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As the end of 2022 is fast approaching, the Board has been focused getting back to business as usual after the COVID-19 disruptions of the past few years. On 20 July a small group of stakeholders met with us to further discuss non-medical prescribing and how this relates to physiotherapy. We are summarising the outcomes of this forum and will share these with the profession.
The Board acknowledges the ongoing workforce issues within the profession and healthcare generally. Ahpra and the National Boards are committed to prioritising strategies to focus on this. We understand that it has been a challenging time and hope that you are taking care of yourselves and your colleagues.
We are now in the registration renewal period, so please keep us up to date on your personal details so that this process can occur as smoothly as possible.
Kim Gibson Chair, Physiotherapy Board of Australia
Patients who have been harmed by cosmetic surgery can now report their concerns to a hotline. The hotline is part of the response by Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia to the Independent review into the regulation of medical practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery.
The specialised team is supporting the newly established Cosmetic Surgery Enforcement Unit. This team understands the challenges for patients who are unsure about whether to report their experiences and where to report their experiences. The team can help them to share relevant information and guide them through the process.
Read more in the news item.
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The revised Code of conduct for physiotherapists came into effect on 29 June. The code gives important guidance to practitioners about the Board’s expectations and the standard of conduct the public can expect from physiotherapists. Revising the code included extensive consultation, which helped to create a more useful, accessible and contemporary document for both practitioners and the public.
We’ve included the National Scheme’s definition of cultural safety in the revised code as well as guidance on how you can ensure culturally safe and respectful practice. This inclusion highlights the important role you have in achieving equity in health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other Australians to close the gap.
The revised code also includes guidance about performance targets and similar business practices.
To ensure patient safety isn’t compromised, any performance targets or similar practices must be consistent with the Code of conduct. This is now clearly spelled out in the code.
To support you in understanding and applying the code, National Boards have developed additional resources. These include a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and case studies which look at how the code could be applied in practice scenarios. National Boards have also developed a Code of conduct principles document, a one-page summary of the code, and encourage you to print a copy and place it somewhere visible. You can find these resources on the Resources to help health practitioners web page.
The Physiotherapy Board of Australia and Ahpra have announced an increase in the annual registration fee for practitioners for 2022/23.
The registration fee for physiotherapists rose 18 per cent to $180 when registration opened on 22 September.
This will cover the registration period from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.
The Physiotherapy Board and 14 other National Boards operate on a cost-recovery basis, with registration fees used to meet the costs of regulating the professions they oversee.
The National Boards work closely with Ahpra to keep fees as low as possible while continuing to meet regulatory obligations and the expectations of the public and practitioners.
This year’s above-indexation cost increase for physiotherapy is a one-off correction and it reflects the costs and equity required to sustain the regulation of physiotherapists in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. Fees for physiotherapy remain the second lowest of all registration fees for health practitioners under the National Scheme.
Physiotherapy graduates set to complete their course in the next three months can take the first step in their new career by applying for registration now. Applying before you finish your studies means we can start assessing your application while we wait for your graduate results.
Registration with the Board is required before you can start work – and means you can work anywhere in Australia.
You’ll find helpful advice, tips for avoiding common causes of delay and downloadable information flyers on the Graduate applications page of the Ahpra website. On that page, you can watch our video, Applying for graduate registration, and check out the accompanying flyer, Quick guide: how to apply.
In this episode of Taking care, we explore the broad and varied work of physiotherapists in different settings and learns about innovations in remote and self-managed care. As we celebrated World Physiotherapy Day on 8 September, our guests also discuss the flow-on benefits of preventive care for the wider health system.
Read more in the news item, and listen to the full episode on the Podcasts page.
A total of 1,792 practitioners opted in to remain registered on the pandemic sub-register for another year, continuing to support the health system. These include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners, dental practitioners, diagnostic radiographers, medical practitioners, midwives, nurses, occupational therapists, optometrists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, podiatrists and psychologists who have opted to extend their registration on the sub-register to 21 September 2023 or apply to transition to the main register for ongoing registration.
Practitioners who were on the sub-register and did not contact Ahpra are no longer registered as of midnight on 21 September 2022. The names of these practitioners were removed from the sub-register; if they wish to continue to be registered, they will need to apply for registration through the standard process.
For more information go to:
The Board’s quarterly registration data to 30 June 2022 is published on its website. At this date, there were 40,018 registered physiotherapists (including 316 on the pandemic response sub-register). Read the latest report on our Statistics page.
National Boards are accepting the TOEFL iBT® Home Edition test for applications received until 21 February 2023.
COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have disrupted many English language tests and made it difficult for some applicants to use the English language test pathway to meet National Boards English language skills registration standards.
In response, earlier this year the National Boards established a temporary policy accepting the following additional language tests for a limited time:
National Boards have now updated this temporary policy which means that, along with the OET computer based and OET@home tests, the TOEFL iBT® Home Edition will also be accepted, for applications received until 21 February 2023.
All other requirements set out in the National Boards English language skills registration standards still apply. There are no changes to any other requirements in the standards, including minimum test scores.
A new hub on the Ahpra website makes it easier to find helpful resources.
The Resources hub aims to support professional practice and help patients make safer health choices.
The hub includes information on requirements for advertising, social media, cosmetics, supervised practice and more. Information for practitioners and the public is clustered according to useful topics, to make it easier to find.
Our Taking care podcast series covers a wide range of current issues in patient safety and healthcare in conversation with health experts and other people in our community. We also publish transcripts of our podcasts. Recent episodes include:
You can access these on the Ahpra website or listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and by searching ‘Taking care’ in your podcast player.