AHPRA and the health practitioner boards are regularly failing to meet minimum standards for sharing the progress of investigations with those involved, the national health ombudsman says.

When investigating a complaint about a health practitioner, the regulators are required by law to provide updates to both the complainant and the practitioner under investigation at least once every three months.

The rule was introduced when AHPRA and the 15 national boards were created in 2010 to ensure that all parties were kept abreast of any developments in their investigations.

But the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner has warned that the regulators have often forced people involved in investigations to wait far longer for information.