It's feared the mandatory reporting changes could leader to poorer outcomes for both medical professionals and their patients. "This is about doctors who are patients who should have the same access to the same level of healthcare their own patients enjoy, without fear of ruining their career," Dr Dhupelia said. "We know of at least four doctors who have died by suicide in Queensland in 2017-18, and the state government does have a chance to stop that by changing these mandatory reporting laws." Queensland Chair of the RACGP Dr Bruce Willett said the proposed reporting threshold was too vague and could end up having unintended consequences. “It creates this automatic cascade of actions, without anyone making a judgement about whether or not that’s a good thing,” Dr Willett said.

“My concern is for patients, that it will increase the likelihood of doctors with some sort of impairment not getting help, and also not coming to the attention of someone who could help them.” A version of mandatory reporting has been in place since 2010, which these amendments will strengthen, and Dr Willett said there had already been “many cases” of health professionals falling foul of them. He points to the case of a nurse who sought treatment for an addiction issue just before the original mandatory reporting laws came into force. “The nurse was in remission and was being successfully treated. The mandatory reporting regime came in, the treating clinician got nervous and reported her to the health ombudsman who immediately suspended her,” he said All medical bodies pointed to the lone holdout on mandatory reporting, Western Australia, as the example to follow, with that state introducing an exemption to allow treating doctors discretion on whether to report fellow medical professionals, while the zero tolerance areas were still in force.

“There’s no evidence from WA that the outcomes are any worse, and the suggestion, and it hasn’t been studied closely, but the suggestion from WA is that they are actually better,” Dr Willett said. Loading Dr Dhupelia pledged to work with the government whatever the outcome, but urged Health Minister Steven Miles to exercise discretion before the laws were debated in parliament. "The minister does have the power to make that happen should he wish," he said. However Mr Miles said he believed many of the medical community's concerns about the law changes were unfounded.

"We’ve committed to rolling out an education and awareness campaign to help doctors, nurses and other health practitioners understand these proposed laws," Mr Miles said in a statement. "During the committee process it was clear that much of the concern with mandatory reporting stems from a misunderstanding that every health condition must be reported, regardless of its severity or effect. That is not the case." The draft laws were finalised following consultation at the COAG National Health Council in April 2018 and opened for public and industry feedback in August 2018. In its recommendation to the government, the parliamentary committee said the amendments struck the right balance between individual medical professionals’ right to privacy while also ensuring the public was protected. “It does this by retaining mandatory reporting where a treating practitioner reasonably believes the public is at ‘substantial risk of harm’,” the committee wrote.