Health Professions and Occupations Act

Health regulatory colleges in BC are currently governed by the Health Professions Act (HPA). The government has passed new legislation in order to modernize the way health professions are regulated. The Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) is set to replace the current act (the HPA) as the legislative framework governing health professions in British Columbia.

The HPOA was passed in BC Legislative Assembly in November 2022, and will come into force on April 1, 2026*. Until then, the HPA remains the legislation governing oral health professionals and health regulatory colleges in BC.

The HPOA is a government initiative that will primarily bring changes to health regulation at a systemic level. According to the Ministry of Health, the new legislation enables:

Further amalgamations to reduce the number of health regulatory colleges
Creation of an oversight body that will promote accountability, transparency and consistency across regulatory colleges
Improved transparency and accountability around complaints, with information about agreements between colleges and registrants made public.
Commitment to cultural safety and humility, with discrimination as a form of professional misconduct or actionable conduct
Information sharing between colleges and other agencies to enhance public safety and protection
Improved governance, with regulatory college board members appointed via a competency-based process

How health professions are regulated in BC

The Ministry of Health establishes the framework for health professions regulation in two ways:

Enacting the legislation that governs professional regulation (the current Health Professions Act and the incoming Health Professions and Occupations Act), and
Establishing health profession regulations, which set the scopes of practice and the limits and conditions for practice.

Regulatory colleges, like BCCOHP, are responsible for upholding the legislation and regulations, and for establishing bylaws, standards, and limits and conditions that guide and direct health professionals’ practice.

Learn more about the legislation, regulations and bylaws >>

*Some sections of the HPOA are already in force: The BC government has already brought certain sections of the HPOA into force required to establish the Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office. This enabled hiring the Superintendent, Director of Discipline, and other staff, as well as the creation of discipline tribunals in advance of the government putting the remainder of the HPOA fully into force.

Transition to the new Act

Planning for BCCOHP’s transition from the HPA to the HPOA is underway. We are working closely with the BC Ministry of Health and BC’s other health profession regulators to prepare for the transition.

We are committed to keeping our audiences informed as we progress. BCCOHP will share updates, including the HPOA’s in-force date, as more information becomes available.

Background

The Health Professions and Occupations Act follows from:

Recommendations to modernize the provincial health profession regulatory framework (August 2020)
- These recommendations flowed from Part 2 of the Cayton Report (published April 2019)
In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in BC Health Care (November 2020)

For more information, read our past news posts and the Ministry of Health’s HPOA FAQ >>