National Board to waive 2014 renewal late fee

27 Nov 2014

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners who apply to renew their registration in December will not be charged a late fee.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia (the National Board) has decided to waive the late fee for the 2014 renewal period.

About 340 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners with general registration are due to renew by 30 November. More than half have already renewed their registration.

Under the National Law¹, renewal applications received after the registration expiry date incur a late payment fee in addition to the annual renewal fee.

National Board Presiding Member Bruce Davis encouraged individuals to renew their registration before the end of the late period to avoid lapsed registration.

‘The National Board wants to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners by making their registration under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme less of a burden,’ Mr Davis said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners who do not apply to renew their registration by 31 December 2014 will have lapsed registration. They will be removed from the Register of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and will not be able to practise their profession without making a new application for registration.

Under the National Law, a person who has successfully completed the Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice must be registered if:

• they intend practising under the protected title ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner’ or
• they are required by their employer to use one of the following protected titles:
  • ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner’
  • ‘Aboriginal Health Practitioner’ or
  • ‘Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner’, or
• they are required to be registered as part of their employment requirements, even if the protected title is not used.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, whose application is received by 31 December, can continue practising while their application is processed.

This is the third time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners have renewed their registration since the profession joined the National Scheme in July 2012.

For more information

• Visit our website
• Visit the AHPRA website under Contact us to lodge an online enquiry form
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 03 8708 9001 (overseas callers)
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

¹ The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each stand and territory (the National Law)