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17 Oct 2013
Final-year students can go online now to apply for registration as a health practitioner before they graduate.
Students about to graduate as health practitioners can go online now to apply for registration early.
Final-year students seeking registration as a nurse or midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia will pay a reduced application fee of $20.
The reduced application fee took effect yesterday (16 October 2013). However, anyone who applied for registration between 1 July and 16 October 2013 will automatically receive a $140 refund.
The online graduate application service at the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website enables final-year students to apply for registration four to six weeks before completing their course.
The service aims to smooth the path from study to work in five simple steps. AHPRA and the National Boards are calling for students to apply online now.
Most students are able to complete their registration application online, while others use the dedicated web pages to be directed to the correct application form. All applicants are required to return some supporting documents to AHPRA by mail to complete the application.
Students of approved programs of study for the following regulated health professions can use the online graduate application service now: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, dental practice, medical practice, medical radiation practice, midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology (fourth-year students).
AHPRA Chief Executive Officer Martin Fletcher said AHPRA’s focus was to make the path from study to work smooth for all students wishing to practise.
‘Graduates need to be registered as a health practitioner before they can practise. We want them to go online now and apply for registration four to six weeks before completing their course,’ he said.
AHPRA is urging students soon to graduate to read the registration requirements carefully.
‘If you provide the correct documents up front with your application it will be quicker and easier to process,’ Mr Fletcher said.
This is especially important for people seeking provisional registration to work as a medical intern or pharmacist; or if you are completing a program of study approved by the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia that requires you hold provisional, not general, registration after graduating.
There are five simple steps to graduate registration:
Download a PDF of this Media Release - Final-year students urged to apply for registration now - 17 October 2013 (209 KB,PDF)