Doctors furious after email identifies invitees of addiction webinar

Health regulator AHPRA apologises for breaching doctor privacy in bulk email about addiction webinar Thu 6 Aug 2026 at 1:49pm In short: AHPRA sent a mass email that failed to conceal the identities of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers invited to a webinar for addiction and alcohol misuse. The email was sent to 136 practitioners from various specialities around Australia working in small practices and large public hospitals. AHPRA said apologies have been issued to affected practitioners and the privacy breach has been reported to the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman. The national healthcare watchdog has inadvertently identified more than 100 doctors, nurses and other practitioners who were offered addiction and alcohol misuse training in a mass email that has triggered fierce backlash and privacy complaints. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) sent an email on July 29 titled "Upcoming webinar on Addiction and recovery: process, support and experiencing a health notification" that failed to hide the identities of all recipients. Doctors, nurses, radiologists and other health workers were invited by AHPRA to attend online sessions about being under investigation for health and addiction problems, adding "we appreciate that involvement in our regulatory process can be challenging for practitioners". "The webinar is open to everyone, but the material and discussion in this session will focus on the experience of practitioners who have a health-related notification or restrictions related to alcohol or substance misuse," the email, obtained by the ABC, stated. A spokesperson said AHPRA "took immediate steps to respond to the privacy breach as soon as it was detected" including "alerting those affected, requesting deletion of the email, apologising to them directly and providing information on how to raise a formal complaint". "These steps were taken on the same day as the error was made," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Ahpra also notified the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and continues to support those who have concerns." It is mandatory for registered healthcare practitioners to report colleagues they witness or suspect are suffering an impairment or intoxication while practising that is placing the public at risk of harm. These notifications trigger investigations by AHPRA, which can result in anything from supervision and training requirements to immediate suspension. AHPRA's email said participants would hear from a "health practitioner who will talk about their experience with addiction and a health notification" and participants would be given "opportunities to ask anonymous questions". "If you're concerned about privacy, you're welcome to join the webinar using another name or email address. Your name will not be visible to other participants or to Ahpra during the webinar." "All participants will be able to type anonymous questions during the webinar. We ask that questions avoid sharing information that could identify a notification or person. Your camera and microphone will be turned off." Email triggers flurry of angry responses The mass-email invitation inadvertently revealed the email addresses of all recipients, which included healthcare practitioners working at small and large hospitals across Melbourne, Sydney and regional areas, and triggered a flurry of exasperated responses. "Since you work for AHPRA, your lack of accountability does not surprise me," said one doctor, who the ABC has not named. "WHAT THE F***?!? You're f***ed," said another. "I'm very concerned and confused about this email chain. Breach needs to be addressed and resolved thank you," wrote a third. A fourth wrote that AHPRA made "terrifically flawed decisions" and encouraged others to make complaints. "My complaint will be forthcoming," they wrote. "Depleted and drained." One doctor who received the email, who the ABC has not identified for privacy reasons, said they were reported to AHPRA after a medical colleague alleged they were drinking alcohol while on call for hospital duties. The doctor said they were aware of at least one recipient who had no addiction or impairment complaints and were confused and distressed about why they were included as they were now suffering defamation by association. "It's terrible. The mental torment," the doctor said. "It's like they've been outed. If I was an addiction specialist [and] wrote to 136 of my patients, said, 'Hey I'm holding a webinar, you should dial in', I would be out of work the next day." The doctor's lawyer was informed by AHPRA's national manager of regulatory experience and engagement, Susan Biggar, that recipients had been asked to "delete, destroy and not to reply to the original email or forward it on". "Can you please do the same with this email? Deletion of multiple emails containing the full list of recipients is difficult to manage successfully," Ms Biggar wrote. Regulator must be held accountable, former investigator says Former AHPRA investigator-turned-lawyer David Gardner said the privacy breach was "extraordinary" and said the regulator needed to be held to a higher standard for accountability. "This is a colossal stuff-up," he said. "When they [AHPRA] stuff it up, or don't do things well, there's no accountability, no recourse." Mr Gardner said AHPRA regularly made mistakes that had devastating impacts on practitioners' livelihoods but there were limited consequences. He said this lack of oversight was the key weakness with the national law, made worse by having an ombudsman that was "under-resourced" and lacked power. "It's very hard to hold AHPRA accountable for mistakes,"he said. "You would expect the minister would be grilled in question time, but that won't happen here. Which minister is responsible? No one." Mr Gardner said protecting the privacy of doctors experiencing addiction or health impairments was crucial to encouraging them to seek treatment, and this privacy breach could have broader implications for public safety. "Something like this is really damaging for encouraging practitioners to actually get treatment," he said. "If you're exposing information like this, it's going to make … a practitioner with an addiction issue think twice about getting help. It's more likely they will keep it secret." Loading...