A note from our CEO

When I joined Ahpra in April, I became the second CEO in Ahpra’s 15-year history. It is an honour to lead an organisation that plays such a vital role in safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our communities, and I embrace the opportunity with respect, energy and purpose. 

I want to acknowledge how far Ahpra has come to establish itself as the national regulator of close to one million registered health practitioners. Australia’s healthcare system is one of the most respected in the world, and a robust regulatory framework that ensures the public can have confidence in the care they receive is a foundational part of it. The work we do underpins the safety, quality and trust that Australians expect and deserve from their healthcare system. 

The healthcare landscape is changing and so are expectations. Since joining, I have made it my priority to meet with and listen to stakeholders across the National Scheme, government, professions and the communities we serve. People have generously shared their perspectives of the performance of the regulatory system in operation. Emerging themes include the need to: 

• continue our important work aimed at eliminating racism and creating culturally safe experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the healthcare system 
• improve the experience for those involved in the regulatory system 
• be a leader in harm prevention, using intelligence to prevent harm through proactive regulatory approaches 
• support a safe and growing health workforce. 

I have taken a visible and proactive approach to demonstrate our commitment to public safety. In my first few months, I led a purpose-driven media campaign to highlight the risks around non-surgical cosmetic procedures and the prescribing of medicinal cannabis. This proactive stance, paired with clear guidance for practitioners, supports traditional regulatory levers to prevent harm and uphold the standards of care expected. We are working closely with the Australian Taxation Office to better understand the increase in accessing superannuation on compassionate grounds.

We have also trialled the use of artificial intelligence to scan social media and websites for advertising breaches, helping to keep vulnerable and targeted groups safe. In the past year, we have continued to take important steps to minimise practitioner distress. We have made improvements to notification processes to support those experiencing health concerns, reduced the use of immediate action in impairment cases, allowed practitioners to use their own treating practitioners, and provided further staff education on how to engage with consideration and compassion. 

Drawn-out processes can be stressful for practitioners. Our focus on timeliness has seen the average time to close a notification reduce by 37% from its peak. 

This year also marked the introduction of our new operating system, the largest systems upgrade in our history. This new technology is enabling faster and safer online applications, setting us up to support a growing health workforce. As we continue to develop our new system and integrate feedback from practitioners, processes are continuing to improve. This is an investment in our future and implementing it has been a great achievement. 

We also welcomed the second consultation report from the Independent review of complexity in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, or the Dawson review. I thank Sue Dawson for providing an informative view of what has been working well and what we must improve. We are not waiting for the final report to take action and have already taken steps to implement the draft recommendations. These changes will improve the scheme and help to build trust and confidence in Ahpra. 

As we close the chapter on 2024/25, it is an exciting time to be part of the National Scheme. A new five-year strategy, informed by hundreds of voices, will set an ambitious agenda for scheme reform. We must continue to evolve to meet the needs of the people we serve, driven by conversations with registered practitioners, the public and our other valued stakeholders. These discussions form the basis of strong, productive partnerships with the power to put those ideas into action. 

I look forward to working closely with the Ahpra Board, the National Boards, and all of our partners across the healthcare system as we move into a new era.

From the Forum of National Scheme Chairs co‑convenors

New leadership

This has been a year of change across Ahpra and the National Boards. Justin Untersteiner succeeded Martin Fletcher as CEO, who completed his final term in December 2024. We thank Martin for his work in establishing and leading an internationally respected regulatory scheme for health practitioners in Australia. 

Justin brings over 20 years of experience in regulation and compliance, having led transformation programs across a range of complex national organisations in the government and not-for-profit sectors. He has a proven track record of delivering change and bringing new approaches throughout a career focused on consumer protection and public safety. 

We are delighted to welcome Justin and look forward to seeing where his experience and expertise takes Ahpra as we move into a new phase of growth and innovation. 

Evolving our approach 

Justin joined us at a time of rapid change in the Australian healthcare landscape. Online technologies driven by consumer demand are disrupting traditional health models. Some of these, like telehealth, can provide greater and more flexible access to healthcare across multiple professions. However, we have seen how they can be misused and cause harm to patients. 

We are proactively identifying new and emerging models of care and their risks, rather than waiting for notifications before we act. New ways of working are being trialled by our Rapid Regulatory Response Unit, with a focus on fast-growing areas including medicinal cannabis and cosmetic procedures. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly relevant to our work. In August, we released guidance on the safe and ethical use of AI in healthcare, developed in close collaboration with technical experts, co-regulators and professional bodies. This guidance will be updated to reflect new developments in this fast-evolving area. 

Scheme stewardship 

The introduction of a new National Scheme Partnership Committee brings together the Chairs of 15 National Boards representing 16 professions, the Ahpra Board and the Community Advisory Council, to bring into operation a scheme stewardship model. The committee has a whole-of-scheme focus, looking at opportunities for consistency, while recognising differences between professions, to ensure we are well placed to identify and respond collectively to emerging issues. 

Growing the workforce 

At 30 June, Australia had 959,838 registered health practitioners. This is an increase of more than 4% since last year, and there are now 3.5 practitioners for every 100 Australians. This continues our work to ensure all Australians have access to a safe, high-quality health workforce. 

We remain on track to implement the recommendations of the Independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners, or the Kruk review. This year, we launched pathways to enable internationally qualified medical specialists and nurses to register here more quickly, while work began on expedited pathways for several other professions. We simplified English language requirements while maintaining public safety, expanding the list of recognised English-speaking countries from seven to 30 nations and territories. 

We reached a milestone this year, with over 1,000 registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners for the first time. Of the registered health practitioner workforce, 1.3% are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. While this is an increase from last year, it is still well short of where we want to be, and there is much work to do to meet our goal of eliminating racism from the healthcare system. 

Improving the regulatory experience 

The experience of going through a regulatory process can be stressful for those interacting with our scheme. This is clear from our interviews with practitioners and notifiers, and has been highlighted through the work of Sue Dawson and her team in their review. 

In line with this review, we are already working on reforming our notifications processes to support better timelines, transparency and procedural fairness. Public safety remains our number one priority and minimising practitioner distress is not at odds with this goal – it strengthens it. When practitioners feel supported and respected, they are more likely to engage constructively with regulation, maintain their wellbeing and continue to provide safe care. 

With a strong focus on stewardship, we will continue to collaborate across the scheme to implement the new National Scheme Strategy and respond to the final recommendations from the Dawson review. With our new CEO at the helm, this will very much be a collective effort, and we look forward to working together in building the future of Australia’s health regulatory system.