Have you had a bad experience with a Perth paediatrician or paediatric practitioner?
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Paediatric care in Perth is delivered by professionals who really care about the families they are helping. That care is usually of an incredibly high standard. But things can go wrong, even in the best health services.
At Perth Kids Hub, we welcome feedback from families to help others make informed decisions when choosing a paediatrician or paediatric professional to support their child.
However Perth Kids Hub is not the place to raise formal complaints about a paediatrician or paediatric practitioner.
If you have a serious concern about a paediatrician or paediatric professional, we recommend contacting the clinic directly or lodging a complaint with the appropriate professional body or registration board.
Here are some tips on what you can do if you have a concern.
Raising a concern about a Perth paediatrician or paediatric professional
Good health services and health professionals want your feedback. It helps them offer better care, understand what families want and fix any problems.
Providing feedback and raising concerns is important because it can help improve the quality of the services provided to support children and their families in Perth.
Often the quickest and easiest way to have your concern resolved is to talk to the practitioner or health service directly. This can feel really uncomfortable but providers can’t fix what they’re not aware of.
Often concerns stem from misunderstandings or communication gaps.
Approaching the provider calmly and respectfully can resolve many issues whether it’s unclear recommendations, appointment mix-ups or bedside manner that didn’t sit well.
This is often the quickest, least stressful, and most effective route to resolution.
Tips for a constructive conversation
Plan ahead: Write down your main concerns, including dates, specifics, and how it affected your child.
Ask open questions: “Can you walk me through why you made that recommendation?”.
Listen openly: The provider may share valuable context or admit a mistake.
Request next steps: Confirm what’s going to change and by when.
Follow up in writing: After the chat, summarise your understanding via email to ensure clarity and accountability.
You can read more tips for talking with your provider provided by the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office.
Making a formal complaint
If you are unable to resolve your concern with the provider directly you can lodge the complaint with the appropriate professional body.
The best place to report your concern will depend on what your concern is about and the type of health practitioner they are.
Health and Disability Service Complaints Organisation (HaDSCO)
If you are not satisfied with the health, mental health or disability service (not provided by the NDIS) you received, then you have the right to make a complaint.
Complaints about a registered practitioner that relate to the following concerns should be reported to the Health and Disability ServicesComplaints Office (HaDSCO) for Western Australia:
- Fees and charges
- health record access or correction
- dissatisfaction with the level of service you received.
Ahpra
Anyone can make a complaint or raise a concern about a registered health practitioner or student with Ahpra.
Ahpra cover: Doctors (including GPs, paediatricians, psychiatrists), Nurses and Midwives, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, Dentists, Radiation Practitioners and Radiographers, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Occupational Therapists, Optometrists, Osteopaths, Paramedics, Pharmacists, Psychologists, Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Podiatrists.
Ahpra is the only agency that can limit what these health professionals can do, or stop them from working.
You can lodge concerns about unsafe care, unprofessional behaviour, practitioner health or criminal offences.
You can raise a concern with Ahpra via their website or by phoning 1300 419 495.
Some allied health professionals do not have to register with Ahpra. They register with a professional association instead. Some examples are speech pathologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, and most complementary or alternative therapists.
Watch how to look up a health practitioner using the Ahpra register
You can check if a practitioner is registered with Ahpra using their “look up a practitioner” tool available on the Ahpra website.
Non-Ahpra Practitioners
Some allied health professionals do not have to register with Ahpra. They register with a professional association instead. Some examples are speech pathologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, and most complementary or alternative therapists.
Speech Pathologists
Complaints can be made to Speech Pathology Australia.
Dietitians
Complaints are managed by Dietitians Australia.
Social Workers
Complaints are managed by the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Exercise Physiologists
Complaints are managed by Exercise and Sports Science Australia.
Complaints about a disability service provider
Concerns about care by a service provider in the disability sector can be made to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or, for review of a decision, the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Perth Children's Hospital
At the hospital
You can provide feedback on your experience at the hospital by speaking with staff or completing a feedback form and placing this in the feedback box at the information desk.
Online
You can also complete a feedback form online or share your story anonymously through the Care Opinion Australia website.
Care Opinion Australia
Care Opinion Australia (Care Opinion) is a not-for-profit organisation that facilitates transparent, two-way feedback about personal experiences of care via an online public platform.
They are independent from service providers and the government to ensure they remain a neutral party between those receiving care and those providing it.
Your story is feedback written as a brief description of a personal experience of care with a service provider.
It usually includes what happened, what you think was good and/or could have been better and how you felt about that experience. Your story can be about you or somebody close to you.
Your personal details are not shared with anyone outside of Care Opinion and you are de-identified to help you remain anonymous.
Others who can help
Legal Aid WA has published helpful information on their website about making complaints about health care.
Health Consumers’ Council WA can provide support navigating complaints.
Community Legal Centres in WA offer low-cost legal advice.
NDIS advocates or guardiants/carers can raise concerns on behalf of children.
Start by discussing your concerns with the provider. If that doesn’t help, there are well-defined formal complaint systems in WA from AHPRA to HaDSCO and specialist regulators like Speech Pathology Australia, Dietitians Australia, and the NDIS Commission. Use the free supports available (advocacy groups, legal centres) and always keep records. Even if your child received less-than-ideal care, these pathways allow families to seek safe, fair outcomes and to help improve paediatric services for everyone.
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