register a Complaint

The Australian and New Zealand College of Perfusionists (also known as the Australian and New Zealand College of Perfusion, or ANZCP) is the peak body for the self-regulating profession of perfusion in Australia and New Zealand.

The ANZCP is committed to ensuring its members maintain a high standard of ethical and professional conduct and that the public maintains a high degree of trust in ANZCP and in the profession of perfusion. A transparent and fair procedure for dealing with complaints which relate to Clinical Perfusionists’ ethical and professional conduct is integral to achieving this.

COMPLAINTS COVERED BY THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

A complaint can be made under this Complaints Procedure against a clinical perfusionist who:

at the time of the complaint, is: 

i) Certified by the Australian and New Zealand Board of Perfusionists (ANZBP); or

ii) a Provisional Clinical Perfusionist; or

iii)  a Trainee Clinical Perfusionist; or

at the time of the incident or conduct giving rise to the complaint, was:

i) Certified by the ANZCP; or

ii) a Provisional Clinical Perfusionist; or

iii) a Trainee Clinical Perfusionist.

Perfusionists who do not fall into one of the above categories are not covered by this Complaints Procedure. However, in some jurisdictions there are external complaints bodies to which complaints about those types of perfusionists can be referred.

ABOUT THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The Complaints Procedure will be applied in accordance with natural justice, procedural fairness and confidentiality as set out in clauses 14-19.

The Complaints Procedure has been drafted with explanatory notes in italics, to assist Clinical Perfusionists, the public and participating decision makers (e.g. Registrar, President, and members of the Complaints Committee, Appeal Panel and Executive Committee) to understand and apply it. Roles and responsibilities of decision makers are set out in Schedule A of this Complaints Procedure.

A  flow chart describing the high level process and timeline established by the complaints procedure is available on the professional standards/college documents page here.

INFORMATION FOR COMPLAINANTS

Before making a complaint to the  ANZCP under this Complaints Procedure, you should review the Complaints Procedure, particularly Clause 3 and the documents referred to in it, to ensure that the conduct you are concerned about is a potential breach by a Clinical Perfusionist of professional or ethical requirements. If you raise concerns regarding a breach that is outside of the scope of the Complaints Procedure but which the ANZCP believes can be reported to an external body, the ANZCP will refer you to that process (e.g. could be dealt with by an Australian State or Territory Health Commission or Ombudsman, or the New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner).

You can seek informal advice from the ANZCP about whether a matter you are considering complaining about is covered by this Complaints Procedure, by emailing complaints@anzcp.org. If you decide to proceed with a complaint, it must be made in accordance with Clause 4 of the Complaints Procedure.

If you make a complaint, the ANZCP cannot guarantee your identity will be kept anonymous from the Clinical Perfusionist you complain about. For example, if you make a complaint about a Clinical Perfusionist you received perfusion services from and the complaint proceeds beyond informal resolution, the Clinical Perfusionist will have a right of response to the complaint and you may be identifiable from the description of the complaint provided to the Clinical Perfusionist, even if you are not named in the complaint materials provided to the Clinical Perfusionist.

You have the right to attend a hearing of the complaints committee convened to hear the complaint, as does the Clinical Perfusionist you are complaining about. You can also have legal representation attend that hearing, at your cost, provided you provide notice of that decision within the timeline required by the Complaints Procedure.

Throughout all aspects of processing the complaint, the ANZCP and decision makers under this Complaints Procedure may request further information from you and/or the Clinical Perfusionist you are complaining about.

If you decide to raise a complaint under this Complaints Policy, you have the right to withdraw your complaint at any time but the ANZCP may still decide to investigate or take some other action on the complaint.

ANZCP will inform you of the outcome of your complaint.

If the Complaints Committee decides your complaint is upheld and the President confirms the process met the natural justice and procedural fairness requirements, the Registration Board will decide whether to discipline the Clinical Perfusionist or make another direction or requirement of them. The Clinical Perfusionist has the right to appeal a decision involving disciplinary action, or if they believe procedural fairness and natural justice were not met. The appeal panel convened to hear an appeal may or may not request further information from you.

INFORMATION FOR RESPONDENTS TO COMPLAINTS

If you receive notice from the ANZCP that a complaint has been made against you, you must not contact the person you believe has made the complaint about you (whether directly or indirectly through another person) or discuss any issue regarding the complaint with them. The exception to this is if your matter has been referred by the ANZCP under this procedure for conciliation, mediation or another type of discussion, in which case you should limit your discussion to what is required for that process and the mechanism of resolution required by the ANZCP.

If you continue to provide professional services to the person who has made the complaint you may, if practicable, need to implement measures so that there is no opportunity for such discussions to occur.

You may not be advised of a complaint made about you. For example, if the complaint is considered vexatious by the Registrar it will not progress. If the complaint is referred to the Complaints Committee and you will be offered the opportunity to provide your response to the complaint. No disciplinary action will be taken against you, without you having had that opportunity. You do not have to provide a response to the complaint but the complaints process will progress regardless of whether you have provided one.