The Australian Government Department of Finance released the final report on the review of health practitioner regulatory settings. The final report makes 28 recommendations to streamline regulatory settings and make for an easier transition for international health practitioners to work in Australia.

The core aim of the report will be to create speedier and less costly opportunities for overseas-trained osteopaths to enter Australia without it costing several thousands of dollars and being a time-consuming process.

You can access the report here: https://www.regulatoryreform.gov.au/.../health... and a summary is as follows:

• There are ongoing shortages of registered health practitioners, which is leading to things like National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) clients waiting for up to two years to see allied health professionals.
• Shortages across the health system are putting pressure on the health, aged care and disability workforces, threatening health outcomes.
• There are workforce shortages and poor distribution of health practitioners impacting the existing health workforce. Urgent action is required to address these shortages, including to increase internationally qualified health practitioners in the short term, whilst growing the domestic workforce in the long-term.
• Government and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) are taking action to streamline the process for registration. This will help to reduce the time taken for overseas qualified practitioners to become registered to practice in Australia.
• Data on demand, supply, skills and location of health practitioners is a priority for Australian governments. There is a significant gap in data collection and poor integration of existing allied health data.
• Health Ministers have committed to developing an allied health workforce strategy.
• Ensuring health practitioners, including osteopaths, work to their full scope of practice will help to utilise the skills of the existing workforce.
• By 2026, we are likely to need an additional 27,000 allied health professionals.
• Targeted reform of the end-to-end journey will include:
  • The introduction of a single portal to collect documents for registration
  • Ending the need for employers to advertise for domestic applicants before recruiting overseas
  • Accelerating visa processing times
  • Enabling more internationally qualified practitioners to enter through fast-tracked pathways.
• From late 2023, it is no longer a requirement for applicants to present in person for the Ahpra criminal history check if they have never visited Australia.
• 28 recommendations under five broad reform areas are proposed to navigate an effective end-to-end regulatory process. The five reform areas are:
  • Improve the applicant experience
  • Expand fast-track registration pathways
  • Better workforce planning
  • Greater flexibility, while supporting safety
  • Enhance regulator performance and stewardship.

Priority recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Streamline, remove duplication and align standards, evidentiary requirements and policy settings across agencies and regulators involved in the end-to-end journey, so applicants only need to provide information and meet requirements once, moving to a single portal over time.

Recommendation 3: Remove or suspend the requirement for employers to advertise for domestic applicants in acknowledged areas of shortage before recruiting overseas.

Recommendation 4: Broaden the age exemption on skilled visas to enable skilled practitioners in acknowledged areas of shortage to permanently move to Australia.

Recommendation 9: Introduce or expand expedited pathways to registration for all professions in acknowledged areas of shortage. Eligibility for expedited pathways should be regularly considered and part of a rolling work program reported to health ministers.

Recommendation 10: Ensure registration assessment for all registered professions explicitly recognises skills and experience in addition to qualifications and training pathways, with conditions on registration used as a temporary risk mitigation strategy where appropriate.

Recommendation 18: Support better planning for Australia’s future workforce needs, including developing national workforce strategies for maternity and allied health, and finalising the nursing strategy already in development. National workforce modelling should be reviewed and updated at least every 5 years and strategies every 10 years.

Recommendation 20: Develop performance indicators of progress in the recruitment of more overseas health practitioners in acknowledged areas of shortage, while workforce strategies are developed.

Recommendation 21: Provide applicants with greater flexibility in demonstrating their English language competency.