Members & support
Claims and medico-legal support, whenever you need it
A complaint, a claim or an AHPRA notification can land at any hour. Praxis pairs cover with a 24/7 advice line, an in-house legal team and real support for member wellbeing — so you are never facing it alone.
One number, day or night
When something goes wrong, the first call is the most important one. The advice line is staffed around the clock so a member can speak to a medico-legal adviser before they respond to anyone else.
Member advice line
Always open
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for claims, complaints and notifications.
For members. Have your membership number handy when you call.
The advice line
What that first call actually gets you
The 24/7 advice line is the front door to everything else — assessment, defence, representation and support. It exists so that you never have to make the first decision about a serious matter on your own.
A clinician-aware adviser, first time
You reach a medico-legal adviser who does this work every day — not a call-centre script. They understand consent, clinical handover and the pressure of a notification, so you don't have to explain the basics before you get to the point.
The same number at 2pm or 2am
A please-explain that lands during clinic and a coronial matter that lands overnight reach the same line. After-hours calls are triaged immediately, with urgent matters escalated to a lawyer where the situation calls for it.
Confidential, and never held against you
Calling for advice is not a notification, and there is no excess to ask a question. You can talk through a worry that may come to nothing — most do — without it becoming a file or affecting your cover.
Advice before you reply to anyone
The point of the early call is to get a considered position before you respond to a patient, a regulator or a lawyer. A few minutes on the phone often prevents the unconsidered reply that turns a manageable matter into a serious one.
Calling is not committing
What to do first
When a claim, complaint or AHPRA notification arrives
The instinct is to deal with it quickly and quietly. Resist it. A few simple steps in the first hour protect both you and your position.
Don't respond alone
Before you reply to a patient complaint, a lawyer's letter, a coroner's request or an AHPRA notification, call the advice line. An early conversation often changes how a matter unfolds.
Don't admit liability
Be careful not to admit fault or agree to anything in writing without advice. What feels like a courteous reply can prejudice your position later.
Preserve the records
Keep the clinical record exactly as it stands. Do not alter, add to or annotate notes after the fact — secure a copy and note the date of any contact.
Notify early
Medical indemnity is claims-made cover, so timely notification matters. Tell us about a claim, or even the circumstances that might lead to one, as soon as you become aware.
Not sure if it counts?
The claims process
Notification, assessment, defence, resolution
From the first call to the close of the file, a matter moves through four stages. Here is what happens at each one — and what is being done on your behalf while it does.
- 01
Notification
The first call is the most important one. Call the 24/7 advice line or notify through the member portal as soon as you become aware of a claim — or of circumstances that might give rise to one. A medico-legal adviser takes the details, confirms what cover would respond, and tells you what to do in the next hour. On a claims-made policy, notifying a circumstance during your current period is what locks in cover, even if the claim itself arrives years later, so early notification protects you as much as it informs us.
- 02
Assessment
We open the file and gather the facts — the clinical record, the correspondence and your own account, captured as a dated file note rather than an edit to the notes. A medico-legal adviser assesses what kind of matter this is and how serious it is likely to become, and where it warrants it, a lawyer from Praxis Law is assigned. At this stage we also confirm what responds under your cover and explain, in plain terms, the path the matter is likely to take.
- 03
Defence & response
We agree an approach with you and prepare the materials — a considered written response to a complaint, a defence to a claim, a statement for a coroner, or representation at a board hearing. We brief experts where they are needed, prepare you for any interview or inquest, and deal with the other side on your behalf. Nothing goes out in your name without your sign-off, and you are kept across each decision rather than handed a strategy after the fact.
- 04
Resolution
Matters end in different ways — a complaint closed with no action, a notification answered, a claim discontinued, defended or settled on terms you have agreed. We see the matter through to that point and make sure any conditions or undertakings are properly dealt with. Then, if you wish, we debrief: a calm conversation about what happened and any risk-management lessons, so a similar issue is less likely to recur. You are never left to work out the aftermath alone.
Guidance by event
Whatever has landed, there's a way to handle it
Different matters call for different first moves. Whichever of these has arrived, the advice is the same — call before you act — but what happens next depends on what you're facing.
A patient complaint
A direct complaint, a negative practice review or a health-complaints commission letter. Call before you reply. We help you frame a response that is empathetic and accurate without admitting liability or saying something that prejudices your position — and we tell you when a complaint is the kind that needs to be notified, and when it doesn't.
An AHPRA notification
A notification to AHPRA or the Medical Board threatens your registration, not your bank balance, which is why it frightens clinicians more than a claim. Praxis Law represents you through the process — preparing your written response, advising on any conditions proposed, and appearing at a hearing if it comes to one. This is funded under the disciplinary and inquiry support that sits in practitioner cover.
A coronial inquiry
Being asked for a statement, or called to give evidence, after a patient death is one of the most stressful things a clinician faces — and often it is not because anyone is alleging fault. We help you prepare your statement, advise on whether you should have your own representation at the inquest, and stand with you through the hearing so you are supported, not exposed.
A subpoena or records request
A subpoena, a summons to produce, or a request for clinical records under a court process has rules about what you must provide and what is privileged. Don't simply hand everything over. We advise on exactly what is required, what can be objected to, and how to produce records properly — protecting both the patient's confidentiality and your position.
A claim for damages
A letter of demand or a statement of claim seeking compensation is the matter most people picture when they think of indemnity. We assess the allegation, gather the evidence and expert opinion, and defend the claim — negotiating, settling on agreed terms, or litigating where defending is the right course. Defence costs are generally met in addition to the limit, so a long-running matter doesn't quietly erode the cover available to resolve it.
A Medicare or billing query
A practitioner-review or compliance query about billing and Medicare claiming is its own kind of stress, with its own procedure. We advise on responding to an audit or review, help you understand what is being asked, and represent you where the matter escalates — so a billing question is handled as carefully as a clinical one.
The people behind the cover
A legal team that knows clinical practice — and looks after the clinician
Support is more than a limit on a schedule. It is the lawyers who act for you and the recognition that a matter takes a personal toll long before it resolves.
Access to Praxis Law
Praxis includes a dedicated in-house legal team — Praxis Law — built to act for members in medico-legal matters. Rather than briefing an unfamiliar firm in a crisis, a member has lawyers who do this work every day, understand clinical practice, and can move the moment the advice line escalates a matter. Specialist counsel is briefed where a matter calls for it.
- Defence of civil claims and litigation
- Representation at AHPRA and Medical Board proceedings
- Support for coronial inquiries and inquests
- Advice on complaints, subpoenas and records requests
- Guidance on Medicare audits and practitioner review
- Preparation of statements, responses and expert briefs
Looking after the clinician, not just the claim
A claim or complaint takes a personal toll long before it is resolved. We treat wellbeing as part of support — because a clinician under investigation needs more than a legal strategy. The adviser who takes your first call stays with you across the matter, so you are not re-explaining your situation to a new face at every turn.
- Confidential support through the stress of a claim
- A medico-legal adviser who stays with you across the matter
- Help managing the personal toll of an investigation, not just the legal one
- Risk-management debriefs once a matter resolves
- Resources and guidance for clinicians navigating an inquiry
Member portal
Manage cover and notify a matter online
Members log in to view their policy, download a certificate of cover, and notify a claim or circumstance without picking up the phone.
- View and download policy documents
- Lodge a claim or notify circumstances
- Update billings, scope and contact details
- Track an open matter through to resolution
Member login
Sign in to manage your cover, download certificates and lodge a claim or notification at any time.
Member loginNeed help signing in? Call the member advice line, day or night.
Support FAQ
The questions members ask when something lands
Straight answers on when to call, what's covered, who represents you and how a matter is handled — from a worry that comes to nothing to a claim that goes the distance.
When should I call — and is there a cost to ask?+
Call as soon as something arrives or worries you, and before you respond to anyone else. There is no excess or cost to ask a question, and a call for advice is not itself a notification. It is always better to have a short conversation early than to discover later that a matter should have been handled differently.
Is the advice line really staffed 24/7?+
Yes. The member advice line is staffed around the clock, every day. The same number answers a daytime please-explain and a 2am coronial matter, and urgent after-hours calls are escalated to a lawyer where the situation calls for it.
What's the difference between a claim and a notification?+
A claim is a demand for compensation — a letter of demand or a statement of claim. A notification is something that may become a claim but isn't yet: a complaint, an adverse incident, a request for records, or an AHPRA matter. On a claims-made policy, telling us about a circumstance early is what secures cover under your current period, so notify both.
Will notifying a matter affect my premium or my cover?+
Notifying a circumstance so that cover is in place is exactly what the policy is for, and asking the advice line for guidance is not a notification at all. How a particular matter affects future pricing depends on its facts and outcome — your certificate of cover and the Product Disclosure Statement set out how cover responds, and our team can talk it through for your circumstances.
Who actually represents me — an outside firm or your own lawyers?+
Where a matter needs legal representation, it is handled by Praxis Law, the in-house legal team built to act for members in medico-legal matters. Rather than briefing an unfamiliar firm in a crisis, you have lawyers who do this work every day and understand clinical practice. Specialist counsel is briefed where a matter calls for it.
Are AHPRA notifications and coronial inquests covered, even with no money claimed?+
Yes. These are exactly the matters the disciplinary and inquiry support in practitioner cover is designed for — they carry no dollar claim but can threaten your registration. The cover funds your legal representation for AHPRA and Board notifications, health-complaint bodies, coronial inquests, Medicare audits and credentialing inquiries.
What if I'm worried but not sure anything has actually gone wrong?+
Call anyway. A great deal of what the advice line does is help clinicians think through a worry that comes to nothing — and, occasionally, catch the one that would have grown if left alone. There is no penalty for asking, and an early conversation is the cheapest insurance there is.
How do I lodge a claim or notification?+
Two ways. Call the 24/7 advice line for anything urgent or anything you want to talk through first. For routine notifications, log in to the member portal to lodge a claim or notify circumstances, attach documents and track an open matter through to resolution. Either way, have your membership number handy.
Something on your mind? Talk to us.
Whether it's a live matter or a question you'd rather ask early, our team is here — and the advice line is open around the clock.
Our 24/7 medico-legal advice line is always open for members.