Don’t be the psychologist with a professional complaint against you. Update your knowledge and understanding of the current approach of the regulators in relation to unsatisfactory conduct and professional misconduct plus obtain guidance on how to navigate a client complaint if it should occur.

Presenters

Dr. Lil Vrklevski, Principal Clinical Psychologist and Director of Psychology,
Assoc. Prof. Lil Vrklevski B.A (Hons);LLB; MClinPsych; MBA; Dip.Grad.Research; PhD; MAPS; FCCLP; MACPA; GAICD is the Principal Clinical Psychologist and Director of Psychology, Sydney Local Health District. Lil has over 30 years’ experience in law and clinical psychology. She has worked clinically in the areas of sexual violence and mental health. Lil is particularly interested in the relationship between the legal and mental health systems as well as the impact of trauma work on professionals. Her research has been in the areas of vicarious trauma, root cause analysis, professional identity and professional roles as well as the role of allied health in public mental health services. Lil developed the Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS), a brief screening instrument for VT. Lil is a reviewer on Traumatology, The Journal of Patient Safety, International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, Australasian Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology & Law and is Deputy Chair of the CRGH Human Research Ethics Committee and sits on the NSW Psychology Board. Lil is a Clinical Associate Professor with ACU, clinical associate with the Departments of Psychology at USyd, UTS, WSU, Adjunct Fellow with MQ, UoW, lecturer at COPP and adjunct lecturer UNSW and casual academic with The Australian Institute of Health Service Management (AIHSM) UTAS. She sits on the Industry Advisory Boards with The Schools of Psychology at ACU, UNSW, USyd, and UTS as well as the Academic Board of COPP. Lil is co-chair of the ACI Violence Abuse and Neglect Executive Committee. Lil is a thesis examiner with ACU and MQ Universities and clinically supervises provisionally registered psychologists and clinical psychology registrars from a number of universities as well as lecturing on law and ethics for psychologists.


Stephen Moloney, Barrister, Dever’s List
Stephen Moloney practises in administrative law, commercial law, negligence, particularly medical negligence and professional discipline. He has been a member of the Victorian Bar since 1991 and is a member of Dever's List. He is the Chairman of the Medicare Participation Review Committee of the Commonwealth, first appointed in 2010 and was recently re-appointed by the Federal Minister of Health. In this role the suitability of health professionals to participate in the Medicare Scheme is determined. He is the immediate past President of The Australian Institute of Administrative Law (Vic Chapter) and the Medico Legal Society of Victoria. He is a former member of the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Alfred Hospital. He holds a substantial practice in a variety of government regulatory areas including all aspects of the investigation and regulation of health practitioners at both a State and Commonwealth level. He regularly advises and appears for government and its agencies at both a State and Federal level in multiple jurisdictional areas.


Scott Ames, Principal, Meridian Lawyers
Scott practises as an insurance and litigation lawyer and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2002. He joined Meridian Lawyers in late 2010, relocating to open the firm’s Brisbane office in October 2012. Throughout his career, Scott has accumulated a wealth of experience in health and public and product liability claims in Victoria and Queensland. His interest and expertise has focused on acting for nearly every category of health professional registered under the National Law to defend civil claims. He has particular expertise responding to investigations by statutory health authorities such as AHPRA, the Office of the Health Ombudsman, Medicare, and defends disciplinary proceedings referred by National Boards to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Scott is known for his ability to grasp technical concepts quickly, his caring approach to clients in times of stress and for his pragmatic and uncomplicated advice. Scott has been recognised by Best Lawyers Australia since 2019, for his expertise in Insurance Law. He is a member of the Queensland Law Society, the Medical Law Society of Queensland and the Australian Insurance Law Association. He regularly contributes to industry events and has presented at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference and Australian Veterinary Association events.

Psychologists and the Law in 2024

Designed specifically with psychologists in mind, this lunchtime webinar series will help you steer a safe course through the legal issues that can affect the success of your practice. Receive a step-by-step guide to setting up your practice, obtain a comprehensive guide to recent changes to employment law that affect you, learn from our experts about client complaints and professional regulation, learn about safety at work, rights and obligations, and hear about changes to the laws around family violence, apprehended violence and the new rules relating to coercive control that impact on your professional practice.