About the National Scheme
1. What does AHPRA stand for?
AHPRA is the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. It is the organisation that has supported National Boards regulating 10 health professions since 1 July 2010.
2. What is the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme?
In March 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) decided to establish a single National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for 10 health professions, for introduction on 1 July 2010. There is a National Board for each profession.
AHPRA is the single Agency that supports the Boards and the National Scheme, and has offices in each state and territory, with the head office in Melbourne. See About AHPRA for more information.
3. When did the National Scheme start?
The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme commenced on 1 July 2010 and Western Australia joined on 18 October 2010.
4. Which professions are included in the National Scheme?
Since 1 July 2010, the following 10 professions have been regulated under the National Scheme:
- chiropractors
- dental practitioners (including dentists, dental hygienists, dental prosthetists & dental therapists)
- medical practitioners
- nurses and midwives
- optometrists
- osteopaths
- pharmacists
- physiotherapists
- podiatrists
- psychologists
From 1 July 2012, the following four health professions will be included in the National Scheme:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners
- Chinese medicine practitioners
- medical radiation practitioners
- occupational therapists
How do I register with the National Board?
5. If I was registered, will I be registered with the National Scheme?
Every practitioner who was registered with a state or territory registration board on 30 June 2010 automatically transferred to the National Scheme.
6. What do I have to do to register with the National Scheme?
The transition to the National Scheme is now complete. Practitioners registered on 30 June 2010 have automatically transferred into the National Scheme.
7. What if I was registered in more than one state or territory?
In the case of practitioners with registration in multiple jurisdictions prior to 1 July 2010, registration records with a National Board are a combination of such records in all states and territories in which practitioners were registered.
Registration types post -1 July 2010
8. What type of registration do I have in the National Scheme?
A practitioner’s registration type may have changed in the transition to the National Scheme. See Registration Transition for details on how different types of registration in different professions and in different states and territories transferred under the National Scheme. Also see the glossary for a list of registration types.
9. What if my registration type changed between April and July?
All former health practitioner registration boards sent their complete register to AHPRA on 30 June 2010. This data was directly transferred to the new registers of practitioners and contains information held about the registration status of practitioners.
Registration renewals
10. What if my registration renewal was due after 1 July 2010?
Practitioners need to renew registration in the National Scheme and meet the new registration standards. AHPRA is contacting all registered practitioners when their registration renewal is due to advise them of the process involved in renewing registration in the National Scheme.
11. How do I renew my registration under the National Scheme?
Most practitioners can renew online, but there are some practitioners in some professions with some categories of registration who must renew in hard copy, because of the additional documentation required. AHPRA will mail a reminder to these practitioners to renew registration when this is due.
General
12. What is my national registration fee?
See the 'fees' section of your relevant National Board.
13. How will I find out what my new registration number is?
Each practitioner’s new national registration number is published on the online register. It is also detailed on the national registration certificate for each practitioner, along with the date practitioners should renew their registration.