Recency of Practice

A revised recency of practice standard came into effect on 1 December 2016.The revised standard applies to all registered medical radiation practitioners except those with non-practising registration. Practitioners will need to meet the obligations of the revised standard by the time they renew their registration in 2017.

The registration standard for recency of practice requires practitioners to ensure that they are competent and fit to practise in the profession through the making of an annual declaration that their practice is current and in keeping with contemporary practice.

Practitioners have a duty to make the care of patients or clients their first concern and to practise safely and effectively. In meeting this duty of care, practitioners have a responsibility to recognise and work within the limits of their competence and scope of practice.

Good practice is patient centred. In the current context, good practice involves:

1. recognising and working within the limits of a practitioner’s competence and scope of practice 
2. ensuring that practitioners maintain adequate knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective care 
3. when moving into a new area of practice, ensuring that a practitioner has carried out sufficient training and/or qualifications to achieve competency in that area, and 
4. practising in accordance with the current and accepted evidence base of the health profession, including clinical outcomes.

Meeting the requirements of the standard

The key change to the Board’s recency of practice requirements is that a requirement for minimum hours of practice has been introduced.

To meet the standard, medical radiation practitioners must practise within their scope of practice at any time for a minimum total of 450 hours in the previous three years (approx. three months full-time).

If a medical radiation practitioner cannot meet the minimum hours of practice in the revised standard, this will not necessarily prevent them from returning to practice. The guideline provides information on the elements the Board considers when a practitioner is applying to return to practice as a medical radiation practitioner.

Revised registration standard