Consultation: Guidance on Sanctions
The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) is consulting on proposed updates to its Guidance on Sanctions.
This consultation is now closed.
This consultation was held to seek views from registrants, patients and stakeholders on updated guidance used by our Professional Conduct Committee and Health Committee when determining sanctions in fitness to practise cases. The consultation opened on 29 June 2026 and closed at midnight on 16 August 2026.
The GCC is analysing the responses to the consultation and intends to publish our response to the consultation in October 2026.
What was the consultation about?
The Guidance on Sanctions is used by GCC committees when deciding outcomes in fitness to practise cases.
The current guidance was published in 2018. Since then, the regulatory landscape has evolved, with learning from casework and increased expectations around transparency, consistency and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
We have reviewed and updated the guidance to ensure it:
- supports fair, consistent and proportionate decision-making
- reflects developments in regulatory practice
- continues to prioritise the protection of the public
The revised guidance has been restructured to improve clarity and usability. It provides a clearer framework for decision-making, including how sanctions are determined, and the factors that should be taken into account.
Read the documents
The proposed Guidance on Sanctions sets out the framework used by GCC committees when deciding outcomes in fitness to practise cases. It covers:
- the approach to decision-making, including how committees determine proportionate sanctions and give reasons for their decisions
- the range of available sanctions, including admonishment, conditions of practice, suspension and removal from the register
- the factors and evidence that should be taken into account, including harm, risk, insight, remediation and previous concerns
- aggravating and mitigating factors, and how these influence decisions
- guidance on specific types of case, such as dishonesty, sexual misconduct and clinical failings
- the approach to review hearings and interim orders, including the evidence required at the review stage
- how equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations are reflected in decision-making
As an independent statutory body accountable to Parliament, we are legally required (as part of the public sector equality duty) to consider how the proposed guidance may affect different groups of people, particularly those who are vulnerable, have lived experience of barriers to accessing care or services or have characteristics protected by equality legislation.
Separately, we also have a legal duty to comply with the Welsh Language Measure and must consider the impact of the proposed guidance on opportunities to use the Welsh language.
Our consideration are published in the Equality and Welsh Language Impact Assessment.
Read the Equality and Welsh Language Impact AssessmentIn line with our legal duty to comply with the Welsh Language Standards, the Proposed Guidance on Sanctions and the Proposed Equality and Welsh Language Assessment are both available in the Welsh language.
You can also complete the consultation in Welsh if you prefer.
