Health & medical
Overview
Australia’s health system is a complex mix of health professionals working across a range of organisations, including government and private sector service providers. The complex structure of Australia’s health system is reflected in government funding arrangements, as well as non-government funding provided through private health insurers and individuals.
We have an integrated multi-disciplinary team who advise the health and medical sector. The team has experts in corporate and commercial law, property, construction, employment and safety, privacy, and medical malpractice. We act for a wide range of health and medical service providers and their insurers.
Our team has decades of experience in advising a wide range of medical and allied health professionals, healthcare sector providers, and their insurers on the defence of complaints, inquiries and claims. We have also supported clients to appear before government inquiries, including royal commissions, and coronial inquests.
We work closely with insurers and their insureds to support and guide them as they deal with sensitive issues. In this context we advise on:
- administrative E&O claims
- complaints made to Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and state health complaint bodies
- complaint resolution processes
- complex and sensitive matters
- fraud, including employee fraud and Medicare fraud
- governance and compliance
- inquiries and coronial inquests
- liability claims involving multiple defendants, and
- malpractice claims.
Beyond these areas of insurance-related expertise we regularly advise on:
- corporate and commercial – corporate transactions, commercial agreements, joint ventures, governance and corporate advisory
- dispute resolution – across the spectrum of disputes including with suppliers, employees, contractors, debtors, and patients
- employment and industrial relations – employment contracts and policies, awards, enterprise agreements, workplace investigations, prosecutions and workplace safety
- property and projects – all aspects of site identification, purchase and development of health, aged care and community projects
- privacy – drafting and advising on privacy policies that adhere to the principles for data and personal information collection, use and disclosure, and developing response systems and strategies to prevent and mitigate data breaches, and
- regulatory – compliance with all aspects of the sector’s legislation and regulations.
The different legal teams that make up our health and medical team are recognised in respected guides to Australia’s best lawyers including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in Australia.
