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Course accreditation ensures that the education and training required for registration as a health practitioner is rigorous and prepares the graduates to practise a health profession safely.
The accreditation authority may be a committee of a National Board, or a separate organisation. More information about accreditation is available on the websites for Ahpra and the National Boards.
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A court, tribunal, panel or council inquiry that hears matters under the National Law.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, established by section 23(1) of the National Law.
An allegation is a claim of a fact which a person claims to be able to prove. Allegations remain assertions without proof, until they can be proved.
A person may appeal to a tribunal against a decision by a National Board, a health panel or a performance and professional standards panel. Decisions may also be judicially reviewed if there is a perceived flaw in the administrative decision-making process, as opposed to a concern about the merits of the individual decision itself.
The end date of a National Board’s approval of a program of study. In most cases, this will be the date that the next submission is due from the education provider to the accreditation authority so that it can gain further accreditation and approval from the National Board.
The start date of a National Board’s approval of a program of study.
Any individual role/organisation (committee) which has been delegated powers by a National Board.
A formal caution may be issued by a National Board or an adjudication body. A caution is intended to act as a deterrent so that the practitioner does not repeat the conduct. A caution is not usually recorded on the Register of practitioners; however, a National Board can require a caution to be recorded on the Register of practitioners.
A National Board or an adjudication body can impose a condition on the registration of a practitioner or student, or on an endorsement of registration. A condition aims to restrict practice in some way, to protect the public.
Conditions can be placed on a practitioner’s registration for disciplinary reasons, such as because a National Board has found that a practitioner has departed from accepted professional standards. Conditions can also be placed on a practitioner’s registration for reasons that are not disciplinary, such as for a practitioner who is returning to practice after a break.
Current conditions are published on the Register of practitioners. When a National Board or adjudication body decides the conditions are no longer required to ensure safe practice, they are removed and no longer published.
Examples include requiring the practitioner to:
There may also be conditions related to a practitioner’s health, such as psychiatric care or drug screening. The details of health conditions are not usually published on the Register of practitioners.
A practitioner with conditions on their registration must not knowingly or recklessly claim or hold themselves out to be registered without conditions.
Also see the definition of Undertaking.
A jurisdiction which is not participating in the health, performance and conduct process provided by the National Law but is involved in other parts of the National Scheme. New South Wales is a co-regulatory jurisdiction, so the Health Professional Council Authority works with the Health Care Complaints Commission to assess and manage concerns about practitioners’ conduct, health and performance.
The type of program of study delivered by the education provider (e.g. Diploma, Bachelor).
A court outcome or decision may result from criminal proceedings or appeal proceedings.
Criminal proceedings are those which arise from an investigation conducted by Ahpra and charges laid on behalf of Ahpra arising out of a contravention of the National Law.
Appeal proceedings are those proceedings brought by a practitioner in court to review a decision made by Ahpra or a National Board, or proceedings brought by a practitioner, Ahpra or a Board to review a decision of a tribunal or another court.
Criminal offences under the National Law by a person (including registered health practitioners and unregistered individuals) and/or corporate entity predominantly relate to breaching prohibition orders, inappropriate use of protected titles, unlawful claims about registration, performing restricted acts and advertising of regulated health services.
Ahpra also receives notifications about practitioners who have been charged or convicted of an offence contained in a law other than the National Law, such as a criminal law. A Board may take action if the nature of the offence may affect the practitioner’s suitability to practise the profession.
The date a practitioner was first registered in a specific profession in Australia. This date remains the same throughout the practitioner’s lifetime. The date may be before the start of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, as it reflects when the person was first registered in the profession, whether under the National Law or previous legislation. This date does not apply to student registration. This date does not change.
Part of a health profession. A practitioner can be registered in more than one division within a profession. Not all professions have divisions. For a list of divisions, see Professions and Divisions.
The name of the university, tertiary education institution, specialist medical or other health profession college that provides a program of study.
An endorsement of registration recognises that a person has an extended scope of practice in a particular area because they have an additional qualification that is approved by the National Board.
There are a number of different types of endorsement available under the National Law, including:
An endorsement can include more than one 'subtype'. The table below shows which National Boards use endorsements on registration, which groups of practitioners they apply to, what the endorsement is and, in psychology and nursing and midwifery, what subtypes there are.
Company, corporation, individual or organisation, for example, hospital, health practice registered as a business.
Physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder (including substance abuse or dependence), that detrimentally affects or is likely to detrimentally affect a registered health practitioner’s capacity to safely practise the profession or a student’s capacity to undertake clinical training.
An organisation:
The HCOs in each state and territory are listed at Other health complaints organisations. They are also known as health complaints entities (HCEs).
The Health Ministers’ Meeting (HMM) works to progress health issues of national importance which require cross-border collaboration. It is made up of the health ministers of each state and territory government, along with the Australian Government Minister for Health and Aged Care.
The former Council of Australia Governments Health Council is now the HMM.
Immediate action can include:
Concerns about the registered practitioner’s health, performance, or conduct, related to events/behaviour raised within a notification. Also applies to concerns about a student’s health.
It is mandatory that colleagues, treating practitioners, employers or education providers of a registered practitioner or student submit a notification about them if they have behaved in a way that constitutes notifiable conduct. Refer to each Board’s website for Guidelines for mandatory notifications.
See entry for Health Ministers’ Meeting.
Appointed by Ministerial Council to regulate the profession in the public interest and meet the responsibilities set down in the National Law. National Board members and/or state board members and/or committee members are delegated the functions/powers of the National Board.
The details of any conditions imposed by the National Board on the approval of a program of study if the National Board Approval Status is "Approved with Conditions"
The details of any information the National Board believes is relevant when a qualification is reviewed for the purposes of registration.
The Act, adopted in each state and territory, setting out the provisions of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. The National Law has been adopted by the parliament of each state or territory through adopting legislation. The National Law is generally consistent in all states and territories. New South Wales did not adopt Part 8 of the National Law.
The National Restrictions Library (NRL) lists common restrictions (conditions or undertakings) used across the regulatory functions of the National Boards to support:
The NRL requires practitioners to comply with related protocols or standards when meeting the requirements of their restrictions.
The NRL is available at Practitioner restrictions.
The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for registered health practitioners was established by the Council of Australian Governments to ensure that all regulated health professionals are registered against consistent, high quality national professional standards and can practise across state and territory borders.
Under the National Law, eleven professions1 became nationally regulated by corresponding National Boards in 2010.
Additional professions joined the National Scheme in succeeding years: four professions2 in 2012, and one3 in 2018.
1 2010 - chiropractic, dental, medical, nursing and midwifery, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology
2 2012 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice, Chinese medicine, medical radiation practice and occupational therapy
3 2018 - paramedicine
Records a limitation on the practice of a registrant. Used by National Boards to describe and explain the scope of a practitioner’s practice by noting the limitations on that practice. The notation does not change the practitioner’s scope of practice but may reflect the requirements of a registration standard.
The registered health practitioner has:
Any person or organisation can raise a concern about a registered health practitioner’s behaviour or health with Ahpra on behalf of a National Board.
A notification is a concern about a practitioner or student relating to a matter that is a ground for a notification under the National Law. More detailed information about notifications is available at About notifications.
National Boards gather information contained in notifications to help identify risks in the way an individual practitioner is practising a health profession.
Concerns can be raised by contacting Ahpra on 1300 361 041 (within Australia), or +61 3 9125 3010 (outside Australia) or at the Raise a concern page.
In response to a notification, a Board may:
After making necessary enquiries in response to a notification and considering the information, a National Board or independent adjudication body may decide to take regulatory action.
This definition of practice is used in a number of National Board registration standards.
It means any role, whether remunerated or not, in which the individual uses their skills and knowledge as a practitioner in their regulated health profession. Practice is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care. It also includes using professional knowledge in a direct non-clinical relationship with patients or clients, working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory or policy development roles and any other roles that impact on safe, effective delivery of health services in the health profession.
Some National Boards have also issued guidance about when practitioners need to be registered. Search under ‘guidance’ on the relevant Board website.
The location declared by a practitioner as the address at which they mostly practise the profession. If the practitioner is not practising, or not practising mostly at one address, then the practitioner’s principal place of residence is used instead.
If the location of the principal place of practice is in Australia, the following information is displayed on the Register of practitioners:
If the location is outside Australia, the following information is displayed on the Register of practitioners:
In rare cases, when a practitioner has demonstrated that their health and safety may be at risk from the publication of this information about their principal place of practice, a National Board may choose to not publish this information.
Name of the profession being practised by a practitioner. In 2010, 10 professions became nationally regulated by a corresponding National Board.
In July 2012, four new professions joined the National Scheme:
In 2017, the Paramedicine Board of Australia was established and the regulation of paramedics began in late 2018.
Also see the definition of the National Scheme.
A code to uniquely identify each program of study for a particular education provider. This code is issued by the education provider.
The status of a program identifies whether this program of study is approved and currently delivered by an education provider:
Applicants for registration with an “approved” qualification will be qualified for general registration under section 53(a) of the National Law (and other equivalent sections appropriate for the type of registration)
Applicants for registration with an “inactive” qualification may be qualified for general registration under section 53(b) of the National Law (and other equivalent sections appropriate for the type of registration)
Public statements are issued to warn the public about serious risks posed by people, including registered practitioners, who are the subject of investigations or disciplinary proceedings.
Each program of study provides a qualification that may be suitable for different types of registration or for endorsements or other aspects of registration. The qualification type describes what the qualification is suitable for:
Professional qualifications that a practitioner must have to meet the requirements for registration in a profession. Undergraduate and postgraduate Australian qualifications recognised by National Boards are published on the National Board’s websites.
Individual practitioner’s approved qualifications are published on the register of practitioners.
An individual who is registered under the National Law to practise a health profession, other than as a student, or who holds a non-practising registration in a health profession under the National Law.
Date when a practitioner’s current registration expires. Practitioners must apply to renew their registration annually. If the practitioner's name appears on the register, they are registered and can practise within the scope of their registration and consistent with any conditions or undertakings that apply.
Under the National Law, registrants who apply to renew on time are able to practise while their annual renewal application is being processed.
Practitioners remain registered for one month after their registration expiry date. If they apply to renew their registration during this period, they are required to pay a late fee and are able to continue to practise while their application is being processed.
Since March 2012, practitioners have been allocated one unique registration number for each profession in which they are registered. This number stays with the practitioner for life, even if they have periods when they are not registered. Practitioners registered in more than one profession have one registration number for each profession.
A registration requirement records the practitioner’s Board approved area of practice details or supervision arrangements, which are inherently required for Limited or Provisional registration. The registration requirement varies for each profession and is dependent on the profession’s registration standards and accompanying codes and guidelines. The practitioner may only practice the profession within the parameters of their Board approved area of practice details or supervision arrangements.
The status of a health practitioner’s registration is outlined in the table below:
The National Law defines the type of registration that a National Board can grant to an eligible practitioner.
For a detailed description, view the Registration Types Fact Sheet (93.1 KB,PDF).
A reprimand is a chastisement for conduct; a formal rebuke. Reprimands issued since the start of the National Scheme (1 July 2010 or 18 October 2010 in WA) are published on the Registers of Practitioners.
There are currently three professions with specialist registration under the National Law: podiatry, dental and medicine. The Health Ministers' Meeting is responsible for approving a list of specialties for each profession and for approving one or more specialist titles for each specialty on the list. The National Boards each decide the requirements for specialist registration in their profession.
Requirements for specialist registration vary across the professions that have specialist recognition (medical, dental and podiatry). Please refer to the Boards’ specific requirements on their websites. For a list of specialties, fields of specialty practice, and related specialist titles, see Specialties and Specialty Fields. Also see the definition of Specialty Subtype and Registration Type - Specialist Registration on this page.
In medicine, a practitioner can be registered in more than one specialty subtype, within a specialty, or in more than one specialty. For a list of medical specialty subtypes, see Specialties & Specialty Fields. Specialist registration is granted consistent with the provisions of the National Law and is available to medical practitioners who have been assessed by an Australian Medical Council-accredited specialist college as being eligible for fellowship of that college. Ongoing membership of a specialist college is not a pre-requisite for specialist registration. To check if a doctor is a current member of a specialist college, please contact that college. Links to all specialist college websites are published here.
Note: Specialty subtype is also referred to as a ‘field of specialist practice’.
Languages other than English spoken fluently by the practitioner. Under the National Law, practitioners can advise a National Board if they fluently speak a language other than English, and this can be published on the register of practitioners.
This is the start date of a practitioner’s current registration in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme under the National Law. The National Scheme came into effect on 1 July 2010 (18 October 2010 in WA). This date can be different from the date of first registration in a profession in Australia.
A person whose name is entered in a student register as being currently registered under the National Law.
If a practitioner’s registration is suspended, they are not eligible to practise. A tribunal has the power to suspend a practitioner’s registration as a result of a hearing. A National Board also has the power to suspend a practitioner’s registration pending other assessment or action, if it believes:
A health panel can suspend a practitioner’s registration if the panel finds that the practitioner (or student) has an impairment and it is necessary to suspend the practitioner’s registration to protect the public.
An adverse decision made by a responsible tribunal under the National Law about a registered health practitioner.
National Boards can seek and accept an undertaking from a practitioner to limit the practitioner’s practice in some way if this is necessary to protect the public. The undertaking means the practitioner agrees to do, or to not do something in relation to their practice of the profession. Current undertakings which restrict a practitioner’s practice of the profession are published on the register of practitioners. When a National Board or adjudication body decides they are no longer required to ensure safe practice, they are revoked and are no longer published. Current undertakings which relate to a practitioner’s health are mentioned on the national register but details are not provided.
An undertaking is voluntary, whereas a condition is imposed on a practitioner’s registration.
Professional conduct that is of a lesser standard than that which might reasonably be expected of the health practitioner by the public or the practitioner’s professional peers. A more extensive definition is available under section 5 of the National Law.
Each profession has a set of standards and guidelines which clarify the acceptable standard of professional conduct. Go to www.ahpra.gov.au to access the website of each National Board.
The knowledge, skill or judgement possessed, or care exercised by, the practitioner in the practice of the health profession in which the practitioner is registered is below the standard reasonably expected for a health practitioner of an equivalent level of training or experience.
A notification made on a voluntary basis. The grounds for a voluntary notification are set out in section 144 of the National Law.
