We maintain an online Register of practitioners. Anyone, at any time, can use this register to check the registration status of a health practitioner. 

A button to ‘Look up a practitioner’ is prominently displayed on every page of the website, driving public engagement with this service. 

The register was once again the most popular part of our website, with more than 8 million unique visits. More than 14 million searches were made, an increase of 27% compared to last year. 

Traffic to the Register of cancelled practitioners also increased, with more than 150,000 searches made.

We received a record 111,294 applications for registration, an increase of 5.6% compared to last year. Of these applications, 101,564 (91.3%) were for practising registration.

We completed 106,794 applications for registration (see Table 8), an increase of 0.5% on last year. 

• 1,595 (1.5%) finalised applications were approved as registration with conditions. 
• 91 (0.1%) were refused. 
• 2,699 (2.5%) applicants withdrew before a final decision was made on their application. This is a reduction on last year when there were 3,407 withdrawals. The most common reason for withdrawal is the applicant not being able to provide the evidence necessary to complete their application. 

New graduate applications 

We received 43,109 applications from graduates with Australian qualifications, including 22,697 nursing applications. This is a 4.0% increase in overall applications received, and a 1.3% decrease in nursing applications, compared to the previous year. 

• We received 31,187 of these applications between September and March, the peak registration period for new graduates. 
• It took just six days on average after we received evidence of graduation from an Australian university to register these new graduates to enable them to start practising. 
• Our end-of-year graduate survey showed that more than 81% of respondents were satisfied with our management of the graduate registration process. 

End-of-year graduate survey 

The end-of-year graduate survey is a voluntary applicant experience survey now in its sixth year. The results give us valuable insights into the graduate experience of becoming registered as a qualified health practitioner. 

We invited 29,254 new graduates to participate in the survey and achieved a 4.8% participation rate. Overall, most measures were consistent with the previous year. 

Fewer respondents (81.8%) reported being satisfied than last year (86.8%), with some negative sentiment about difficulties in the certification of proof of identity documents. Changes implemented as part of our new online portal aim to address this feedback for next year’s campaign. 

Criminal history checks 

We check every applicant’s criminal history before they are registered for the first time or if we are notified of any potential change to a registrant’s criminal history. 

• 90,380 results were received from domestic and international criminal history checks of practitioners and/or applicants. This is an increase on the 82,458 results received in 2023/24. 
• 60,298 domestic criminal history check results were received with 2,607 disclosable court outcomes. 
• 30,082 international criminal history check results were received. 

Launching a new portal 

In March, Ahpra launched a new case management operating system to enable faster, more secure online registration applications. 

The new digital portal enables practitioners and applicants to manage their registration online. It also offers a streamlined identity verification process with improved accuracy and security measures. 

As is common for large-scale system changes like this, there have been some initial bumps. For example, some types of registration applications are taking longer to finalise. Shortly after the new system launched, registration renewal for nurses and midwives opened. Some practitioners experienced challenges in setting up their portal and required additional support. We expanded our customer service team and hotline hours to handle the increased demand, and more than 510,000 nurses and midwives successfully renewed their registration during the renewal period. 

The new system will continue to be refined and improved based on user feedback. 

International applicants 

This year, 26,703 internationally qualified practitioners gained registration to practise in Australia (Table 9). This is a 6.7% decrease from last year but still a positive result when noting that a 48.4% increase was recorded last year. 

We continued our work in response to the recommendations of the Independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners (the Kruk review). These reforms aim to make working in Australia simpler, quicker and cheaper for internationally qualified health practitioners, when this can be done safely. 

Mutual recognition with New Zealand 

The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (TTMR Act) allows health practitioners registered in either Australia or New Zealand to apply for registration in the other country through a streamlined registration process. The Act removes regulatory barriers and drives workforce mobility for health practitioners in either jurisdiction. The Act supports the mobility of all professions except medical practitioners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners. 

Registration in Australia will only be granted in the same category as the practitioner’s New Zealand registration. Any conditions, limitations or endorsements that apply in New Zealand may also apply to the practitioner’s registration in Australia. 

There was a slight decrease in approved TTMR applications: 13,919 this year compared to 14,452 last year, a 3.6% decrease (Table 9). The decrease is most notable for physiotherapists, while nurses increased by 0.4% and had the highest overall newly registered practitioners via TTMR (12,037).

Supporting employers and recruiters 

Moving to new systems can be challenging. For internationally qualified practitioners, support often comes from recruiters and employers. 

As part of the rollout of our new operating system, Ahpra hosted 20 webinars for employers and stakeholders who work with internationally qualified health practitioners. 

These sessions primarily aimed to inform and support employers recruiting internationally qualified medical and nursing graduates to fill critical vacancies. 

Employers learned how to better support applicants by understanding what documentation must be provided by the applicant and what can be prepared by the employer. They also learned about features of the new operating system that allow an authorised representative for practitioners to view applications in the portal and upload information to complete applications.

Exams for international applicants 

Some National Boards have introduced theory- and competency-based examinations to assess the eligibility of internationally qualified applicants without an approved qualification. The number of international applicants sitting an exam increased by 7.2% from last year.

Nursing and midwifery exams 

Internationally qualified nurses and midwives (IQNMs) are required to complete a self-check of their qualifications before applying for registration. Those who hold qualifications that are substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to an Australian graduate (and who meet the mandatory registration standards) progress to an application for registration. 

Other IQNMs need to pass outcomes-based assessments before being eligible to apply. The examination process for these IQNMs consists of: 

• a multiple-choice question (MCQ ) examination (knowledge test) 
• an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) (knowledge, skills and competence test). 

The MCQ examinations: 

• Enrolled nurse – a paper-based exam coordinated by Ahpra and held at our offices around Australia. Seven internationally qualified enrolled nurses participated across four exams (including re-sits). 
• Registered nurse – the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s online National Council Licensure Examination – Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) held at Pearson VUE testing centres in more than 20 countries, including Australia. This year, 10,349 exams (including re-sits) were held, an increase from 9,859 last year. 
• Midwife – an online exam held at Aspeq-managed facilities. There were 49 exams (including re-sits) conducted this year in Australia and New Zealand, an increase from 38 last year. Overseas midwives who are required to sit this exam can do so from their overseas location, provided they meet the requirements for using the remote proctoring service. This significantly reduces the candidate’s cost and time commitment. 

The OSCEs were substantially streamlined, and demand increased across all professions and divisions: 

• 16 OSCE exam cycles for IQNMs were held, an increase from 10 exam cycles in 2023/24. 
• 3,300 eligible nurses (including re-sits) participated in the registered nurse OSCE, an increase of 42.2%. 
• The midwifery OSCE doubled in frequency and was held four times this year, with 39 internationally qualified midwives (including re-sits) participating in the exam. 
• The enrolled nurse OSCE was held twice during the year, with three internationally qualified enrolled nurses (including re-sits) participating in the exam. 
• Eligible registered nurse OSCE candidates are now offered an exam date within two weeks of making payment or providing a current Australian visa – whichever is received later. The spaces offered to candidates are for exam cycles occurring between eight and 12 weeks in the future. Candidates are also notified if there are spaces available at an earlier exam should they wish to sit the exam earlier. 
• The period between sitting an exam and receiving results has decreased from 10 weeks to between four and six weeks. 

Pharmacy, psychology, medical radiation practice and Chinese medicine exams 

Ahpra coordinated the following exams: 

• 2,442 oral examinations (practice) for pharmacy interns in October, February and June. These exams used a hybrid online and face-to-face model. 
• 106 oral exams for pharmacy practitioners holding limited or general registration with conditions on their registration that required the completion of an examination in practice, or in law and ethics. These online exams were offered monthly. 
• 1,841 national psychology examinations for candidates across quarterly sessions. Candidates could choose to sit the exam in a test centre or by online supervision. 
• 151 national medical radiation practice examinations for candidates across four quarterly sessions. These exams were also offered in a test centre or online. 
• 24 scenario-based multiple-choice exams for Chinese medicine practitioner candidates across two sessions. Candidates could choose to sit the exam in a test centre (where available) or by online supervision. 
• OSCEs for nine Chinese medicine practitioner candidates over two examination periods. 
• Paramedicine competency assessments for 20 candidates. 

Ahpra renewed registration for 870,569 health practitioners. This is an increase of 3.5% from last year. 

When they renew each year, practitioners must declare that they continue to meet their National Board’s mandatory registration standards. They must also let us know if there’s been any change to their criminal history or any health impairment that may adversely impact their ability to practise safely.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are under-represented in our health workforce. Increasing participation in the registered health workforce is a goal of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy. 

Ahpra and the National Boards ask about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural identity in application and renewal processes. This helps us understand workforce trends and the proportion of registered health practitioners who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. 

At 30 June: 

• There were 12,015 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people registered as health practitioners in Australia, representing 1.3% of the registered health practitioner workforce. This is an increase from 1.2% last year. 
• The participation rate is still well short of the 3.8% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in the general population. 
• 100% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. This is a requirement for registration in that profession. 
• Paramedicine had the second-highest representation with 2.2% of its workforce identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. 
• Midwives (including dual-registered midwives and nurses) had the third-highest representation with 1.7%. 
• Medical radiation practice, nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy, paramedicine and psychology all saw an increased proportion of practitioners who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander compared to last year. 
• During the end-of-year new-graduate registration campaign, an additional 607 health practitioners who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander joined the workforce. 

Support for registrants 

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Support team supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, registrants and stakeholders in navigating our registration processes. 

The team continued to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates with their application for registration (especially with any issues that arose or disclosures they needed to make). The team also supported practitioners who were renewing their registration, providing guidance and support across a range of issues and individual circumstances. 

The team continues to use feedback from the new graduate survey, from stakeholders, and directly from the applicants and registrants they support to better understand the barriers to getting registered and renewed, and to improve the services we provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants and registrants.

Students are the health practitioners of the future. 

181,328 students were studying to be health practitioners through an approved program of study or clinical training program (Table 11) as at June 30. 

Education providers supply student information so students can be registered. 

All National Boards except the Psychology Board register students. Psychology students receive provisional registration. 

The student register is not open to the public.