The head of Australia's health watchdog admits the number of doctors being reported for inappropriate behaviour has been increasing for several years.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency chief executive Martin Fletcher told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday more needed to be done in the regulation of health professionals.
The agency announced it would be undertaking a review of procedures following an ABC Four Corners investigation that exposed how doctors who had been sanctioned for inappropriate behaviour were allowed to keep practising.
Mr Fletcher said 900 "boundary violation" incidents, which can include sexual assault, inappropriate touching allegations and criminal behaviour, were reported to the agency last year.
He said the number had been on the rise in recent years.
"There's probably still under-reporting going on as well," he told the hearing.
"(It's trending upwards because) we've seen a welcome light shone on this area much more widely in society and people being more willing to speak up ... we've received additional reports in the wake of the Four Corners report."
The chief executive said there was no specific offence a medical professional could commit that would lead to being immediately disbarred.
Mr Fletcher said incidents were looked at case-by-case.
"At the moment, the standard is principle based ... so we would look at things like the seriousness of the conduct, the length of time since it occurred, what the practitioner's done," he said.
"There'd be a whole range of factors to take into consideration but that the moment, the standard does not specify certain offences that are a complete (barrier to re-registering)."
The review of the current arrangements is set to start within weeks, with talks with stakeholder and industry groups planned, along with public consultation.
Mr Fletcher said greater transparency was needed surrounding doctors who had been stood down, with a greater emphasis on tribunals in the decision-making process.
"We think we need, and want to do more, to support the victim-survivors of these because obviously it's deeply concerning," he said.
He said closer collaboration with police was also needed.
