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The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), working in partnership with the 15 National Boards, recorded a result which exceeded expectations for 2018/19 as part of our multi-year approach to ensuring sustainable financial arrangements.
Total income from transactions was $203.218 million during the 2018/19 financial year, an increase of $18.402 million from 2017/18. As well as new income of $6.162 million from the inclusion of the Paramedicine Board of Australia, the growth was due to a couple of factors, including an increase in the number of registrants throughout the year, fee increases for seven of the National Boards, with a further seven National Boards freezing their registration fees at 2017/18 levels. Of the seven Boards that increased fees, four increased by 3% indexation or less, with the remaining three increasing fees above 3%.
expenses from transactions were $209.031 million, an increase of $12.456 million from the 2017/18 financial year. This was in part due to increases in notification volumes leading to increased staffing levels; a 114% growth in Queensland matters referred to Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT); the Enterprise Agreement increases effective from July 2018; and our continued investment in new and modern technology platforms.
The balance sheet remains healthy at 30 June 2019, with the largest contributor to this being both cash and cash equivalents, and investments held by AHPRA, which largely recognise registration fees paid in advance by registrants, and accumulated equity brought forward. Overall net assets decreased by $6.131 million during 2018/19.
Our financial year 2018/19 ended with $62.865 million of equity recorded at 30 June 2019, a reduction of $6.131 million over the 2017/18 financial year.
As part of our multi-year financial plan, it is crucial we continue to assess equity levels for all Boards. In some cases, to bring these equity levels down to appropriate levels, Boards have used these funds to cover operational expenditure during 2018/19.
We expect the overall financial performance in 2019/20 to be similar to 2018/19, with planned reductions in equity in 2019/20 before equity then stabilises over the coming years, consistent with our five-year financial plan.
It is expected that AHPRA, in partnership with the National Boards, will continue to be solvent throughout 2019/20, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia (ATSIHPBA). From the financial year 2017/18, AHPRA no longer receives a government grant for ATSIHPBA. Due to low registrant numbers and consistent with the prior year, the continued use of scheme interest income was approved to ensure the financial sustainability of ATSIHPBA.
This statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes that are in the full version of the annual report.
All amounts are inclusive of GST. This statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes that are in the full version of the annual report.