Cultural safety education requirements for specialist registration

The Board’s Registration standard: Specialist registration sets out the requirements for specialist registration. 

To be eligible for specialist registration from 21 October 2024, you need to have successfully completed cultural safety education. 

Ahpra is currently developing a multi-year National Cultural Safety Accreditation and Continuing Professional Development and upskilling Framework and Strategy. This aims to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples by eliminating racism from the healthcare system. 

The Framework and Strategy will develop nationally consistent standards, codes, and guidelines for registered practitioners on cultural safety for accreditation and continuing professional development. 

Until this is in place, the following applies. 

To meet the Board’s requirements for cultural safety education, you must complete a course that meets the minimum requirements set out in the Board’s Policy: Cultural safety education requirements for specialist registration. 

Individuals are exempt from this requirement if they are currently registered or have previously been registered (with any registration type) and practised as a medical practitioner in Australia within the past three years.  

If you are not exempt from the requirement, you will need to complete appropriate cultural safety education. This cultural safety education must be undertaken by a provider that has been approved by the Board, on the advice of Ahpra's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Group.

The approved training will include:

• Cultural awareness course
  Individuals should complete a cultural awareness course before commencing any cultural safety education workshops. Cultural awareness courses provide a foundation for cultural safety training by introducing individuals to cultural awareness in Australia, the historical context to health realities, and the application to health practice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals.¹ The training can be self-paced individual learning using online modules.
• Cultural safety education
  Cultural safety education courses must be interactive and in a face-to-face format (this can include online interactive elements). The course should cover the cultural safety outcomes as listed in the policy. The duration of the course should be, at a minimum, the equivalent of a full day workshop.

Approved courses

The following cultural safety courses have been approved by the Medical Board as suitable for meeting cultural safety education requirements.

Evidence guide

The following documents outline the documentary evidence that you must submit with your application for specialist registration:

• Evidence guide: Eligibility for specialist registration (187 KB, PDF)
• Policy: Cultural safety education requirements for specialist registration (138 KB, PDF)

1. AIDA: Cultural Awareness – Online Training. https://aida.org.au/cultural-safety-program/cultural-awareness-foundations-of-cultural-safety. Accessed 1 October 2024.