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18 Sep 2025
If you’re studying to become a medical practitioner and are about to finish your course, you can apply for registration now.
Getting your application in early helps avoid any delays and helps get you start your intern year on time. If you apply before you finish your study, we can start assessing your application while we wait for your graduate results.
Before you can start your internship as a medical practitioner you have to be registered with the Medical Board of Australia (the Board).
The first step you need to take when applying for registration is to set up your Ahpra portal and link multifactor authentication. Your portal is where you will manage all aspects of your registration throughout your career as a registered health professional.
We have an online portal help centre with step-by-step instructions and videos on how to setup your portal and securely link your multifactor authentication app.
Once you've submitted your application, you can track its assessment in your portal.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Support team (the support team) is there to assist you through the registration process.
The support team is staffed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and provides a one-on-one service. They can assist you navigate the registration process, provide regular phone contact, and advise on any disclosures you made on your registration application (for example, about impairments) that the Board may need to consider.
The support team is committed to assisting you get registered promptly so you can start making vital contributions to culturally safe healthcare for your communities. If, after reading the handy hints below, you would like assistance with your application for registration, please email the support team at [email protected].
You’ll find helpful advice, tips for avoiding common causes of delay and downloadable information flyers on the graduate applications page of the Ahpra website. There is also a page of frequently asked questions that go into more detail.
As part of your application, you may be asked to provide additional documents. You will need to make certified copies of whatever is being requested, so download the guide Certifying documents and take it with you to the authorised officer.
Registered health practitioners, as well as Justice of the Peace, public servants, teachers, and members of the legal profession can certify documents. The full list of authorised officers is in the guide.
When you apply for registration, your application is carefully assessed against the Board’s requirements for registration, which includes meeting the following registration standards:
You also need to tell us about any criminal history and any health impairments that may affect your ability to practise medicine.
It’s important to know that most health issues are not impairments. You do not need to declare well managed health conditions that will not affect your practice. For example, you don’t need to tell us about conditions like needing prescription glasses or a hearing aid and we don’t need to know about short-term illness or injury like a cold or a sprained wrist.
We aim to finalise your application within two weeks of receiving your graduate results. This assumes you have submitted a complete application.
Get your application right and submit it to us before you finish studying, so we can be ready to go when your results come in.
Look out for an email from Ahpra inviting you to apply for registration.
When you are registered, we will publish your name to the Register of practitioners, and you can start your internship as a medical practitioner.
For registration enquiries or difficulties with the online application form, contact us by making a web enquiry or by calling 1300 419 495 (within Australia).
