In the 2022–23 financial year, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) received 841 notifications of boundary violations against practitioners in all professions.

This is close to double the number of notifications Ahpra received three years ago.

Among them were 33 alleged boundary violations against 27 physiotherapists.

This was up from 23 notifications the previous financial year.

The notifications included allegations of failing to provide adequate draping or maintain a patient’s modesty, failing to seek consent before moving or removing clothing, sharing personal information with patients, making inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, communicating with patients via text or social media to establish a personal relationship, engaging in sexual relationships with patients, inappropriate sexual contact during consultations and criminal charges of a sexual nature in connection with practice.

While the number of reports represents a very small percentage of the 42,098 registered physiotherapists in Australia, boundary violations made up 23.6 per cent of all notifications to Ahpra made against physiotherapists in the past financial year.

As a new cohort of physiotherapists are now finishing their studies and applying for registration to start work in the new year, Physiotherapy Board of Australia chair Kim Gibson said it is timely to remind all physiotherapists about their obligations under the shared Code of conduct.

‘The issue of boundary violations is especially relevant to our profession given the use of manual therapy and other hands-on assessment and treatment techniques across a wide scope of practice.

‘Physiotherapists need to be ever vigilant in ensuring that patients understand and have given informed consent before undertaking such assessment or treatment and before asking patients to disrobe,’ she said.

‘Complaints are often driven by poor communication rather than unprofessional behaviour.

‘Practitioners must put patients first in all their clinical dealings.

‘You must practise safely, effectively and in partnership with patients and colleagues.

‘When gaining informed consent, you must at all times act according to the patient’s capacity for decision-making and consent, especially when caring for children and young people, based on their maturity and capacity to understand the nature of the proposed care,’ Kim said.

The Physiotherapy Board of Australia is one of 12 National Boards that operate under the shared Code of conduct.

The code, which was revised on 29 June last year, describes the professional behaviour and conduct that the Board expects from registered health practitioners.

Kim added that it is important for physiotherapists to recognise that there is often a power imbalance in the practitioner–patient relationship.

‘A good way to approach this imbalance is to remember that your patient always requires high standards of personal conduct.

‘Good practice is to be courteous, respectful, compassionate and honest at all times and to treat each patient as an individual who needs your support to make well-informed decisions about managing their health,’ she said.

More information about the shared Code of conduct, including a section of resources for health practitioners, can be found at on the Ahpra website here.