English language skills registration standard
This registration standard applies to all applicants for initial registration.
All internationally qualified applicants for medical registration, or applicants who qualified for medical registration in Australia but did not complete their secondary education in English, must demonstrate that they have the necessary English language skills for registration purposes.
All applicants must be able to demonstrate English language skills at IELTS academic level 7 or the equivalent, and achieve the required minimum score in each component of the IELTS academic module, OET or alternatives specified in the standard.
Test results must be obtained within two years of applying for registration. The Board may grant an extension in specific circumstances.
Proof of identity
All applicants are required to comply with the Board’s 'Proof of Identity' requirements.
So the Board can meet its primary responsibility to protect the community, the Board must have confidence in the processes used to validate the authenticity of applicants for medical registration. Once the Board has approved an application for registration, the applicant will be notified and required to attend the Board's office for an identification check. The applicant will need to contact the relevant State or Territory office of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and make an appointment for this purpose. A Certificate of Registration and other information will be issued to the applicant at this appointment if all the required standards have been met.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) registration standard
All medical practitioners who are engaged in any form of medical practice are required to participate regularly in continuing professional development (CPD) that is relevant to their scope of practice. This involves maintaining, developing, updating and enhancing their knowledge, skills and performance to ensure they deliver appropriate and safe care.
The CPD requirements that medical practitioners must comply with depend on the type of registration that they hold and on the stage of their career. For example, medical practitioners who are on the specialist register are expected to comply with the CPD requirements of their specialist college. Interns and prevocational trainees are expected to participate in the supervised training and education programs associated with their position.
All medical practitioners will be required to make a declaration that they have met the standard and have completed the necessary CPD when they apply for renewal of registration. The Board requires medical practitioners to keep records that may be subject to audit.
The standard covers the CPD obligations for medical practitioners in a range of circumstances.
Recency of practice registration standard
To ensure that they are able to practise competently and safely, medical practitioners must have recent practice in the fields in which they intend to work during the period of registration for which they are applying.
The specific requirements for this registration standard depend on the field of practice, the level of experience of the practitioner and the length of absence from the field. For example, there are no specific requirements for an absence of less than one year. When there has been an absence of between one and three years, medical practitioners are required to complete a minimum of one year’s pro rata of CPD activities relevant to the intended scope of practice before recommencement. This is designed to maintain and update knowledge and clinical judgment.
If a practitioner proposes to change their field of practice, the Board will consider whether the practitioner’s peers would view the change as a normal extension or variation within a field of practice, or a change that would require specific training and demonstration of competence.
Practitioners who are unable to meet the recency of practice requirements set out in the standard will be required to submit a plan for re-entry to practice for the Board’s consideration.
They may also be required to complete specific education and/or assessment, or to work under supervision or oversight, before being granted unrestricted registration.
Professional indemnity insurance registration standard
All registered medical practitioners who undertake any form of practice must have professional indemnity insurance (PII), or some alternative form of indemnity cover that complies with this standard, for all aspects of their medical practice.
Initial registration and annual renewal of registration will require a declaration that the medical practitioner will be covered for all aspects of practice for the whole period of the registration.
The standard applies from 1 July 2010 and may be subject to audit.
* Professional Indemnity Insurance Registration Standard (321 KB,PDF)
Criminal history registration standard
The Board has the power to check the criminal history of registered medical practitioners.
Medical practitioners will be required, at annual renewal (section 109 of the National Law), and at any time during the registration period (section 130 of the National Law) to advise the Board of any charges for offences punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more, and any convictions or findings of guilt for offences punishable by imprisonment.
Before making a decision about an application for renewal of registration, or at any time during the registration period, the Board may check a registrant’s criminal history. The Board can do so by obtaining a written report from CrimTrac, a police commissioner or an entity in a jurisdiction outside Australia that keeps records about the criminal history of persons in that jurisdiction. It has this power under sections 79 and 135 of the National Law.
The Board’s Criminal history registration standard sets out the factors that the Board will consider when it decides whether a medical practitioner’s criminal history is relevant to the practice of medicine.