Our advocacy highlighted in Senate Community Affairs References Committee report

In April 2021 the APS provided a submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee’s Inquiry into the Administration of registration and notifications by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and related entities under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

CEO Dr Zena Burgess also provided evidence at the associated Public Hearing.

The report has been released and we are proud to share that the APS is referenced a total of 22 times, including on the following issues:

• registration standards
• some universities do not allow students to commence their studies until registration is approved, whereas others allow students to start studying but they require registration before starting a placement. AHPRA’s inefficient registration processes can lead to delays for students in starting their studies and placements (p.17)
• migrants’ qualifications have to be assessed twice—once by the Department of Home Affairs and again by AHPRA for registration. This is an unnecessary duplication, and leads to delays, increased costs and stress for the practitioners (p.23)
• the decision framework explaining how AHPRA deals with matters and the timeframes that can be expected is not clear and transparent (p.49).

We look forward to continuing to contribute to improving regulatory processes and systems for psychologists.

Further reading

APS submission: Administration of Registration and Notifications by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and related entities under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law

Administration of registration and notifications by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and related entities under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law