THE federal health regulator's handling of the faulty breast implants will be examined by a Senate committee.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's actions will be referred to the community affairs references committee, after the independent senator Nick Xenophon joined forces yesterday with the Coalition, the Greens and the Democratic Labor Party.

Faulty Poly Implant Prothese implants have been linked to a higher rate of rupture and a rare form of cancer, and several countries have either told women to have them removed or agreed to pay for their removal.

The TGA has been criticised for advising Australian women that the low rate of ruptures reported to it indicated there was no elevated risk, as it did not routinely collect rupture data.

The Medical Error Action Group's Lorraine Long said the government should not accept the TGA's advice to do nothing.