The Health Care Complaints Act 1993 (NSW) defines the scope of the HCCC's work, which is to:[1] For the most serious complaints, the HCCC can determine that: For registered practitioners, the assessment will consider care, treatment and practitioner’s conduct with regard to the standards, guidelines and codes of conduct that apply to each profession and their legal obligations.
The Code sets the minimum practice and ethical standards with which Unregistered health service providers are required to comply and also informs consumers about what they can expect from practitioners.
Following an investigation into a registered health provider, where a significant departure in clinical care and treatment and/or professional conduct has been established, the complaint may be referred internally to the Director of Proceedings (DoP), the head of the HCCC’s Legal Department.
The DoP determines whether disciplinary action is warranted, and if so, whether the prosecution should be before a Professional Standards Committee or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
[4] Other media attention included a criticism of its performance by The Sydney Morning Herald, reporting that new "statistics expos[ed] a dramatic decline in investigations despite complaints from the public being at an all-time high.