Health Professions And Occupations Act: An Overhaul To Regulation Of British Columbia Health Care Practitioners

On April 1, 2026, British Columbia quietly—but decisively—redrew the rules governing its health professions. The Health Professions and Occupations Act, SBC 2022, c. 43 (the “HPOA”) is now in force, replacing the long‑standing Health Professions Act RSBC 1996, c. 183 and fundamentally reshaping how health professionals are regulated in the province, marking the end of nearly three decades of comparatively autonomous, profession‑led regulation.

Of particular concern to health professionals regulated under the new act are added duties to take anti-discrimination measures, changes to the independence and governance structure of regulatory colleges, and heightened disclosure obligations in disciplinary proceedings. Collectively, these significantly expand exposure to professional and reputational risk

Although the Province boasts that the HPOA is a product of extensive consultation, some professional organizations, such as Doctors of BC, have criticized the legislative process for lacking meaningful consultation with physicians and other health providers.¹ As implementation of the HPOA continues to unfold, regulated professionals and the counsel who advise them should remain alert and adjust quickly to new sources of exposure to professional liability.

From Self‑Regulation to State Oversight: Background to the HPOA

First enacted in 1990, the Health Professions Act established a legal framework for the regulation of all self-governing health professions in British Columbia. Under this act, twenty-one colleges regulated twenty-five health professions, with each college maintaining its own board made up of a majority of professional members.²

In April of 2019, following an investigation into the B.C. College of Dental Surgeon’s, the Province release the Cayton Report, which made wide-ranging recommendations for the modernization of B.C.’s health professional regulatory system writ large. In the Cayton Report, the Province identified systemic shortcoming across health profession regulation, including:

• the composition of governing structures;
• insufficient prioritization of patient safety, and
• opacity in complaints and discipline process.³

The HPOA represents the Province’s answer to many of the recommendations made in the Cayton Report. The Province describes the HPOA’s guiding principles as including: protection of the public from harm and discrimination, reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples including alignment with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, prioritization of the public, transparency, and meaningful engagement.⁴ To operationalize these principles, the HPOA mandates a myriad of changes including consultation with Indigenous peoples, adoption of new by-laws by regulatory colleges, and a centralized regulatory oversight office with a mandate to oversee the implementation of these principles.

While the HPOA ushers in a long list of changes, three in particular stand out for their immediate impact on daily practice and liability risk.

1. New Duties

The HPOA does more than merely recognize anti-discrimination as a guiding principle. It imposes affirmative legal obligations on licensees to take anti-discrimination measures in their practice.  The reporting regime is equally expansive. Licensees must report another licensee if they have reason to suspect sexual misconduct,  sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, or discrimination.⁵ In some circumstances, the duty to report extends beyond regulated professionals to non-licensees, including employers and partnerships.⁶

These provisions significantly lower the threshold for regulatory scrutiny and increase the likelihood of complaints originating from workplace disputes rather than patient care issues—reshaping both peer relationships and employer‑professional dynamics.

2. Disclosure of Disciplinary Proceedings: Expanded Disclosure Requirements

The HPOA also increases transparency in disciplinary proceedings—often to the detriment of professionals facing otherwise minor issues.

It requires publication of all disciplinary orders, including warnings, citations, and orders mandating education or remedial training.⁷ Even more striking, information that a complaint has been made or dismissed can be disclosed upon request, even where no disciplinary action was ultimately taken.⁸ In practical terms, an unproven or unsuccessful complaint may still result in reputational harm.

Compounding this exposure is the elimination of statutory rights of appeal. Unlike the former regime, the HPOA contains no statutory right of appeal from summary protection orders, disciplinary decisions, or licensing decisions to the courts.  Decisions of the Director of Discipline and disciplinary panels are, “final, conclusive, and not open to question or review by any court.”⁹ Licensees are left with judicial review as their sole recourse, sharply narrowing the scope of relief to procedural fairness rather than substantive correctness.¹⁰ Applicants denied licensure may only seek reconsideration by the Registrar.¹¹

3. Self-Regulation

Perhaps the most philosophically significant shift under the HPOA is the dismantling of traditional self‑regulation. The newly created Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office now appoints board members to regulatory colleges, replacing the former profession-elected- model. Under the new framework, regulatory college boards will now comprise of 50% member health professionals and 50% members of the public and be limited to 8 to 12 members.¹² Appointments will be made at the recommendation of the Superintendent of the Oversight Office. Appointment criteria will be set by the Superintendent and has not been released at this time.

More Changes on the Horizon

The regulatory transformation is far from complete.On July 16, 2025, the Minister approved regulations for psychotherapy, clinical perfusion, respiratory therapy, radiation therapy, and medical laboratory technology to become designated as professionals. ¹³ Regulations are expected to be brought into force on November 29, 2027.

In addition, the Province has signaled plans for late Spring 2026 for review of existing scopes of practice, with the potential for significant expansion across multiple professionals.¹⁴

Conclusion: Navigating a New Regulatory Terrain

The HPOA ushers British Columbia’s health professions into unfamiliar territory. Expanded duties, public-facing discipline, centralized governance, and constrained appeal rights introduce new—and largely untested—sources of liability and reputational risk.

In this environment, regulatory colleges may no longer function as perceived protectors of professional interests, and even unfounded complaints can have lasting consequences. Counsel advising regulated health professionals should stay closely attuned to the evolving framework to help clients navigate compliance, mitigate risk, and adapt their practices to a system that is now firmly oriented toward public oversight rather than professional autonomy.

Footnotes

^{1 Doctors of BC: Analysis of changes and impact of the Health Professions and Occupations Act.}

^{2 An Inquiry into the performance of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia and Health Professions Act, December 2018, page 5.}

^{3 Recommendations to modernize the provincial health profession regulatory framework: Steering Committee on Modernization of Health Professional Regulation, August 2020, pages 4-5.}

^{4 BC Gov: Health Professions and Occupations Act.}

^{5 HPOA, s. 72 and 86.}

^{6 HPOA, s. 87.}

^{7 HPOA, s. 256, 268-269.}

^{8 HPOA, s. 255.}

^{9 HPOA, s. 512(3).}

^{10 HPOA, s. 512(4).}

^{11. HPOA, s. 45-46.}

^{12. British Columbia: Health Professions and Occupations Act Q&A, page 6.}

^{13. Health and Care Professionals BC.}

^14. Ibid

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