Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia - December 2024
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December 2024

From the Chair

Image of Iris Raye

Greetings all, congratulations to our more than 1,000 registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners. This is more than just a number, it represents the growth of our sector to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities receive culturally and clinically safe healthcare.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board has been working in collaboration with the National Scheme and key stakeholders to eliminate racism from healthcare.

This year the Board continued to work closely with NAATSIHWP, and on the policy on removing medicine notations, revising the continuing professional development and recency of practice registration standards, and considering the possible role limited registration might have for the workforce.

If you haven’t yet renewed your registration, please get onto it. You can contact Cara and Walter directly at mobsupport@ahpra.gov.au if you need  support or have any questions.

Thank you to everyone for their continued support this year, ATISHPAC, NAATSIHWP, Ahpra, John, Paul and Kerry.

Stay safe over the festive season and we look forward to continuing our work in 2025.

Iris Raye
Chair, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia

Priority news

Don't forget to renew your registration – late renewal is open

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners have until 31 December 2024 to renew their general or non-practising registration. Late fees now apply. Check your reminder email from Ahpra with your link to online renewal.

You can read the renewal FAQs on the Ahpra website for tips on logging in and for more information about renewal, read the Board’s news item.

3G network closure and emergency devices – talk to patients about this change

As of 28 October 2024, Telstra and Optus closed their 3G networks. Devices that depend on the 3G network will no longer work.

Devices including in-home personal emergency alarms, insulin pumps and pacemakers that rely on the 3G network for voice calls won’t be able to make Triple Zero (000) calls when the network is shut down.

People who use these devices will need to contact their service provider to see if their device is affected

It is estimated that approximately 200,000 people who use these devices do not know that they rely on the 3G network to work. We are asking practitioners to talk to potentially affected patients and consumers about the change and what they need to do to stay safe and connected

More information is available on ‘3G is closing: check your tech’ on the AMTA website.

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Board news

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner registration reaches exciting milestone

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners registered with Ahpra hit 1,000 for the first time in September.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners are a unique profession founded on traditional values, complemented by modern medicine. They are clinical and cultural experts who build trust, practise cultural safety and bring an understanding which strengthens health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

They work autonomously or as part of a multidisciplinary team, providing a broad range of expertise in both primary and tertiary healthcare, from administering and supplying medications, to acute and chronic disease management and advocating for consumers.

Their aim is to empower First Nations families and communities to make them feel welcome, safe and comfortable when using health services and to make self-determined decisions about their health and wellbeing. The profession, while small in number, is critical to ‘closing the gap’ by removing disparities in healthcare.

Ahpra congratulates the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia (ATSIHPBA) for ensuring practitioners are suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise, and for working collectively and collaboratively with the National Scheme and stakeholders to eliminate racism in healthcare.

Read more in the media release.

For information about registration by age, gender and principal place of practice, read the September report on the Board’s Statistics page.

Students and graduates

Finishing your studies? Apply for registration now

If you’re studying to become an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 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 into the workforce sooner. Applying early means Ahpra can start to assess your application while waiting for graduation results.

Before you can start working as a practitioner you have to be registered with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia (the Board).

Our support team is here to assist you

Ahpra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Support team is there to assist you through the registration process.

The support team consists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, and they provide a one-on-one service. They can assist you to 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 to 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 still like some help with your application for registration, please email the support team at mobengagementsupport@ahpra.gov.au.

Easy steps to apply online

  1. Create your account using Ahpra’s online services and complete your application.
  2. Upload your documents and pay the required fees. Check that you have provided all required documents to prove you’ve met the registration standards, including certified copies of your photo ID.
  3. Wait for your education provider to send your graduate results to Ahpra.

Handy hints to help you apply

What’s new?

Good virtual care practices

Over 25 per cent of Australians have had at least one telehealth consultation for their own health in the last 12 months, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Ahpra and the National Boards have published virtual care information for health practitioners, the public and employers about accessing and providing safe and effective virtual care.

Practitioners and consumers are increasingly choosing virtual care alternatives as we continue to see growth in the adoption of technology, online prescribing and the use of health ‘apps’. What was once seen as a temporary approach to enable healthcare in a global pandemic is now widely accepted as just another way to see your practitioner.

These documents replace the previous Telehealth guidance for practitioners, which was developed to address the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

This information is not new and relies on the existing principles within the National Boards’ regulatory framework, such as codes of conduct and other relevant standards and guidelines. It has been developed as a helpful resource for healthcare providers and consumers to understand what good virtual care should look like.

Greater protection for the public under National Law changes

The recent series of amendments to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law are now complete, with a final suite of changes being introduced from 1 July. A key update for practitioners is that you can now nominate an alternative name to go on the register, alongside your legal name.

Some health practitioners may practise under an alternative name, such as a traditional name or an anglicised or shortened name. Having both your legal name and your alternative name appear on the public register will make it easier for the public to search the register and make informed decisions about their care.

You can find out more about alternative names and how to nominate on the Ahpra website.

Other changes to the National Law from 1 July include:

  • allowing National Boards and Ahpra to issue interim prohibition orders to unregistered persons in certain circumstances where the person poses a serious risk to others
  • establishing the process regarding renewal of a practitioner’s registration after a period of suspension
  • empowering the National Boards to include previously excluded information in the National Register if there is a reasonable belief the circumstances have changed
  • enabling the Ministerial Council to delegate its power to approve registration standards to an appropriate entity.

Australia’s health system, as well as the reasons and ways people access it, has changed dramatically over the 15 years. These reforms allow the regulation scheme to evolve with it, strengthening Ahpra and National Boards’ ability to protect the public and support practitioners.

More information about the changes, as well as future areas of focus and ways to provide feedback, can be found on Ahpra's website.

Improving experiences when navigating a healthcare complaint

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission), Ahpra and the National Boards have worked on a joint project to explore opportunities to improve the consumer experience of making a healthcare complaint in Australia.

Both organisations wanted to get a better understanding of the barriers that consumers face when making a healthcare complaint and to discover what they can do to support consumers.

The final report has now been published along with supporting resources for practitioners and the public about navigating healthcare complaints. The project found that the complexity of the complaints system places a huge weight of responsibility on consumers to understand how it works. Consumers are also experiencing barriers, whether social, economic or cultural, that are affecting their ability to make a complaint and want a system that is focused on their needs rather than administrative processes.

What we’ve done

To improve experiences for those going through a complaint process, the Commission and Ahpra have:

We will continue to make improvements to our websites and consumer resources. In some states and territories, work is being explored to develop a targeted local resource about complaints options.

Joint statement on family violence released by regulators

The joint media statement on family violence by regulators of health practitioners sets out our unified commitment to prioritise tackling family violence, and our expectations about health practitioner behaviour.

Health practitioners are often the first point of contact for people experiencing family violence. They have a vital role to play in the early detection, support, referral and specialised treatment of those experiencing family violence.

Health practitioners’ conduct must reflect the trust and confidence that the public place in them for safe healthcare. When we become aware of health practitioners perpetrating family violence, they may face regulatory action.

The joint statement is a collaboration between Ahpra, the National Boards, the Office of the Health Ombudsman, the Health Professional Councils Authority, NSW Councils and the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission.

The joint statement, and an Easy Read version, are available on the Ahpra website at Health practitioner regulators united: family violence is unacceptable.

The joint statement is being released during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day – highlighting that violence against women is a breach of human rights worldwide.

Review to ease the complexity of health regulation

The Review of complexity in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the Dawson review) began in May 2024, and is led by the former NSW Health Care Complaints Commissioner Sue Dawson.

The independent review aims to identify areas of the National Scheme that are unnecessarily complex and recommend changes that will improve regulatory outcomes for health practitioners and the community.

Six terms of reference outline the scope of the review. These will consider:

  • how to streamline and harmonise decision-making to improve consistency in regulation
  • how to make complaints management more consumer-driven, consistent, accessible and efficient
  • how to make tribunal decision-making more consistent
  • stewardship of the National Scheme
  • how to manage new professions entering the National Scheme, and
  • the powers ministers have to direct entities exercising accreditation functions.

Consultation paper 1 was released on 12 September 2024.

The review is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

Ahpra’s annual report shows progress in addressing workforce needs

Addressing workforce needs by getting more health practitioners safely registered faster and responding to new risks from emerging models of care are the highlights of the 2023/24 Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) annual report.

At 30 June this year, there were 920,535 registered health practitioners in Australia, a 4.9 per cent increase on the previous year. This means there are now 3.4 registered health practitioners for every 100 Australians. This is the first time the number of registered practitioners has exceeded 900,000, and 96.9 per cent of these practitioners hold practising registration

Improvements to Ahpra’s registration processes have almost halved the time to finalise international applications, cutting the previous 60-day average to just 33 days. There was strong growth in the number of internationally qualified health practitioners with 48.4 per cent more new overseas practitioners gaining registration than in the previous financial year.

Maintaining a balance between access to needed healthcare and the risk posed by some emerging models of care is a key priority for Ahpra, amid the acceleration of telehealth, online prescribing and direct-to-consumer health services. New models of care in areas such as medicinal cannabis and vaping have led Ahpra to develop cross-regulatory solutions with other regulators, such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, to take a system-wide approach to patient safety.

Read more in the news item.

For information about the Board’s work and data about our profession, visit the Annual report page on our website. 

Want more information?

Call Ahpra on 1300 419 495 or 08 7071 5647 if you:

  • have any questions
  • need help filling in forms, or
  • are having trouble explaining to your employer about requirements. You can ask your employer to call this number.

The Board’s website has information on registration forms, registration standards, codes and guidelines, and news. If you have already lodged your application, you may call the registration officer responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner applications directly on 08 7071 5647.

 
 
Page reviewed 5/12/2024
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