FAQ for Education Providers

Under the National Law, information about students is entered on the Student Register. This is not published online and is not publicly available. Each education provider will be notified by Ahpra after all of their students have been entered successfully on the Student Register. However, information on the Student Register is not accessible to education providers or health services. This may be different from student registration in some states and territories before July 2010.

National Boards and Ahpra have no role to play in the academic progress or conduct of students (other than offences punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more; or a conviction of, or where they are the subject of, a finding of guilt for an offence punishable by imprisonment). Education providers manage the academic progress and disciplinary pathways for students independently of Ahpra.

Each Board’s role is focused on registering students and dealing with notifications about students:

• whose health is impaired to such a degree that there may be a substantial risk of harm to the public; or 
• who have been found guilty of an offence punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more; or 
• who have a conviction of, or are the subject of, a finding of guilt for an offence punishable by imprisonment; or 
• who have contravened an existing condition or undertaking.

There are no registration fees for students.

Education providers are responsible for:

• providing lists to Ahpra of all students enrolled in approved programs of study after each academic census date; or 
• for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), providing a list of all currently enrolled students prior to the commencement of an approved program of study; and 
• for all education providers, providing a list of students prior to the commencement of clinical training, 
• notifying Ahpra within 60 days of when a student completes or ceases to be enrolled in an approved program of study or clinical training (e.g. when a student is no longer enrolled due to graduation, deferral, withdrawal, registration as an enrolled nurse).

This can be achieved by completing the student data template which is published on the Ahpra website. Completed files need to be sent to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au or contact Ahpra at this email address to arrange secure file transfer.

Once Ahpra has confirmed with the education provider that all students have been successfully added to the Student Register, education providers are responsible for notifying students that they have been registered as a student with Ahpra. 

Additionally, education providers should: 

• ensure any changes to the staff contacts for student registration are provided to Ahpra, and 
• advise Ahpra of any information that is not available, or is not held by the institution and thus not included in the data file. This should be provided with each data submission, regardless of whether this information has previously been provided to Ahpra.

Under the National Law, education providers need to provide to Ahpra the particulars of all persons who are undertaking:

• a National Board approved program of study 
• clinical training

The particulars required include: 

• name of education provider 
• the student’s name 
• student ID number 
• unique student identifier (USI)
• the student’s date of birth 
• the student’s sex 
• the student’s mailing address in Australia and email details 
• name of the (approved) program of study being undertaken by the student OR the profession they are undertaking clinical training in 
• the date on which the student started the program of study 
• the date on which the student is expected to complete the program of study 
• if the student has completed or otherwise ceased to be enrolled in the approved program of study, the date of the completion or cessation and the reason will be required within 60 days of this occurring.

The format for the return of student data and details of the file information required are contained in an excel template published on the Student Registration page. The file must be sent to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au or alternatively contact Ahpra at this email address to arrange secure file transfer.

Additional questions should be directed by email to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au

Approved Programs of Study

13 of the 14 National Boards register students who are enrolled in approved programs of study.

The Psychology Board of Australia does not register students. Students enrolled in an approved program of study that leads to registration with the Psychology Board of Australia need to apply for provisional registration. Psychology students wishing to apply for provisional registration must do so either at the beginning of:

    a) the 4+2 internship program; or 
    b) their higher degree pathway.

Clinical Training

The same 14 National Boards are required under the National Law to register students for whom an education provider arranges clinical training that does not form part of an approved program of study. For the purpose of clinical training, education providers include universities, TAFEs and RTOs as well as health services, other organisations and in some instances, individuals.

Please note that student registration is not required for those persons who are already registered in the health profession in which the clinical training is being undertaken.

The Psychology Board of Australia does not register students and uses Provisional registration for this purpose. Psychology students will need to contact the local AHPRA office to apply for registration before commencing their clinical training. Details of local offices can be found on the Contact Us page of the website.

All Boards (except Psychology, which does not register students) have confirmed that registration of students will commence: 

1. from the first year of the program for students enrolled in approved programs of study or 
2. on commencement of clinical training

Student registration ends when a student completes or otherwise ceases to be enrolled an approved program of study or clinical training. The obligation rests with the education provider to advise AHPRA of students completing or ceasing their approved program of study or clinical training within 60 days of this occurring.

Ahpra is responsible for administering the National Law. The information required of education providers is directly linked to the requirements of the National Law. See Extracts from the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act relevant to Student Registration (165 KB,PDF)

The Commonwealth, state and territory Ministers for Health were guided by the principle of public safety and determined that the impact of registration on students should be as limited as is necessary to protect public safety. They agreed that the National Scheme would enable National Boards to act on student impairment matters or when there is a conviction of a serious nature that may impact on public safety. The National Law requires education providers to provide a list of enrolled students to Ahpra to enable the Student Register to be maintained.

Ahpra will issue a formal notice consistent with the National Law to coincide with census dates for Universities and TAFEs (March and August) to all education providers who are running an approved program of study.

Ahpra will continue to work closely with education providers to make sure ongoing data transfer is smooth. To promote this, education providers must:

• nominate a single point of contact for the collection, collation and submission of all students from all professions across all campuses/locations 
• provide a single file only that contains details of all students from all professions across all campuses/locations (where relevant) 
• record file information in the sheet named ‘File Info’ of the Education Provider Student Data Template  
• include all of the required fields stipulated either using the template provided or by ensuring any data extracts replicate all the column headers exactly and in the same order as noted in the template, and 
• provide a full extract of all students in approved programs of study to Ahpra. This will ensure Ahpra is advised of any changes to student details and or students who have ceased/completed their approved programs of study and/or clinical training.

For more assistance in completing the Education Provider Student Data Template, please read the Instructions worksheet within the Template and the User Guide: Completing the Student Data Template. 

Note: Ahpra has requested only information required under the National Law. If the information is not available, or is not held by the institution, education providers should advise Ahpra of this when submitting file/s to avoid any delays.

Send populated templates to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au or contact Ahpra on this email address to arrange secure file transfer.

Ahpra will confirm students are registered with the education provider only after all student data received has been successfully processed. Education providers must then notify their students that they have been added to the Student Register.

Where there are data errors within a file, a report will be issued to the education provider outlining which records need corrections. It is important that education providers make the necessary corrections to their data and re-submit their corrected files as soon as possible to avoid any further delays in registering their students.

The organisation that arranges the clinical training in a health profession may be an education provider of approved programs of study, a health service, a private practice or an organisation such as a specialist health profession college or an individual. The ‘organisation’ is considered an education provider under the National Law and must provide a list of students to Ahpra so they can be registered before they begin clinical training in a health profession. This applies whatever the duration or nature of the training.

The education provider hosting clinical training students of a health profession must use the same Education Provider Student Data Template to notify Ahpra of their students. Please read the Instructions worksheet within the Template for advice on how to complete it for clinical training students.

Send populated templates to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au or contact Ahpra on this email address to arrange secure file transfer.

Ahpra will confirm students are registered with the education provider only after all student data received has been successfully processed. Education providers must then notify their students that they have been added to the Student Register.

Where there are data errors within a file, a report will be issued to the education provider outlining which records need corrections. It is important that education providers make the necessary corrections to their data and re-submit their corrected files as soon as possible to avoid any further delays in registering their students.

Students will not receive a registration number, certificate of registration or any form of confirmation of student registration from Ahpra. The student register is not a public register. Health services or other entities seeking proof of a student’s registration will need to contact the education provider with whom the student is enrolled to verify a student is registered.

Education providers are required to notify their students that they have been successfully added to the Student Register once this has been confirmed by Ahpra.

When a student has graduated, has applied for and has been granted registration as a practitioner in their chosen profession, Ahpra will issue them with a profession specific registration number.

Employers or entities hosting students whilst they are undertaking the clinical component of their approved program of study need to liaise directly with education providers about students, including verifying their enrolment status and obtaining lists of enrolled students. The Student Register is not publicly available and AHPRA is unable to release this information.

No, there is a separate process with specific registration standards that must be met when graduates apply for registration as a health practitioner. More information about the registration standards is published on the Ahpra website and individual Board’s websites.

For more information about the graduate registration process please visit the Graduate Applications section of the website.

There is no change to this process and you should continue to provide this information to your state office. You will be informed if there is any change to this process in the future.

When a student graduates the education provider must do two things:

1. Education providers are required to follow the existing process of notifying their local Ahpra office of students who have successfully graduated.
2. Education providers must also advise Ahpra of students’ course completion using the Education Provider Student Data Template and indicate the actual completion date and reason for completion and then email this to studentregistration@ahpra.gov.au.

No, not while the student is studying. The National Boards and Ahpra have no role to play in the academic progress or conduct of students (other than offences punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more; or, when they have a conviction, or they are the subject of, a finding of guilt for an offence punishable by imprisonment). Education providers independently manage their own disciplinary and academic progress pathways.

Once a student has successfully met the course requirements and is eligible for registration, they will be required to lodge an application for registration. It will be at this point that the relevant National Board and Ahpra will have access to the student’s academic results.

Ahpra requests that education providers supply students’ email addresses to enable the establishment and ongoing communication with students. Ahpra may use email to communicate with students about administrative matters. National Boards may use email to communicate about matters relating to their profession, including newsletters.

• A Fact Sheet and FAQ are published on the Student Registration page and Board websites for students.