April 2025

• From the Chair
• Priority news
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy
  • Close the Gap Day
  • Discrimination and racism will not be tolerated: Joint statement from Ahpra and the National Boards
  • New Ahpra practitioner portal
• Board news
  • Engagement and Support Team changes
• Across the National Scheme
  • Ahpra appoints new CEO
  • New case studies added to guidance for practitioners using social media 
  • Research provides clues to boost health workforce retention
• Want more information?

From the Chair

Greetings all, I’m excited to announce that the joint video with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board and Nursing and Midwifery Board will be launched on the lands of the Larrakia people in June 2025.The video is part of a joint project to create culturally safe and respectful relationships between Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners and nurses/midwives.

The Board continues working in collaboration with the National Scheme and key stakeholders to eliminate racism from healthcare, building the health workforce capability in family, domestic and sexual violence. We congratulate everyone involved in developing the scheme’s newly launched Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy. You can read more about the policy and what it means for members below.

Iris Raye
Chair, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia

Priority news

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy

Ahpra and the National Scheme have announced their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy, informed by extensive consultation and the expertise of Professor Yin Paradies, a leading scholar in racism and cultural safety.

This policy has been developed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to create a safe, valued, and respectful environment within Ahpra and the National Boards.

It forms a critical step in enacting Ahpra and the National Scheme’s policy and legislative commitments to eliminating racism.

Racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is persistent, harmful, and structurally embedded. This policy acknowledges those realities and provides clear mechanisms for preventing, addressing, and eliminating racism within Ahpra, the National Boards and committees. It establishes stronger reporting pathways and introduces the Racism-related Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-only Special Issues Committee (RATSISIC) to ensure culturally informed responses to racism.

Download a copy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy. You'll find this under 'Ahpra, Ahpra Board and National Boards information', click on the Ahpra tab.

Close the Gap Day

On March 19, the Close the Gap campaign marked this year’s theme of ‘agency, leadership, and reform underscore the pivotal role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and communities continue to play in embedding the four Priority Reform Areas.’

Ahpra’s work to create a culturally safe complaints process was featured in this year’s report, and the ongoing critical reform work, building on the work enshrining cultural safety in the National Law.

It’s an honour to be featured in this year’s report alongside leaders and their organisations who have shown steadfast commitment to advancing the rights and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The report is available on the Close the Gap website.

Karl Briscoe, Co-Chair of Close the Gap and Ahpra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Safety Strategy Group, said, ‘We are proud to share this report, which not only highlights the achievements made in the pursuit of equity and justice but also reinforces the importance of continuing to elevate Indigenous voices.

‘This campaign, our work, is about amplifying and championing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions and showing how our leadership is the key to achieving genuine, sustainable reform,’ he said.

Discrimination and racism will not be tolerated: Joint statement from Ahpra and the National Boards

More than 900,000 registered health practitioners provide much-needed safe healthcare every day in Australia. 

Safe healthcare relies on trust between patients and practitioners. Discrimination and racism erode that trust and put lives at risk. 

There is no place for discrimination, racism or intolerance in healthcare.

Ahpra and the National Boards remind registered health practitioners of their obligations under their codes of conduct and ethics to provide care that is free of discrimination and racism. The codes of conduct and ethics set out the legal requirements, professional behaviour and conduct expectations for registered health practitioners in Australia. The codes underpin the requirements for the delivery of safe and respectful practice. 

The Code of conduct for nurses, for example, states that nurses must:

• respect diverse cultures, beliefs, gender identities, sexualities and experiences of people, including among team members
• adopt practices that respect diversity, avoid bias, discrimination and racism, and challenge belief based upon assumption. 

The codes for all professions include similar requirements. 

Practitioners are also reminded of their obligations when using social media, and encouraged to review the social media guidance which has been updated following the release of the joint statement. The updates include prioritising the information around public comment and trust in the professions, new case studies for social media activities likely to warrant an investigation, and further professionalism pitfalls to be aware of when using social media.  

Practitioners must also comply with the standards of their workplace and adopt practices that foster a respectful, inclusive and safe healthcare environment. 

Read the full statement on the Ahpra website.

New Ahpra practitioner portal

Ahpra recently launched a new online practitioner portal, and new digital smart forms for application and renewal of registration.

This means next time you log in, the experience will be a bit different. When you next renew, you’ll be asked to migrate your existing account to the new practitioner portal. We’ve introduced multifactor authentication (also called two-step verification) for additional account security. For more information on setting up your portal and two-step verification, visit our Ahpra portal help centre.

We’ve also stopped using the 10-digit User ID and have switched to an email username. As your email is now your user ID, it must be unique to you. It cannot be one you share with anyone else.

You won’t be able to use an email shared by your family, or the reception email used at your clinic.

Once you’ve set up your practitioner portal, you will use it to manage all aspects of your registration.

If you’re lodging a new application for provisional, limited, general or specialist registration, or endorsement, you’ll be using our new digital smart forms. The forms step you through the process, showing only the questions that are relevant to your application. You can complete your proof of identity check and upload your documents all through the portal.

When it’s time to renew your registration, we will provide detailed instructions on how to set up your new Ahpra practitioner portal.

Read more about what you can do in the new practitioner portal.

Help protect your data

Help protect your data by being alert to scammers and only logging in to the Ahpra portal direct from the Ahpra website: www.ahpra.gov.au.

We will only ask you to log in to your Ahpra portal when you’re due to renew your registration.

Multifactor authentication adds an extra layer of security, protecting your online data.

Any questions?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, from all professions, who have questions about the new case management system can contact the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement and Support team at mobengagementsupport@ahpra.gov.au.  

Board news

Engagement and Support Team changes

There have been some changes to the Engagement and Support Team.

We say farewell and a big thank you to Walter Dorrington for stepping in while Chantelle Bastow was on maternity leave. We welcome back Chantelle and Alyssa Werhman who also returns from maternity leave.

Congratulations to Cara McDermott for her permanent role.

Chantelle and Alyssa are working part-time and Cara full-time. Please reach out to the team for any questions and support around registration or the new practitioner portal.

Across the National Scheme

Ahpra appoints new CEO

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has appointed Justin Untersteiner as Chief Executive Officer.

Justin, who will join Ahpra in April, brings over 20 years’ experience in regulation and compliance, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

Ahpra Board Chair Gill Callister PSM said that Justin was an impressive leader who stood out in a field of domestic and international candidates.

‘Justin’s experience in leading change and bringing new approaches, combined with his knowledge of regulation and compliance, made him a standout candidate,’ she said.

‘Justin’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Ahpra, and the Board is looking forward to working with him to build the next phase of Australia’s health regulation system.’

Justin succeeds Martin Fletcher, who completed his final term as CEO in December 2024.

Learn more about the new CEO.

New case studies added to guidance for practitioners using social media 

Ahpra and the National Boards have made some updates to the social media guidance to ensure the guidance remains relevant and useful to practitioners.  

The updates include prioritising the information around public comment and trust in the professions to highlight the recent joint statement on discrimination and racism, new case studies for social media activities likely to warrant an investigation, and further professionalism pitfalls to be aware of when using social media.  

While these additions do not change the underlying guidance for practitioners, they provide further clarity on emerging issues. Ahpra and the National Boards will assess the need to conduct a full review of the guidance in the future, with an opportunity for you to provide feedback.  

Read the latest additions to the social media guidance on our website.  

Research provides clues to boost health workforce retention

Most Australian health practitioners surveyed say they want to stay in their profession, however more than one in 10 are unsure about their future or have plans to leave within a year, with mental burnout a key reason why.

New research from Ahpra, published in the Australian Health Review, identifies the factors driving practitioners’ choices to stay or leave the health workforce, across nine regulated health professions.

Despite a regulated workforce of 920,535 health practitioners in 2024, forecasts predict that the sector will struggle to meet the demands of Australia’s growing and ageing population in coming years.

Ahpra’s Workforce Retention and Attrition Project found the top five reasons influencing practitioners to leave their profession included mental burnout, retirement, feeling undervalued/unrecognised, lack of professional satisfaction, and work no longer being fulfilling.

Chair of the Psychology Board of Australia and Co-convener of the Forum of National Registration and Accreditation Scheme Chairs, Rachel Phillips said improvements in these areas could have a major impact on increasing retention in the health workforce and, importantly, improving the health and wellbeing of practitioners.

‘A resilient health workforce is essential to keeping our communities safe, healthy and growing, and the wellbeing of our practitioners goes hand-in-hand with that,’ she said.

‘These findings highlight the importance of a working environment that is both professionally fulfilling and supportive of practitioner wellbeing – not only for the welfare of our valued practitioners themselves, but also the health needs of the patients they care for.’

Read more about health workforce retention.

Want more information?

Call Ahpra on 1300 419 495 or 08 7071 5647 if you:

• have any questions
• need help filling in forms, or
• are having trouble explaining to your employer about requirements. You can ask your employer to call this number.

The Board’s website has information on registration forms, registration standards, codes and guidelines, and news. If you have already lodged your application, you may call the registration officer responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner applications directly on 08 7071 5647.