Registration Standards

Registration standards define the requirements that applicants and registrants need to meet to be registered.

The 16 health professions regulated under the National Scheme each have five core registration standards (described below). These standards are an important part of regulation for each profession.

The registration standards bring consistency across Australia, make the Boards’ requirements clear, and inform decision-making when concerns are raised about practitioners’ conduct, health or performance.

Common registration standards

Whenever possible, National Boards seek to work together to develop common or similar standards across professions.

• The criminal history registration standard is common to all National Boards.
• The English language skills registration standard is largely common to all National Boards, except the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia.
• The recency of practice, continuing professional development and professional indemnity insurance registration standards are specific to the individual National Boards. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice, Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, Occupational Therapy and Psychology Boards of Australia’s revised registration standards took effect on 1 December 2019. For more information, see the related news item.

Profession-specific registration standards

Under Section 38 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as in force in each state and territory, each Health Practice Board of Australia must develop and recommend to Ministerial Council core registration standards. National Boards may also develop and recommend standards about other matters including any other matter relevant to the eligibility of individuals for registration in the profession.

To view the registration standard for each Board, click on the links below:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice
• Chinese Medicine
• Chiropractic 
• Dental 
• Medical 
• Medical Radiation Practice
• Nursing & Midwifery 
• Occupational Therapy
• Optometry 
• Osteopathy 
• Paramedicine
• Pharmacy 
• Physiotherapy 
• Podiatry 
• Psychology   

Codes and guidelines

Each National Board also publishes codes and guidelines to provide guidance to health practitioners in the application of the registration standards. Access this information via our National Board’s Codes and guidelines page.