Four more health professions now regulated nationally

An important media release regarding national registration of Chinese medicine practitioners. New professions being regulated by national body, offers better public protection, workforce mobility.

On 1 July 2012, practitioners in the following health professions joined Australia’s national registration and accreditation scheme:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice
Chinese medicine
Medical radiation practice and
Occupational therapy.

Under the National Scheme, established by the Council of Australian Governments in 2010, there is a National Board for each profession, which is supported by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). These boards set the professional standards that each practitioner must meet to be registered.

The four professions join those of: chiropractic, dental, medical, nursing and midwifery, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology in the national scheme.

The purpose of health practitioner regulation is to protect the public by ensuring that only health practitioners who have the skills, qualifications and knowledge to provide safe care are registered. Under the National Scheme, practitioners register once, renew yearly, and can practice anywhere in Australia (within the scope of their registration).

Chair of AHPRA’s Agency Management Committee, Peter Allen, said over 16,000 practitioners transitioned into the National Scheme from local state or territory boards, while nearly 14,000 additional practitioners have applied to be registered for the first time.

“Registration delivers benefits for the public and for practitioners. Greater transparency and nationally consistent standards means the community can make more informed choices about the practitioners who provide their health care,” Mr Allen said.

“There is a national, online Register of Practitioners that publishes information about the registration status of all registered health practitioners. Anyone with concerns about a practitioner can also make a notification to the Board or AHPRA, which can review their concerns to make sure the practitioner is safe to practise,” he said.

AHPRA has urged practitioners in any of the four now nationally registered professions who have not yet lodged an application for registration to contact the AHPRA Customer Service Team immediately on 1300 419 495. Unless they are advised otherwise practitioners whose applications were lodged late are able to continue to practise while their application is assessed.

For more information

Visit www.ahpra.gov.au
Visit the individual Boards’ websites for specific registration information and FAQs, accessible via www.ahpra.gov.au
For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 8708 9001 (overseas callers)
For AHPRA media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200