National law amendments, coming into effect on Monday, will allow the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to issue public statements on practitioners who present an immediate and serious risk to public safety.
They will only be used in exceptional circumstances, most often about dangerous unregistered people rather than currently registered practitioners.
The regulator already has the power to suspend or place conditions on a registered practitioner's publicly visible registration.
The agency will also not issue a statement if another regulatory power is available to address the risk.
Muhammet Velipasaoglu, a Victorian man who claimed to be a registered dentist, is someone the regulator would have considered issuing a public statement on.
Velipasaoglu, who operated a so-called dental practice at home, performed nine root canal procedures on a patient in one sitting.
He dropped and then used the unclean instruments during the procedure, all while smoking cigarettes and talking on the phone.
The patient suffered a severe infection after the $1500 procedure and required emergency treatment and corrective surgery.
Velipasaoglu ultimately pleaded guilty to 12 offences and was convicted and fined $20,000 with a 12-month community corrections order.
The regulator would have also issued a public statement about the Australian Male Hormone Clinic.
The clinic made claims about the benefits of testosterone deficiency treatment that were not supported by evidence, and was ultimately charged with unlawful advertising.
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