Information for students, graduates and education providers

Students who are in the process of gaining a qualification that will enable them to practise as a registered health professional usually do periods of clinical practice (involving direct patient contact) as a part of their course of study. In the interests of public safety, Health Ministers agreed that monitoring of students undertaking clinical practice is reasonable, and in line with the monitoring of fully qualified health professionals.

All students enrolled in an approved program of study that leads to a qualification in a registered health professional must be registered at the start of their clinical training.

Student registration also applies to students who are not enrolled in an approved program of study but who are undertaking clinical training in a registered health profession for which they do not hold health practitioner registration.

Education providers must provide student details at the start of clinical training (which may be at different stages of training for different health professions). “Education providers” includes not only tertiary/vocational education providers, but also health services, other organisations and in some instances, individuals.

Individual students do not need to do anything to register with their National Board. Once you are enrolled in your course, your tertiary education provider, registered training organisation or course provider will liaise with AHPRA and organise your student registration for the appropriate stage of your training on your behalf.

There are no student registration fees.

No. Student details are not published or publicly available.

AHPRA asks education providers to supply students’ email addresses to enable ongoing communication. AHPRA may use email to communicate with students about administrative matters. National Boards may use email to communicate about matters relating to their profession, including newsletters.

No. Students will not receive a certificate of registration or any form of confirmation of student registration from AHPRA. The student register is not a public register. Health services seeking proof of a student’s registration will need to contact the education provider with whom the student is enrolled to verify that students are registered.

No. There is a separate process with specific registration standards that must be met when you apply for registration as a health practitioner. More information about the registration standards for each National Board is published on the AHPRA website (www.ahpra.gov.au)and on individual Board’s websites. For more information about the graduate registration process please visit the Graduate Applications section of the AHPRA website.

Under the National Law, if you are a student enrolled in an approved program of study or undertaking clinical training, you must notify AHPRA through the local office within seven days of becoming aware that:

• you have been charged with an offence punishable by12 months imprisonment or more; or
• you have been convicted of, or are the subject of, a finding of guilt for an offence punishable byimprisonment; or
• your registration under the lawof another country that provides for the registration of students has been suspended or cancelled.

Visit the Contact Us section of the AHPRA website for the contact details of your local AHPRA office.

Any entity (person or organisation) may make a voluntary notification to AHPRA about a student if they believe that the student:

• has been charged with an offence, or has been convicted or found guilty of an offence, that is punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more; or
• has, or may have, an impairment that they believe may harm the public; or
• has, or may have, contravened a condition of the student’s registration or an undertaking given by the student to the National Board.

The National Law provides protection from civil, criminal and administrative liability for those persons, who in good faith make a notification under the National Law.

AHPRA will assess all notifications to determine whether a Board must consider taking immediate action to protect public health or safety. More information about this process is published on the AHPRA website.

The purpose of the public register is to publish only those qualifications that have led to eligibility for registration. Therefore there is no intention of publishing other qualifications that a practitioner might hold.

New graduates of courses approved by the Board are not required to submit certificates or transcripts. AHPRA requests evidence of course completion directly from education providers in a spreadsheet format that details exactly which students have completed the course and when. The spreadsheet also provides for two signatures from the education provider to confirm each student’s course completion.

When there has been a delay in the applicant completing the course and then applying for registration (e.g. 12 months or more) the applicant is required to submit a certified copy of the certificate and transcript.

For more information go to the Graduate Applications section on the AHPRA website.

You can phone AHPRA and talk to one of the customer service team members. From within Australia call 1300 419 495 between 9:00am – 5:00pm Local Time and from overseas phone +61 3 8708 9001 between 9:00am – 5:00pm Australian Eastern Standard Daylight Saving Time. Enquiries may also be submitted via email.

There is no formal requirement but it’s a good idea as receiving supervision is an important development tool. You can also claim up to 15 hours of supervision received under CPD each year, provided you maintain a portfolio that documents your learning goals, records your CPD activities, and your reflections.

Once you hold general registration the CPD requirements are the same for everyone; 20 hours of CPD per year, including a minimum of five hours of CPD in an interactive setting with other practitioners.