Registration and how to apply

Anyone who calls themselves a medical radiation practitioner, diagnostic radiographer, medical imaging technologist, radiographer, nuclear medicine needs to register.

Yes, applicants who applied before 30 September 2012 are still covered by the transitional enforcement policy. AHPRA will not take any action against you for practising provided you comply with all notices. If you are refused registration you must cease to practice.

No. You may not practise until a decision has been made on your application for registration and you have been advised that registration has been granted.

The National Scheme contains provisions that relate to protection of title. If a person wishes to practice as a medical radiation practitioner, they must be registered with the Board. Additionally a person who is engaging in conduct which induces a belief that the person is registered when they are not may breach the National Law provisions that relate to “holding out” offences.

You may apply for a non-practicing registration. You can also choose to cease your registration when going overseas, however you must then reapply for registration.

Submit an application form. The Board will likely require you to undertake an assessment of skills and knowledge and determine what is necessary to return to practice.

All medical radiation practitioners are required to be registered with the Board from 1 July 2012. Registration is for a year (until the next 30 November renewal date) and there is no shorter period of registration.

If you wish to practice as a medical radiation practitioner you must be registered with the Board. The National Law provides penalties for those practicing without registration.

No. You must apply for registration in Australia and meet the Australian requirements.

No, not necessarily. The Board is not involved in determining who has access to Medicare; this is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government. The Board is only concerned with issues to do with registration and accreditation.

Registration with the Board recognises the qualifications necessary to practice in the medical radiation profession. The Board is also responsible for ensuring that practitioners practice safely and conduct themselves in a professional and safe manner. Radiation licensing refers to the system of administration and control of radiation used by State and Territory governments.

Yes you do need both. But there is a difference between radiation licensing and professional registration.

• States and Territories governments are responsible for the administration of radiation sources.
• Govt Departments issue a license under legislation that controls the use of X-ray equipment or radioactive materials.
• Since 1 July 2012 medical radiation practitioners must be registered under the National Scheme, and they will need to hold a radiation license.
• It is expected that these licenses will only be issued by the relevant authorities to MRPs who are registered by the Board.

No. Membership to a professional or industry association is a separate matter and a personal choice.

Application forms are available on the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia’s (the Board’s) website.

The application fee is $300.

The annual registration fee is $325.

Please note that if you are required to apply for an international history check from an approved supplier, you will be responsible for the cost of the check. For more information, please refer to the International criminal history page on the AHPRA website.

Relative to other professions, the fees are mid-range. It is important to remember that the scheme requires a Board to be self sustaining, and that there can be no cross subsidisation between Boards.

In determining fees the Board was conscious of its overall costs in relation to the scheme, it was mindful to ensure that it would be financially secure, but balanced this against the impact on practitioners.

There are significant resources involved in processing applications. The fee principally covers the costs of processing the application.

The Board’s list of Approved Qualifications covers the current Australian courses. The list of equivalent courses covers historic Australian courses that are no longer accredited. The Equivalent list also covers a number of accepted overseas courses.

For those qualifications that do not appear on either the Approved Qualifications of the Equivalent Qualifications the Board will make an assessment on a case-by-case basis (see grandparenting below).

Grandparenting arrangements are the special transitional arrangements that provide a possible pathway for registration for experienced practitioners who do not have the approved qualifications proposed by the National Board. These special grandparenting provisions for registration are set out under Section 303 of the National Law and are available until 30 June 2015.

The grandparenting provisions end after 30 June 2015. Applicants will then be required to apply for general registration with the Board, hold the relevant qualification for registration and meet all of the Board’s other requirements.

There are specific titles listed in section 113 of the National Law which are referred to as ‘protected titles’. This means that only those people who are registered in a particular profession can use the titles associated with that profession.

Persons receiving health care are entitled to know whether they are dealing with a registered practitioner. The aim of registration is to protect the public by restricting the use of specified titles to practitioners who have been assessed as competent to deliver the specified services. A person holding a particular title should be able to offer the services associated with that title.

The National Law prohibits making claims to be qualified as a medical radiation practitioner, diagnostic radiographer, medical imaging technologist, radiographer, nuclear medicine scientist, nuclear medicine technologist or radiation therapist unless you are registered appropriately. The National Law also prohibits knowingly or recklessly holding yourself out as being registered under the National Law.

Holding out means to present yourself in a way that suggests to others that you are something or someone that you are not. A person who is not a registered health practitioner must not:

• use any of these titles: medical radiation practitioner, diagnostic radiographer, medical imaging technologist, radiographer, nuclear medicine scientist, nuclear medicine technologist or radiation therapist; or
• claim to be registered under the National Law or ‘hold themselves out’ as being registered under the National Law.

No. You can either let your registration lapse, or you can apply for non-practicing registration. If and when a person returns to practice, the Board’s Recency of Practice Registration Standard may apply.

Medical radiation practitioners with non-practising registration cannot undertake any clinical practice but they can use the protected title. They are not permitted to treat or refer, regardless of whether they are being remunerated. There is a reduced fee for non-practising registration. This type of registration may be suitable for practitioners who:

• have retired completely
• are temporarily not practising (for example on maternity or sick leave) or
• who are not practising in Australia but are practising overseas.