National Boards fees set for 2018-2019

10 Sep 2018

National Boards have announced registration fees for 2018-2019.

The fees are published each year by the National Boards which regulate the fifteen registered health professions under Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory (the National Law) .

Registration fees support the development of national standards for the professions, to ensure that the trust people place in registered health practitioners is being met through practitioners who are fully trained and competent to practise.

Registration in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) means health practitioners can register once and practise anywhere in Australia. In most cases, the annual fees will apply from 10 September 2018.

Seven National Boards have held fees stable and four National Boards have increased fees by a rate of indexation of up to three percent.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Health Practice, Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Osteopathy and Podiatry National Boards have announced frozen fees.

The Dental, Medical, Psychology and Medical Radiation National Boards have announced fee increases limited to indexation.

The Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy National Boards have announced fee increases above indexation. The fee increase by these three National Boards ensures their continuing ability to fund the costs of regulation of their profession and their ongoing financial sustainability.

Regulation of health practitioners in Australia is funded by fees from registered practitioners, without any funding from government.

The National Boards work in partnership with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to keep the public safe by:

• supporting annual registration to ensure only qualified, competent health practitioners can practice in Australia
• developing of evidence-based and practice-tested standards, codes and guidelines
• investigating concerns raised about registered health practitioners, and
• accreditation of approved programs of study that lead to registration and endorsement.

AHPRA Chief Executive Officer, Martin Fletcher, said the fees set for all the National Boards reflect that the demands on the National Scheme are growing each year.

‘We now have 700,000+ registered health practitioners across the professions and the numbers continue to grow. There has been an increase in our costs in particular in responding to an increase in complaints and we are investing in modernising our information technology systems in order to meet the public and practitioner expectation of quicker, online services. Mr Fletcher said.

'We work closely with National Boards to consider the fees very carefully. Registration fees must fully fund the costs of regulating each profession in the National Scheme.’

The fees are as follows:

• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Health Practice Board of Australia has frozen its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $150. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Chinese Medicine Board of Australia has frozen its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $579. The Board has significantly reduced fees for new graduates for 2018-19. The annual renewal fee covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Chiropractic Board of Australia has frozen its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $566. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Dental Board of Australia has set its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $663 for dentists and specialists, $589 for dental prosthetists and $327 for dental hygienists and therapists. This limits the increase to indexation of 2.5%. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and cover the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Medical Board of Australia has set its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $764, limiting the increase to indexation at 3%. The annual renewal fee is effective 1 August 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019.
• The Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia has set its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $185, limiting the increase to indexation at 2.8%. The annual renewal fee is effective 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia has set registration fees for 2018-2019 at $170. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020.
• The Occupational Therapy Board of Australia has frozen its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $110. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Optometry Board of Australia has frozen its registration fees for 2018-2019 to $300. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Osteopathy Board of Australia has frozen its registration fees for 2018-2019 at $376. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Paramedicine Board of Australia will be registering paramedics for the first time under the National Scheme in 2018-19. The national fees for paramedic registration, which will include a one-time application fee of $190 and an annual registration fee of $275. The same fees will apply to paramedics in all states and territories and are reviewed annually by the Board.
• The Pharmacy Board of Australia has set its annual renewal of general registration fee for 2018-2019 at $396. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and cover sthe registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Physiotherapy Board of Australia has set its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $140. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Podiatry Board of Australia has frozen its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $378. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.
• The Psychology Board of Australia has set its registration fee for 2018-2019 at $474, limiting the increase to indexation at 2.6%. The annual renewal fee will apply from 10 September 2018 and covers the registration period for most practitioners of 1 December 2018 to 30 November 2019.

A fees schedule for each profession has been published on the National Board websites, including the fee arrangements for practitioners whose principal place of practice is New South Wales. Any variation to the fees payable by New South Wales practitioners is advised by the Health Professional Councils Authority (HPCA) in NSW.

For more information

• Lodge an online enquiry
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 8708 9001 (overseas callers).