The process for becoming registered to work as a physiotherapist in Australia is an arduous one, but rightly so – I truly believe it’s a vital gatekeeper to protecting our professional reputation and our patients.
But if I jump down off my soapbox now, I’ll try and give you a hand with wading through the lengthy procedure that is registration as a physiotherapist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), in consultation with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia (PBA) and the Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC).
Step 1: Work out which APC pathway you need to go through
Everything you need to know about this process is on the very user-friendly Australian Physiotherapy Council website.
In order of ease and cost your options are:
- Skipping it all together if you hold registration with the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand via the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Act
- Equivalence of Qualification – Existing Program ($1527 AUD)
- Equivalence of Qualification – New Program ($2240 AUD)
- Standard Assessment Pathway – FLYR Stream ($3050)
- Standard Assessment Pathway – Full ($7250)
Unless you’re already registered with the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand (in which case, you should skip ahead to Step 2) the fastest way to getting registered as a physio in Australia is the Equivalence of Qualification Pathway. The APC has compiled a list of University degrees it has already assessed and deemed equivalent to the standards required of those who qualify in Australia. This is known as the Equivalence of Qualification – Existing Program Pathway. If your exact University, qualification/degree and cohort are on this list you can apply via this pathway ($1527 AUD). Check it out here.
If your University, qualification/degree and cohort are not on this list you have 2 options:
- Apply for Equivalence of Qualification – New Program (read more here)
OR
- The Standard Assessment Pathway
The Standard Assessment Pathway requires an Assessment of Your Eligibility ($1120 AUD, 2 weeks), a Written Multiple Choice Examination ($1930 AUD, held quarterly in various cities internationally with results released 6 weeks post) and a Clinical Examination ($4200 AUD, 3 assessments of MSK, neuro and cardiorespiratory skills, held in Melbourne at an allocated time given 6-8 weeks in advance of test date, results provided 2 weeks post).