RACP served with Mandatory Improvement Notice by SafeWork NSW

Dear members and RACP team members, 

As Chief Executive Officer with Board delegated responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the College, I am writing to inform you that the RACP has been formally served with a mandatory Improvement Notice by SafeWork NSW. 

The Improvement Notice states, in summary: 

"Workers and/or volunteers at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians are exposed to a risk to their health and safety from inadequate systems of work to eliminate or minimise exposure to harmful behaviour. The current system does not adequately manage the risk of harmful behaviour from all workers and or volunteers within the operations of the board."

 SafeWork NSW has directed the College as follows: 

"You must, in consultation with affected workers and or volunteers, review and revise your constitution and governance structure in order to mitigate against circumstances where behaviour of board members and or workers may potentially cause harm." 

It will be an offence for RACP to fail to comply with Improvement Notice directions. SafeWork can prosecute RACP for failing to comply with directions in the Notice 

The regulator has expressly identified that the College’s current governance system does not adequately control the risk of harmful behaviour from all workers and or volunteers within the operations of the board. 

It is the College’s statutory obligation to comply with this direction, and to fulfill that, the College will need to implement changes requested. 

Any changes to the Constitution will require approval by members. As CEO, I will work with the Board to consider the application of the changes mandated by SafeWork NSW, including consideration within the Notice timeline and if possible, in alignment with the 29 May 2026 Annual General Meeting.

 We have been given six months to do so, until 20 September 2026. If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please contact whs@racp.edu.au 

We will provide further detail on the proposed changes and the reasons for them in advance of the meeting.

ACNC letter

Separately and in response to the 20 March letter from the Board and myself, the ACNC has advised that it does not propose to take regulatory action at this time. This is not a finding on the underlying issues raised and does not remove the College’s obligation to address these issues.

The ACNC Commissioner has indicated that she is deeply concerned by the matters raised in the College’s submission.

While that submission by the College remains confidential, the Commissioner has approved the release of her letter to members and team members.

The Board and I remain actively engaged in addressing these issues and ensuring that the College meets its obligations to the law, regulators, members, trainees, and our team members.

I recognise that letter may raise further questions, particularly for RACP team members.

Team members can direct questions to their manager, and confidential support is available through the TELUS Health Employee Assistance Program on 1300 361 008 in Australia or 0800 360 364 in Aotearoa New Zealand.

For College members, please use the RACP Support Program for access to a free confidential helpline available 24 hours.

This communication was emailed to all RACP members and team members on 1 April 2026.