Final-year students urged to apply for registration online now

13 Oct 2014

Final-year students who will soon complete an approved program of study can go online now to apply for registration before they graduate.

The online graduate application service on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website smooths the path from study to work by enabling final-year students to apply for registration four to six weeks before completing their course.

Graduates of pharmacy study must make an application for provisional registration and are required to return some supporting documents to AHPRA by mail to complete their application. An application for approval of supervised practice must also be sent to AHPRA and approved by the Pharmacy Board of Australia before supervised practice can be started.

Pharmacy Board of Australia Chair Stephen Marty said graduates of approved programs of study must make an application for provisional registration to undertake a Board approved period of supervised practice in order to be eligible for general registration in Australia.

‘The Board must approve the period of supervised practice before it is started, and an application must also be lodged for this to occur,’ Mr Marty said.

‘Graduates who do not send a completed application for approval of supervised practice when they apply for provisional registration may experience delays in commencing their supervised practice (internship).’

Graduates must also meet the National Board’s registration requirements to be a registered pharmacist. Registration standards that relate to the new graduate are:

• criminal history 
• English language skills, and 
• professional indemnity insurance.

‘Graduates need to be a registered pharmacist before they can start practising,’ Mr Marty said.

‘To assist with the processing of their application, it’s important that graduates post supporting documents to AHPRA as soon as possible after applying online.’

There are five simple steps to registration for graduates: 

1. Students apply for registration four to six weeks before completing their program at Graduate applications on the AHPRA website. 
2. Applicants fill out an online application (if eligible) or download an application form. All applications require some documents to be sent to AHPRA by mail to complete the application. 
3. Education providers advise AHPRA when applicants are eligible to graduate. 
4. AHPRA finalises assessment, confirms registration, publishes new graduates’ names on the national register of practitioners and sends out registration certificates. 
5. New graduates registered with the National Board are eligible to start work as soon as their name is published on the national register.

For more information

• Go to Graduate applications on the AHPRA website for FAQ and links to more information 
• For registration enquiries or difficulties in accessing the online application form: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) 
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200