Annual report highlights workforce growth and stronger safeguards in changing health sector

14 Nov 2025

An ever-increasing workforce and focus on harm prevention in a dynamic healthcare sector underscored the work of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and National Boards in 2024/25.

The Ahpra annual report, released today, shows Australia had 959,858 registered practitioners at 30 June this year — a 4.3 per cent increase on the previous year.  There were 69,880 first-time registrants in 2024/25, including more than 26,000 from overseas, and a record 870,000 renewals.

The report highlights Ahpra’s efforts to support the safe and sustainable growth of the workforce by streamlining registration processes while maintaining public safety. The launch of a new digital portal in March also delivered stronger information security through multifactor authentication.

‘Nearly one million practitioners is a significant milestone, but we know growth isn’t just about numbers. We’re working hard to make registration easier while keeping safety front and centre,’ said Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner.

In the past year, Ahpra took a lead role in addressing emerging risks from new models of healthcare, such as telehealth and single-medicine prescribing, and the rapid introduction of new technologies. This included the release of guidance on the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Ahpra also introduced guidelines for health practitioners performing, and advertising, non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The guidelines help consumers make safe and informed decisions and strengthen safeguards in the industry.

Ahpra’s ongoing work to eliminate racism from healthcare and promote cultural safety were illustrated with the launch of Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy on National Close the Gap Day.

Another milestone was reached with more than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners now registered.

The increase in registered practitioners and improvements to the process contributed to a 19.0 per cent increase in notifications about practitioners — the largest increase since the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme began in 2010 — with 13,327 notifications received by Ahpra. Co-regulators also reported an increase, including the Queensland Office of the Health Ombudsman (18.9 per cent) and the NSW Health Professional Councils Association (9.2 per cent).

Concerns about the standard of clinical care provided by practitioners accounted for 35 per cent of all notifications received by Ahpra in 2024/25.

Despite the increase in notifications, Ahpra worked to resolve more complaints sooner. The average time to close a notification is now the lowest recorded since the National Scheme began, with 81.1 per cent closed within six months of receipt. The number of notifications closed in 2024/25 was 8.3 per cent higher than the year before.

Notifications about boundary violations, including sexual boundary violations, increased by 72 per cent to 1,991. These complaints continue to increase across all professions, amid growing social awareness of, and lack of tolerance for, sexual misconduct.

Mr Untersteiner thanked Ahpra, the National Boards and the professions for their continued efforts to ensure healthcare regulation in Australia is responsive to changing environments and meets public expectations around safety and quality.

‘We’ve made good progress tackling emerging risks and resolving notifications faster, even with record numbers. But healthcare is changing quickly, and we can’t afford to stand still. We’ll continue to listen, learn and adapt. Our focus remains clear: protecting public safety and supporting a safe, sustainable workforce,’ he said.

About Ahpra

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) administers the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, working with National Boards to regulate health practitioners in the public interest and facilitate access to safer healthcare.