Note: Supplementary tables with registration data are available on the Downloads page.
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For more detailed information about the professions that have divisions: Chinese medicine, dental, medical radiation practice, and nursing and midwifery - please refer to the list published on the Professions and Divisions page on AHPRA's website, and the individual profession summaries published on the Downloads page.
AHPRA renewed registration for 608,711 health practitioners across Australia this year.
There are three main annual renewal periods every year: nurses and midwives by 31 May; most medical practitioners by 30 September; and other health practitioners by 30 November. This year, 98.07% of all eligible health practitioners renewed their registration online; an increase of 19,803 practitioners compared with last year (an increase of 3.43%).
The continued high rate of online renewals is a significant achievement. It enhances the practitioner experience, reduces the costs associated with sending hard-copy reminders and improves efficiency.
We are committed to continuously improving the systems and processes that make it easier for health practitioners to use our online services. One example of this is the significant effort that went into streamlining the registration renewal process for the nursing and midwifery renewal campaign between March and May 2016. AHPRA worked with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to:
The survey results were positive, with 95% of respondents saying the email reminder instructions were perfectly or mostly understood, and 85% saying they did not need to contact AHPRA for assistance while completing their renewal. Our customer service team recorded noticably fewer incoming telephone enquiries (17% less) and web inquiries (30% less) about the renewal process compared with last year. Over 98% of nurses and midwives renewed online and on time - the Board's highest ever online renewal rate.
AHPRA's customer service team manages telephone and online web enquiries from the community and health practitioners.
This year the team handled 382,207 phone and 44,603 web enquiries. Of the calls received, 75.47% were answered within 90 seconds and 92.74% were resolved on first contact, exceeding our service level agreement. In addition, 93% of callers responded with 'very satisfied' when asked to rate their interaction with our customer service team.
AHPRA delivers examinations to support the registration requirements of the Pharmacy Board of Australia, the Psychology Board of Australia and the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia.
This year, 1,802 oral examinations were held for pharmacy candidates and 507 computer-based examinations were held for eligible provisional psychologists. An additional eight computerbased examinations were held for eligible medical radiation practice candidates.
Grandparenting arrangements for the four professions that joined the National Scheme in 2012 ended from 30 June 2015. These provisions under the National Law provided a possible pathway to registration for existing practitioners who did not have contemporary, approved qualifications.
The four professions involved were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice, Chinese medicine, medical radiation practice and occupational therapy. A significant number of complex applications for registration were received in the final month leading up to the end of the provisions, most notably for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice and Chinese medicine professions.
Registration teams in AHPRA's South Australia office (for Chinese medicine) and Northern Territory office (for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practice) provided additional support to the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health Practice Board of Australia and the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, respectively, to manage the high volume of applications.
The number of registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners increased by over 50% - from 391 to 587 - by the end of 2015/16; our fastest growing health profession in the National Scheme this year.
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AHPRA and the National Boards recognise the importance of contributing to improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the growth and development of the Indigenous workforce that provides health care within the community.
One way the National Scheme contributes to this is by facilitating the collection of data on the number of registered health practitioners who identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. From 2015/16, we are reporting these data in our annual report.
This information is used for workforce policy and planning purposes. For example, it helps with implementing and measuring outcomes of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework (2011-2015), which prioritises Commonwealth, state and territory government initiatives to increase participation by Indigenous peoples in the health workforce.
In 2015, Australia's estimated resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was 3% of the total population and 2.4% of those were aged 18 years and older. Table R2 indicates that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in 13 of the health professions was 0.7% of the national health workforce in 2015, up 0.1% from 2013. The highest participation rate in 2015 was for Indigenous nurses and midwives, who comprised 1% of that workforce. The data do not reflect the 100% Indigenous status of practitioners registered with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Board of Australia. When these practitioners are included, the overall participation rate of Indigenous practitioners in the health workforce rises to 0.8%.
During 2016/17, AHPRA and the National Boards will consider additional ways to ensure that the health and cultural needs of Indigenous peoples are addressed through the policies, standards and operation of the National Scheme.
Registration data supplied by accredited education providers indicate that 153,710 students were studying in Australia to be health practitioners during 2015/16.
Under the National Law, a National Board must decide whether students who are enrolled in an approved program of study or undertaking clinical training should be registered. A student does not need to apply for registration, as education providers are responsible for arranging the registration of all their students with AHPRA. Student registration is free and the register is not made public. All National Boards have decided to register students, with the exception of the Psychology Board of Australia, which requires provisional registration.
The accuracy of the student registration information AHPRA receives depends on the quality of data supplied to us by education providers. We continue to work with more than 120 education providers to improve the exchange of information and identify the status of students to ensure that information is accurate, particularly in relation to completion/ cessation of students who may have otherwise remained on the student register.
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A clinical training education provider could be a university, registered training organisation, hospital, health facility, private practice or retail outlet (e.g. retail pharmacy). Because of this, exact numbers of clinical training providers are largely unknown to AHPRA and we are reliant on the clinical training figures reported to us under section 91(1) of the National Law. Due to the nature of the clinical training provisions within the National Law, the student numbers reported may fluctuate significantly each year.
AHPRA requested 66,698 domestic and international criminal record checks of practitioners this year, an increase of 28.4%.
While there has been a moderate increase in domestic criminal record checks, most of the increase is due to a new approach to checking international criminal history, which was introduced in 2014/15. Of all criminal record checks obtained in 2015/16:
Overall, 4.9% (3,275) of the results indicated that the applicant had a disclosable court outcome. All disclosable outcomes are assessed in accordance with the criminal history standard, which is common across all 14 National Boards. In the majority of cases, the applicant was granted registration because the nature of the individual's disclosable court outcome had little relevance to their ability to practise in their profession safely and competently.
One applicant was refused registration due to their disclosable court outcome. A further 10 practitioners had conditions imposed on their registration.
Under the National Law, applicants for initial registration must undergo criminal history checks.
Applicants seeking registration must disclose any criminal history information when they apply for registration, and practitioners renewing their registration are required to disclose if there has been a change to their criminal history status within the preceding 12 months.
International applicants seeking registration in Australia and certain registered health practitioners, including those registered under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition arrangements, need to obtain an independent international criminal history check from an AHPRA-approved supplier, who will provide the report to them as well as directly to us. A check is required when an applicant or health practitioner declares an international criminal history and/or has lived, or been primarily based, in any country other than Australia for six consecutive months or more when aged 18 years or over.
AHPRA may also seek a report from a police commissioner or an entity in a jurisdiction outside Australia that has access to records about the criminal history of people in that jurisdiction. The criminal history reports are used as one part of assessing an applicant's suitability to hold registration. There is a common criminal history standard across all 14 National Boards.
While a failure to disclose a criminal history by a registered health practitioner does not constitute an offence under the National Law, such a failure may constitute behaviour for which a National Board may take health, conduct or performance action.
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AHPRA conducts regular audits of health practitioners on behalf of the National Boards. Audits provide assurance that practitioners understand the registration standards for their profession and are meeting these obligations. During an audit, a practitioner is contacted and required to provide evidence in support of the declarations made in their previous year's registration renewal application.
Since we began conducting audits in 2012, the vast majority of practitioners audited have been found to comply with registration standards. In that time, 3% of those audited have either surrendered their registration or moved to non-practising registration while being audited. Analysis of the circumstances of those practitioners demonstrates two clear groups: practitioners residing overseas and those no longer practising but maintaining registration.
In 2015/16, AHPRA audited 6,125 practitioners across all 14 professions. All National Boards audited compliance with one or more of the registration standards.
For all audits initiated and completed this year, 93% of practitioners were found to be in full compliance with the registration standards being audited. While this is a 3% decrease from 2014/15, when 96% were found to be fully compliant, less than 1% of all audited practitioners were formally cautioned in 2015/16 - the same as last year. We analysed the audit outcomes to better understand the reasons for this change. In some professions, practitioners were not always fully aware of specific requirements for continuing professional development. This is being addressed through increased communication about what is required to comply with professional development standards.
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All registered practitioners are required to comply with a range of national registration standards. Each time a practitioner applies to renew their registration they must make a declaration that they have met the registration standards for their profession.
Our auditing function provides additional assurance to the public, Boards and practitioners that the requirements of the National Law are understood and that practitioners are compliant with their Board's registration standards. During an audit a practitioner is required to provide evidence of the declarations they made in the previous year's renewal of registration.
The standards that may be audited are continuing professional development, recency of practice, professional indemnity insurance arrangements and criminal history.
All Boards have adopted an educational approach to conducting audits, seeking to balance the protection of the public with the use of appropriate regulatory force to manage those practitioners found to be less than fully compliant with the audited standards. Practitioners who are found to have 'not quite' met the registration standard but are able to provide evidence of achieving full compliance during the audit period, are managed through education to achieve full compliance.
For example, we may encounter a number of practitioners across different professions who have gaps in compliance with continuing professional development, most commonly by being one or two hours/units short of the required amount. In these instances, all Boards have accepted that the practitioner can complete the required hours before the closure of the audit. These practitioners are recorded as being 'compliant (education)' and this year represent 3% of all completed audits across the 14 professions.
When an audit finds that a practitioner has not met the requirements of the registration standards, all Boards follow an approach consistent with the regulatory principles, which aims to work with the practitioner to ensure compliance before the next period of renewal.
This may include formally cautioning the practitioner about the importance of complying with registration standards. All matters that involve issuing a caution or placing conditions on a registration are subject to a 'show cause' process. The show cause process alerts the practitioner of the Board's intended action and gives the practitioner an opportunity to respond before a final decision is made.