AHPRA registration: How to speed up your approval
by Peter Baker on November 10, 2014
View Peter's LinkedIn profile here
Gaining medical registration to work in Australia isn’t easy.
If you’re a Radiographer, Sonographer, Radiologist, General Practitioner or international medical graduate (IMG), you must register with AHPRA (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) before you can work in Australia.
Although necessary, the regulatory hurdles are complex and registration often takes a lot longer than the standard waiting times listed on the AHPRA website. It’s a well-known issue in the Australian media that has also attracted much comment from the Australian Medical Association.
As medical recruiters, every day we meet frustrated healthcare practitioners from overseas who are encountering delays in the registration process. With the right visa and plenty of medical jobs available, the process should be straightforward – but unfortunately, we see waiting times of many weeks and even months.
Tips for AHPRA registration
• Apply early. Start your application as soon as possible, before you leave your home country. The sooner your application is lodged, the sooner it will be processed.
• Provide complete documentation. The most common cause of delays is incorrect paperwork. Double-check your application to ensure you’ve applied for the right category, and provide correctly certified copies of original documents (such as passports or degrees/diplomas).
• Get expert advice. The application forms can be confusing. All too often, we see candidates who have applied in the wrong category, and have to start the entire process again. Before you submit your paperwork, check with a professional to ensure everything is in order.
For personal advice on AHPRA registration, call our team on +61 (02) 9506 7000.
Further resources:
• AHPRA registration process for overseas healthcare practitioners
• Department of Immigration and Border Protection
• AMA website
