Occupational therapists in Australia will join the Commonwealth Government National Registration
and Accreditation Scheme in July 2012. The scheme, which commences in July 2010 for the 10
currently nationally registered professions, will ensure for the first time that all occupational
therapists in Australia are registered health professionals.
Currently, occupational therapists in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the
Northern Territory are registered with State-based registration boards, and will transition
automatically into the new National Scheme in 2012.
Occupational therapists in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, who have never been
registered under State legislation, will be required to apply for registration to continue their
professional practice. This includes not only occupational therapists who work in positions
designated as “occupational therapist”, but all those that hold themselves out in any way as an
“occupational therapist”, regardless of the job title.
The key advantages of national registration is to ensure the safety of consumers of occupational
therapy services by ensuring practitioners across the country are appropriately qualified and
competent to practise. National registration also facilitates workforce mobility across state
and territory borders.
Occupational therapists and their employers will be required to ensure that occupational therapists
in all States and Territories hold registration under this new scheme, commencing in July 2012.
Students in occupational therapy programs will also need to be registered.
Members of both Occupational Therapy Australia and the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia
and New Zealand are working together to stay apprised of developments in the new scheme and will
update occupational therapists with new information as it comes to hand. We aim to ensure that all
occupational therapists are adequately prepared and fully aware of the requirements for registration
in plenty of time prior to 1 July 2012.
Detailed information about the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme is available from:
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency: www.ahpra.gov.au