June 22, 2026 — 3:30pmAustralia’s medical watchdog is facing a backlash from more than 1400 health workers after adopting a controversial definition of antisemitism to assess complaints against practitioners.Earlier this week, the Australian Health Practitioner and Regulation Agency (AHPRA) announced it would use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which its critics say conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.Heath workers have accused Australia’s health practitioner watchdog of silencing debate on IsraelGetty ImagesIt made the announcement in a joint statement with Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, who has called for the alliance’s definition to be adopted by all levels of government, public institutions and regulatory bodies.More than 1400 practitioners and 60 health and medical organisations have signed an open letter to AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner, warning that the change could “target practitioners for lawful advocacy”.They said antisemitism had no place in healthcare, but that the watchdog already had a framework that prohibited racism and discrimination.“We believe this decision – made without consultation – exceeds AHPRA’s mandate and risks silencing health workers speaking out on one of the gravest humanitarian crises of our time,” said a spokeswoman for Health Workers 4 Palestine South Australia, the organisation that initiated the letter.It has also been signed by the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Australia and New Zealand Doctors for Palestine, and the Jewish Health Workers Alliance.The definition, which has been endorsed by the federal government and the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, states that “antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” and that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”.However, it has sparked controversy because its accompanying examples suggest it could be antisemitic to criticise Israel, including by making claims that its existence is a “racist endeavour”.The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) and Anti-Defamation Commission applauded AHPRA’s decision and described the IHRA definition as the global standard.“To combat a problem, it’s important to be able to define it,” said AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein.“This will not result in targeting practitioners for lawful advocacy – the definition itself states that criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country is not antisemitism. The announcement should be welcomed by all genuinely opposed to racism.”Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said Jewish patients and healthcare workers were performing risk assessments before entering hospitals, and writing Australia instead of Israel as their country of birth.“What the definition names is the line where political criticism becomes the dehumanisation of Jews,” he said. “Comparing Israelis to Nazis. Denying the Holocaust. Demanding the only Jewish country in the world be wiped off the map.”Perth-based doctor Mohammed Mustafa, who signed the letter, acknowledged antisemitism was a real problem in Australia. But he said the adoption of the new definition would silence healthcare workers from speaking out about the horrors unfolding in Gaza.“I have had family members raped in Israeli dungeons and newborns blown to pieces,” said the high-profile emergency physician, who has treated scores of civilians in Gaza who have been injured by the Israel Defence Forces. “The idea that I can’t speak against this or my views will be considered antisemitic is deeply problematic.”The NSW Council for Civil Liberties and Liberty Victoria said the move would have a “chilling effect on freedom of expression and protest rights” and impede legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism.“AHPRA has undermined the fundamental human rights of the practitioners they regulate, and opened the door for the complaints procedures they oversee to be weaponised against those who raise legitimate criticisms of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians,” the civil liberties groups said in a joint statement.The change coincides with an increasing number of complaints to AHPRA about health practitioners accused of antisemitism and Islamophobia.These complaints mostly centre on social media posts following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel – which killed 1200 people – and Israel’s military response, which has killed 73,000 Palestinians according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.According to new data from AHPRA, the watchdog received 497 complaints about racism and discrimination between July 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026. Of these, 148 related to antisemitism and 105 related to Islamophobia.Between July 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, two practitioners received cautions in relation to complaints about antisemitism, four were subject to restrictions, and two were referred to a tribunal. Three practitioners received a caution for complaints relating to Islamophobia.Last February, two NSW Health nurses at Bankstown Hospital bragged about killing and refusing to treat Israeli patients. AHPRA used its existing powers to ban the pair from practising as nurses anywhere in Australia, and they were charged by police.The Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation NSW said that while it supported efforts to address antisemitism and Islamophobia, doctors must be free to raise concerns about patient care, public health and humanitarian crises without fear of regulatory repercussions.An AHPRA spokesman said its expectations of practitioners had not changed. He said the alliance’s definition would be used among a range of reference tools when assessing complaints about practitioners.“AHPRA’s guidance makes clear that while practitioners have freedom of expression, and can advocate for causes, their public commentary must not involve the abuse or discrimination of others, undermine public confidence in the profession, or otherwise present a risk to the public,” he said.Australian Medical Association president Dr Danielle McMullen said the peak doctors’ body acknowledged AHPRA’s efforts to tackle racism and discrimination.“The AMA supports a safe and inclusive health care system for everybody in the community. There is no place for antisemitism or any other form of discrimination in the Australian health system,” she said.A spokesman for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said it needed to examine the details before taking a stance on AHPRA’s adoption of the definition.In a March 2024 letter, AHPRA told the Medical Association for Prevention of War that it had not adopted the contentious definition. “We have not made this commitment,” the letter said.From our partners