Information for 2013 Queensland medical graduates applying for provisional registration

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Who is the Medical Board of Australia?

• The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) exists to protect the public.

• The MBA protects the public by:- ensuring applicants are suitably qualified and

competent to hold registration- developing/approving standards, codes and

guidelines for practitioners to follow and abide by, and- overseeing the assessment and investigation of

notifications about health practitioners or students who may be practising in an unsafe manner.

Who is the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

• The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) provides administrative support and assistance to the MBA with regards to registration and investigation matters.

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Do I need registration?

• Yes, to work as a medical practitioner in Australia, registration is mandatory.

• Graduating medical students must hold provisional registration to complete an internship.

What is an internship?

• An internship consists of a minimum of 47 weeks supervised practice including core rotations of medicine, surgery and emergency medicine.

• Interns must only complete rotations at hospitals that have been approved for intern training – you can ask your intern hospital for more information about this.

• After successfully completing your internship, you will then be eligible to apply for general registration to practise anywhere in Australia.

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How do I apply?

• Students who are seeking provisional registration as a health professional for the first time are encouraged to apply online – www.medicalboard.gov.au.

• Students who have been registered as a health professional before (e.g nurse, pharmacist, physiotherapist) cannot apply online. They must submit application form APRA-30. This is available on the MBA’s website.

• Students should apply from October 2013.

Disclosures

• Students with health conditions, criminal history matters or other disclosures must disclose when applying for provisional registration.

• Students who have disclosures are encouraged to apply early; from September 2013.

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What do I need to supply?

• Contact details, including a residential address.• Your principal place of practice (PPP) address. This is

the hospital where you will commence your internship.• Payment of registration fee $348.• Identification (more information on this later).

What do I need to supply cont.

• Some applicants may also need to supply:- details of any criminal history matters- details of any health conditions/impairments that

may affect their practice, and/or- evidence of meeting the MBA’s English language

skills registration standard.

• For more information on applying for provisional registration go here

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Proof of identity (ID)

• You must supply ID to meet AHPRA’s Proof of identification policy.

• Please ensure that you supply sufficient ID to meet the four categories.– Category A (e.g. birth certificate/passport)– Category B (e.g. drivers licence/student card)– Category C (e.g. bank card/Medicare card)– Category D (e.g. utility bill/bank statement)

• To access the policy please click on the following link proof of identity policy

Important ID points

• Your ID must be current• One form of ID must confirm your residential

address listed in your application• Copies provided must be certified in accordance

with AHPRA’s certification policy i.e. Justice of the Peace (JP) certified – certification policy

• If known by a previous name, you must provide evidence of name change i.e. Marriage certificate, deed poll.

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Important ID points cont.

• Please ensure that you supply the correct ID, otherwise your registration may be delayed.

• Note:- You will be registered in your legal name (as per

passport, birth certificate or driver’s licence).- Your name on the graduate list must match your

identification. You may need to check how your university has your name recorded.

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Qualification

• Your application cannot be approved until confirmation is received that you have successfully completed all course requirements of the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).

• Your university will send this information directly to AHPRA in late December. Your university can tell you when this information has been sent to AHPRA.

Suitability statements

The following information is very important!

• The MBA needs to be sure applicants are suitable to hold registration as a medical practitioner.

• It is essential that you are honest and forthright with the following information.

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Criminal history matters

• AHPRA will undertake a mandatory criminal history check on all applications for provisional registration.

• Any criminal history must be disclosed including matters from Australia and overseas.

• Criminal history includes:- every conviction of a person for an offence- every plea if guilty, or finding of guilt by a court of the

person for the offence, whether a conviction was recorded or not, and

- every charge made against the person.

Criminal history matters cont.

• Spent convictions need to be disclosed even if the criminal matter occurred a long time ago.

• There can be serious penalties for not disclosing criminal history matters.

• The criminal history results available to the MBA are detailed and will include information not available to employers or on personal criminal history requests.

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Criminal history cont.

• Examples of what you must disclose:– Shoplifting at 17 years of age – no conviction

recorded, fined $200.– Public Nuisance – pleaded guilty, fined $250.– Motor vehicle accident causing bodily harm, 10

years ago – pleaded guilty, good behaviour bond for two years.

– Possession of prohibited drugs – no conviction, attend drug counselling course, fined $500.

Criminal history cont.

• Examples of what you do not need to disclose:– Speeding fine – fined $100, lost three demerit points.– Minor traffic offences.

• If in doubt – disclose it!• Please read the MBA’s Criminal History registration

standard for more information. To access the standard click here

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English language • To meet the requirement in the MBA’s English

language skills registration standard applicants are required to complete both secondary and tertiary education in English in an approved English speaking country.

• It is possible that some students will not have completed their secondary education in Australia or another approved country listed in this standard.

English language cont.

• Students who completed their secondary education in international schools may have to pass an approved English language skills test prior to being granted registration

• Refer to the English language skills registration standard to see if you need to complete an approved English language skills test. To access the standard click here

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Professional indemnity insurance (PII)

• All medical practitioners who undertake any form of practice must have PII for all aspects of their medical practice.

• Often arranged by employer, however you may wish to investigate whether you require your own PII during your internship.

PII cont.

• You do not need to supply evidence of PII with your provisional application, just confirmation that you commit to having appropriate PII for all practice carried out during your internship.

• For more information on the MBA’s Professional indemnity insurance registration standard click here

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Other disclosures

• Any impairment (physical or mental, disability, condition or disorder, including substance abuse or dependence) that may detrimentally affect or is likely to affect your capacity to practise the profession must be disclosed.

• If you need to disclose a health condition, please contact AHPRA for more information about what to supply with your application

• All disclosures will be kept strictly confidential

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Other disclosures cont.

• Applicants who have previously been registered in another health profession (eg. nurse, dentist, physiotherapist etc) must also disclose:- suspensions, cancellations, refusals, conditions,

undertakings or limitations as a health practitioner in Australia or overseas

- if disqualified under the National Law or a corresponding act from applying for registration or being registered, and

Other disclosures cont.

- if they were subject to conduct, performance or health proceedings while registered in Australia or overseas where the proceedings were not finalised.

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Your obligations

• Ensure all information provided is true and correct.• Serious penalties may apply if an applicant is found

to have provided false and/or misleading information, including their application being refused.

• Up date any changes on your principal place of practice, postal address, name changes during the application process.

• Contact AHPRA if you have any queries.

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Registration process

• Applications are assessed by registration officers within four to six weeks

• Up dates on your application will be provided by email.

• Where necessary AHPRA may need to submit applications to the Queensland Registration Committee for further consideration (applicants will be advised if this happens).

Registration process cont.

• You will be advised via email when your application has been approved and the date registration will commence. You will also be contacted if there are any issues in approving your application.

• Your registration details will be available for viewing on the public register, available on AHPRA’s website, once your registration is active.

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Submitting applications

• Applications can be submitted by either:- Applying online (for those registering as a health

professional for the first time).- Post: GPO Box 9958, Brisbane QLD 4001.- In person: Level 18, 179 Turbot Street, Brisbane.

Submitting applications cont.

• Paper applications must be submitted to the AHPRA Queensland Office.

• Applications and all supporting documentation must be received no later than 13 December 2013 to guarantee application to be assessed before the start of hospital year.

• Apply early!

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Contacting AHPRA

• Any questions or queries? Please call AHPRA on 1300 419 495 or lodge a web enquiry on AHPRA’s website at www.ahpra.gov.au

• Go to the MBA’s website for further information http://www.medicalboard.gov.au/

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Useful information

• Registration standards and policies worth reading:- Continuous professional development registration

standard- Criminal history registration standard- English language skills registration standard- professional indemnity insurance registration standard- proof of identity requirements, and- certifying documents.

Disclaimer

• The information contained in these slides are the property of AHPRA and cannot be re-produced in any other format without first contacting communications@ahpra.gov.au.

• This information is current for 2013 and is subject to change.

• Please visit www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Graduate-Applications.aspx for more information.

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