Physiotherapy Board of Australia - April 2025
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April 2025

Issue 35 - April 2025

From the Chair

Photo of Paula Harding

Welcome to the Physiotherapy Board’s first newsletter for 2025 and my first as Chair of the Board. I am excited to begin my term as Chair and continuing my third term as the Victorian practitioner member.

My thanks go to our previous Chair, Kim Gibson, for her contribution to the Board over the past twelve years, including her role in leading Board projects and for her commitment to improving regulation for physiotherapists. I also thank previous Board members Jenny Blake, David Cross, Cherie Hearn, Allan Renouf, Elizabeth Trickett and Katherine Waterford for their valuable perspectives in promoting public safety and supporting the effectiveness of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.

As we welcome our new Board members, I look forward to working together on current and new Board initiatives, and to sharing important regulatory information with the profession through our newsletter.  

Dr Paula Harding
Chair, Physiotherapy Board of Australia

Priority news

Ahpra appoints new CEO

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

Justin, who took up his role this month, 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 Ahpra’s new CEO.

New Ahpra portal

Ahpra recently launched a new online portal, where you can access new digital smart forms for applications and renewal of registration.

Your Ahpra portal will be where you can manage your registration. You can download your registration certificate, renew your registration, and apply to change your registration type.

Next time you log in the experience will be a bit different. We’ve introduced multifactor authentication (also called two-step verification) for additional account security. There is also a new proof of identity process. Your identity will be verified by a third party using biometric verification.

You don’t need to do anything until it’s time for you to renew your registration. Look out for the usual reminders for this and we’ll explain how to set up your account then.

Need to access your Ahpra portal now? Go to our Ahpra Portal help centre.

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.

Board news

Health ministers appoint new members to Physiotherapy Board

On 5 December 2024, health ministers announced new appointments and reappointments across the National Boards.

The following Physiotherapy Board of Australia members have been reappointed:

  • Dr Paula Harding, appointed as Chair and practitioner member, Vic
  • Sally Adamson, practitioner member, NT
  • Professor Sheila Lennon, practitioner member, SA
  • Rosemary Mathlin, community member, NSW
  • Simon Watt, practitioner member, Tas.

The following new Board members have been appointed:

  • Shellie Burgess, practitioner member, NSW
  • Professor Wayne Hing, practitioner member, Qld
  • Emma Jarvis, community member, WA
  • Daniel Mahony, practitioner member, WA
  • Andrew Mitchell, community member, Tas
  • Carolyn O’Mahoney, practitioner member, ACT
  • Steven Price, community member, Vic.

Brief biographies of each member are available on the Board’s website.

Read the health ministers' meeting communiqué announcing National Board appointments.

Changes to physiotherapy supervision requirements

The Board has updated supervised practice requirements to better support evaluation of supervised practice plans for physiotherapists.

Section G in the supervised practice plan will no longer be used for either general or limited registration for physiotherapy.

Instead, the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) instrument will be used for the purpose of reporting of supervised practice goals and activities relating to standards, capabilities, competencies, thresholds or standards for practice.

Reporting on supervised goals and activities will now be clearer for physiotherapy supervisees and supervisors.

The APP instrument should be completed with supervised practice reports for supervision arrangements approved from 28 January 2025.

See the Supervised practice framework page on the Board website for more information about this change.

Physiotherapy prescribing proposal

The Board is making progress with its proposal to endorse registered physiotherapists who meet a proposed registration standard, ‘Endorsement for scheduled medicines for physiotherapists’, as being qualified to prescribe medicines under Section 94 of the National Law.

We have engaged with internal and external stakeholders to develop the proposal, which will require approval from the Ministerial Council. We have regularly consulted with the Australian Physiotherapy Association as well as Ahpra’s Community Advisory Council and Scheduled Medicines Expert Committee and integrated their feedback into the proposal.

Updates about a public consultation on this proposal will be provided in due course.

Registration and practice video resources now available

The Board has produced a range of video resources to support physiotherapists on key topics related to their registration and practice.

The resources are designed to assist all practitioners, whether they are entering the profession as a new graduate, seeking support in keeping their professional development up to date, or are in the process of renewing registration.

View the videos on the Board’s website.

Latest workforce data released

The Board’s latest quarterly registration data report covers the period to 31 December 2024. There were 47,519 registered physiotherapists nationally at this date, of whom 44,946 have general registration. There are 1,941 physiotherapists with non-practising registration.

Of the physiotherapy workforce, 330 practitioners identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (0.7 per cent).

For more data, including registration by principal place of practice, age and gender, read the report on our Statistics page.

Annual report shows progress in addressing workforce needs

Addressing workforce needs by getting more health practitioners safely registered faster and responding to new risks from emerging models of care are the highlights of the 2023/24 Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) annual report.

Read the Physiotherapy Board report and statistics on the Board’s Annual report webpage.

What’s new for practitioners?

Updated English language skills registration standard now in effect

The revised Registration standard: English language skills (268 KB, PDF) is now in effect. While already registered practitioners won’t need to meet this standard, these changes will enable more flexible pathways for future applicants, getting more practitioners into the workforce safely.

Important changes to the standard include expanding the list of recognised countries, reducing the accepted score for the writing component of approved English language tests to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent), adding the Cambridge English language skills test and improving flexibility for applicants to meet National Boards’ English language skill requirements.

Read more about the updated standard.

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, it provides 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.  

Parental leave fee relief on the way

A 30 per cent rebate on annual registration fees for practitioners who take parental leave will come into effect on 1 July 2025, while a wider review of pro rata fees gets underway.

This action is designed to provide relief for practitioners taking parental leave (and other forms of protected leave types such as disability and carer’s leave).

It is a first step in a range of measures that Ahpra and the National Boards are examining to make the annual registration fees system more flexible and responsive.

Read more about the fee relief.

Law and policy updates

Increased protection for the public

Patients are being given greater insight into the safety of practitioners, under new measures that will see proven instances of sexual misconduct permanently published on their public register record.

The amendments will also provide increased protections for people who make complaints about health practitioners, including new measures making it an offence for practitioners to enter into non-disclosure agreements that prevent complaints being made to health regulators.

Ahpra Acting CEO Kym Ayscough said the new measures were a milestone in patient protection.

‘Everybody has the right to expect their practitioner to be safe and fit to practise, and these reforms strengthen that right,’ Ms Ayscough said.

‘We support these changes, which align with the range of reforms that Ahpra and the National Boards are progressing as part of our actions to improve public safety involving sexual misconduct in healthcare.’

Read about the key changes to the National Law.

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 shared Code of conduct, for example, states that practitioners 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.

Health practitioner regulators united: family violence is unacceptable

Australia’s health practitioner regulators are united in their view that family violence is unacceptable.

For the first time ever, these regulators issued a joint statement reminding practitioners of the critical contribution they can make in Australia’s response to tackling family violence.

The statement recognises the role of regulators in the collective effort to end family violence by supporting victim-survivors, setting clear expectations of health practitioners, taking regulatory action as appropriate and condemning all forms of family violence.

Health practitioners are often the first point of contact for victim-survivors, so play an essential role in the early detection, support, referral, and delivery of specialised treatment to those experiencing family violence.

Health practitioners are also reminded that their own conduct, as well as that of their colleagues, must reflect the trust and confidence the public have in them for safe and effective healthcare.

Regulators work to ensure health practitioners are safe, ethical, and professional for the protection of the public.

Family violence can also be a serious crime and a violation of human rights. It is a gross departure from the ethical standards of behaviour expected of health practitioners. Health practitioners who are perpetrators of family violence could face suspension, cancellation, the imposition of conditions, or refusal of registration.

As regulators we are committed to minimising the risk of adding to victim-survivors’ trauma or exposing them to further risk of harm. We seek to respond to victim-survivors’ complaints about health practitioners in a trauma-informed way. This means prioritising the safety and dignity of victim-survivors and respectfully and sensitively supporting them through the health complaint management process.

We encourage any person aware of a health practitioner perpetrating family violence to provide information to the police and appropriate regulatory body. A list of health practitioner regulator contact details, as well as police, family violence information and support services, is included in the joint position statement.

Read the media release.

New National Scheme environmental strategy focuses on reducing waste, cutting emissions

Ahpra has taken an important step towards a more sustainable future, launching the National Scheme Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2024-2027 (ESS) to guide the reduction of its carbon footprint and broader environmental impact.

The ESS commits Ahpra and National Boards to significantly reduce emissions related to travel, waste and paper usage by at least 20% by 2027. It also commits the regulator to support and encourage health practitioners to cut emissions in their practice and the services for which they work.

The strategy is aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and includes objectives in areas such as sustainable procurement, health system leadership, and practitioner support and guidance.

The ESS is available at on Ahpra’s Corporate publications page, or via direct link here: Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2024 - 2027 (468 KB, PDF).

Want more information?

  • Visit the Board’s website for the mandatory registration standards, codes, guidelines and FAQs.
  • Lodge an online enquiry form.
  • For registration enquiries, call 1300 419 495 (from within Australia) or +61 3 9285 3010 (for overseas callers).
  • Address mail correspondence to: Paula Harding, Chair, Physiotherapy Board of Australia, GPO Box 9958, Melbourne, VIC 3001.
 

 

 
 
Page reviewed 29/04/2025
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