Medical Board of Australia - Registration Standards
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Registration Standards

December 2024

Ahpra and National Boards (except for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia) have published advance copies of the revised Registration standards: English Language Skills (the ELS standards). These include:

  • the Common English language skills standard which applies to all applicants for initial registration in Chinese medicine, chiropractic, dental, medical, medical radiation, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology, and
  • the Nursing and Midwifery ELS standard, which applies to all applicants for initial registration as enrolled nurses, registered nurses and midwives.

Advance copies of the ELS standards are available on the Ahpra website. Please note that the 2015 ELS standards will remain current until the revised ELS standards come into effect by April 2025. We are focusing on improving the applicant experience and will provide more specific information about when the standard will come into effect in early 2025.

Read the news item for further information about the updates to the ELS standard and what you need to know about any changes before they come into effect.

Registration standards set out the requirements that applicants, registrants or students need to meet in order to be registered. The Medical Board of Australia has developed the following registration standards:    

Mandatory registration standards

With the exception of registered students and non-practising registrants, the following standards apply to all applicants for registration and registered medical practitioners. 

Document name PDF Accessible format Date of effect
2023: Registration standard: Continuing professional development

Go to the CPD pages for more information about the arrangements for 2023		 PDF
(80KB)  		 Word version 
(125 KB,DOCX) 		1 January 2023
2016: Registration standard: Continuing professional development

The 2016 registration standard may be applicable for some practitioners in 2023
 PDF 
(247KB)		 Word version 
(56.3KB,DOCX)		 1 October 2016
Criminal History Registration Standard PDF 
(249KB)		 Word version
(574KB,DOCX)		 1 July 2015
English Language Skills Registration Standard

Additional information about this standard is available on the Ahpra website.		 PDF 
(216KB)		 Word version
(72.6KB,DOCX)		 1 July 2015
Registration standard: Recency of practice

For more information, read the news item.		 PDF 
(210KB)		 Word version  
(365KB,DOCX)		 1 October 2016
Registration standard: Professional indemnity insurance arrangements

Medical indemnity insurers must meet the minimum product standards that apply to all medical indemnity insurers as defined in the Medical Indemnity (Prudential Supervision and Product Standards) Act 2003 (Cth).

Medical indemnity insurers include:
  • Avant 
  • Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (distributed by Tego Insurance)
  • Guild Insurance Limited 
  • MDA National 
  • Medical Indemnity Protection Society Limited (MIPS) 
  • Medical Insurance Group (MIGA) 
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority website contains a register of general insurers.

For more information, please refer to the related news item.		 PDF 
(283KB)		 Word version 
(81.9KB,DOCX)		 1 January 2016

Limited registration

Standards that apply to international medical graduates (IMGs) who do not qualify for general or specialist registration are below.

Document name PDF Accessible format Date of effect

Limited registration for area of need Registration Standard

 PDF (125KB) Word version 
(85.5 KB,DOCX)		 1 July 2016
Limited Registration for Postgraduate Training or Supervised Practice Registration Standard

Guidance - Limited registration for postgraduate training or supervised practice - Exemption to the requirement for a medical internship or comparable
 PDF (132KB)


PDF (108KB)		 Word version 
(88.6 KB,DOCX)

Word version (658KB,DOC)		 1 July 2016

1 July 2016
Limited Registration for Teaching or Research Registration Standard
 PDF (105KB) Word version 
(82.9 KB,DOCX)		 1 July 2016
Limited Registration in Public Interest Registration Standard
 PDF (104KB) Word version  
(83.1 KB,DOCX)		 1 July 2016

General registration

Document name PDF Accessible format Effective date
From 2024: Registration standard: Granting general registration as a medical practitioner to Australian and New Zealand medical graduates on completion of postgraduate year one training

For more information read the news item.

Read the Board’s Patient and Consumer Health and Safety Impact Assessment (99.8 KB, PDF) 		PDF (88.5 KB)



Webpage  1 January 2024 
Pre-2024: Registration standard: Granting general registration as a medical practitioner to Australian and New Zealand medical graduates on completion of intern training.             PDF (83.1KB)
1 January 2014

Granting general registration to medical practitioners who hold an Australian Medical Council certificate Registration Standard

 PDF (80.6 KB) Word version (748 KB,DOC)  15 February 2018

Specialist registration

The Ministerial Council has approved a list of specialties, fields of specialty practice and specialist titles. The list of specialties, fields of specialty practice and related specialist titles is available below.

Document name PDF Word version Document date

Registration standard: Specialist Registration

Read the Board’s Patient and consumer health and safety impact assessment.

 PDF
(153 KB)		 Word version
(362 KB,DOCX)		 21 October 2024 
List of specialties, fields and related titles PDF 
(426KB)		 Word version
(229KB,DOCX)		 1 June 2018

Endorsement of registration for cosmetic surgery

Document name  PDF  Web version Effective date 
Registration standard: Endorsement of registration of registered medical practitioners for the approved area of cosmetic surgery

For more information read the news item and FAQ

Read the Board’s Patient and Consumer Health and Safety Impact Assessment (PDF, 105KB). 		PDF  
(92.1 KB) 		 Web page 1 July 2023 

Endorsement of registration for acupuncture

Document name PDF Web version Effective date
Registration standard: Endorsement of registration for acupuncture for registered medical practitioners  

  • Read the news item

  • Read the Board’s Patient and Consumer Health and Safety Impact Assessment of the revised standard. 

PDF (73KB)


 

 

PDF (149KB)  

 Web page

 

 

 

Web page  

 		 1 July 2022

FAQ and fact sheets

Some additional information has been developed to help medical practitioners in meeting the relevant registration standards.

Limited registration

Recency of practice

Retired versions

Document name PDF Date of effect
Retired version: Registration Standard for Specialist Registration PDF (90.5KB)  To 20 October 2024 
Retired version: Registration standard: Endorsement of registration for acupuncture for registered medical practitioners PDF (76.4KB) To 30 June 2022
Retired version: Recency of Practice Registration Standard PDF (218KB) To 30 September 2016
Retired version: Continuing Professional Development Registration Standard PDF (322KB) To 30 September 2016
Retired version: Limited registration for area of need Registration Standard PDF (434KB)  To 30 June 2016
Retired version: Limited Registration for Postgraduate Training or Supervised Practice Registration Standard  PDF (377KB)  To 30 June 2016
Retired version: Limited Registration for Teaching or Research Registration Standard PDF (259KB)  To 30 June 2016
Retired version: Limited Registration in Public Interest Registration Standard PDF (261KB)  To 30 June 2016
Retired version: Criminal History Registration Standard PDF (321KB) To 30 June 2015
Retired version: English Language Skills Registration Standard PDF (325KB) To 30 June 2015
Retired version: Professional Indemnity Insurance Registration Standard PDF (321KB) To 31 December 2015
Retired version: Registration Standard for Specialist Registration  PDF (319KB)   To 14 February 2018 
Retired version: Granting general registration to medical practitioners who hold an Australian Medical Council certificate Registration Standard  PDF (257KB)  To 14 February 2018
 
 
Page reviewed 16/12/2024
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