CosBeauty Magazine #98

PATIENT TESTIMONIALS,
MINIMUM HYGIENE
STANDARDS AND THE
USE OF THE TERM
“COSMETIC SURGEON”
ARE ALL ON THE
TABLE IN WHAT LOOKS
SET TO BECOME A
SWEEPING OVERHAUL OF
AUSTRALIA’S COSMETIC
SURGERY INDUSTRY.
The cosmetic surgery industry
is set to undergo significant
reform after a new report by the
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation
Agency (AHPRA) (the medical regulator)
and the Medical Board of Australia.
The independent review, released on 1
September 2022, was promptly initiated
after a joint investigation by Four Corners,
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
into controversial cosmetic surgeons
uncovered serious hygiene and safety
breaches across various clinics.
The review found unsafe practices,
misleading advertising and a need for
minimum standards on qualifications.
Under proposed reforms cosmetic
practitioners could be banned from
using patient testimonials, face minimum
hygiene standards and be barred from
calling themselves surgeons if they are
not qualified.
HOW IS
cosmetic surgery
in Australia
currently
governed?
Current regulation of cosmetic surgery
is multifaceted, involving multiple state,
territory and national regulators. As
cosmetic surgery is not recognised as
a speciality in Australia, any medical
practitioner, whether or not trained
and competent in cosmetic surgery,
may legally call themselves a
‘cosmetic surgeon’.
The report notes that universal
minimum standards for education,
training and qualifications in cosmetic
surgery have been nonexistent in
Australia. Consequently, cosmetic
surgery is undertaken by doctors from
various backgrounds with varying levels
of training and competence, with a
spectrum of outcomes for patients.
‘In this environment, consumers are
largely left on their own when it comes
to selecting a practitioner to perform
cosmetic surgery, having to sift through
a plethora of advertising and marketing
material and try to make sense of
numerous qualifications, in an attempt
to identify a qualified and competent
practitioner,’ said former Queensland
health ombudsman Andrew Brown, who
led the inquiry.
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