This instrument is the Healthcare Identifiers Amendment (Directories and Other Matters) Regulations 2026.

(1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provisions	Commencement	Date/Details
1. The whole of this instrument	The day after this instrument is registered.	5 May 2026

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.

3 Authority

This instrument is made under the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010.

4 Schedules

Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

Healthcare Identifiers Regulations 2020

1 Section 5

Insert:

Clinical Learning Australia means the system operated by the Australian Digital Health Agency for recording and managing information relating to the development, training and assessment of individual healthcare providers.

healthcare directory service has the meaning given by section 5A.

2 After section 5

Insert:

5A Meaning of healthcare directory service

(1) In this instrument, a healthcare directory service is a service that is operated or funded by one or more government bodies and that facilitates healthcare recipients or healthcare providers (or both) finding information about the healthcare available for provision to healthcare recipients.

(2) Subsection (1) applies whether the service makes information available directly to healthcare recipients or healthcare providers, or supplies information to another service that then makes information available to healthcare recipients or healthcare providers.

Example: A service that collects information from healthcare providers about the healthcare that they provide, and then distributes that information to several healthcare directory services that make the information available to members of the public, is itself a healthcare directory service.

(3) The information about the provision of healthcare that a healthcare directory service may make available includes but is not limited to the following:

(a) information about the location and opening hours of healthcare providers’ places of business;

(b) the contact details of healthcare providers, whether for public contact or for secure communication;

(d) the training, accreditation and qualifications of healthcare providers, including specialisations;

(e) assistance relevant to particular classes of healthcare recipients (for example, whether a healthcare provider has wheelchair‑accessible premises or whether an individual healthcare provider speaks a language other than English).

3 At the end of subsection 8(1)

Add:

; (f) the gender identity of the healthcare provider.

4 At the end of Part 2

Add:

10C Collection, use and disclosure—assigning a healthcare identifier to a healthcare provider

For the purposes of items 6 and 7 in the table in section 21 of the Act, the following entities are prescribed:

(a) the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission;

(b) the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

10D Collection, use and disclosure—establishing and maintaining a record of healthcare identifiers for healthcare providers

For the purposes of item 4 in the table in section 22 of the Act, the following entities are prescribed:

(a) the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission;

(b) the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

10E Collection, use and disclosure—healthcare provider information in relation to healthcare directory services

(1) This section is made for the purposes of subsection 25D(1) of the Act.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), an entity mentioned in column 1 of an item in the following table is authorised to take action of the kind described in column 2 of that item with information of the kind described in column 3 of that item in the circumstances described in column 4 of that item.

Collection, use and disclosure of healthcare provider information in relation to healthcare directory services
Item	Column 1 Entity	Column 2 Permitted action	Column 3 Information	Column 4 Circumstances
1	operator of a healthcare directory service	collect use disclose	healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider identifying information of a healthcare provider	the collection, use or disclosure is for the purpose of including information in a database about the healthcare available for provision to healthcare recipients
2	operator of a healthcare directory service	collect use disclose	healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider identifying information of a healthcare provider	the collection, use or disclosure is for the purpose of ensuring that information held by the operator is accurate, up‑to‑date and complete
3	any entity that has access to the healthcare identifier or identifying information of a healthcare provider	disclose to the operator of a healthcare directory service	healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider identifying information of a healthcare provider	the disclosure is for the purpose of: (a) including information in a database about the healthcare available for provision to healthcare recipients; or (b) ensuring that information held by the operator is accurate, up‑to‑date and complete
4	operator of a healthcare directory service	disclose	healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider identifying information of a healthcare provider	the disclosure is for the purpose of facilitating the provision of adequate and appropriate health care to healthcare recipients, or a class of healthcare recipients
5	operator of a healthcare directory service	collect from the service operator	healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider	the collection is for the purpose of enabling the healthcare provider’s identity to be authenticated

(3) An authorisation under subsection (2) only applies if the healthcare provider to whom the healthcare identifier or identifying information relates has given consent for information relating to the provider’s provision of healthcare to be made available through healthcare directory services.

10F Collection, use and disclosure—health care provider information in relation to Clinical Learning Australia

(1) This section is made for the purposes of subsection 25D(1) of the Act.

(2) The operator of Clinical Learning Australia is authorised to collect, use and disclose:

(a) identifying information of a healthcare provider; and

(b) the healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider;

for the purposes of Clinical Learning Australia.

(3) If the operator of Clinical Learning Australia is authorised to collect the identifying information or healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider under subsection (2) for a purpose, the service operator or another entity is authorised to disclose the identifying information or healthcare identifier to the operator of Clinical Learning Australia for that purpose.

(4) If the operator of Clinical Leaning Australia is authorised to disclose the identifying information or healthcare identifier of a healthcare provider under subsection (2) for a purpose, the service operator or another entity is authorised to collect the identifying information or healthcare identifier from the operator of Clinical Learning Australia for that purpose.