Dr Katie Elkin, Associate Commissioner, Legal and Strategic Relations at the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner, discusses the considerable change in the design of health professional regulation throughout Australia and New Zealand since the beginning of the last decade. As well as ushering in significant structural reform, the legislation in both countries is now more explicit regarding its public protection objectives. However, the degree to which regulatory decision-making is actually consistent with public protection considerations is unclear. Through two major empirical analyses of complaints and disciplinary mechanisms in Australian and New Zealand, Dr Elkin has explored these issues and how they impact at throughout the regulatory journey, from registration through to disciplinary sanction. 13 May 2014