AHPRA Proposal to Refuse Registration- What do I do?

When you apply for AHPRA Registration, your application together with all the supporting documents go to the Medical Board for review. That is why it is so important to have your Position Description and Supervision Plan completed correctly and with as much supporting information as possible.

The board will consider all these documents, plus your PESCI result. They will then make a decision based on the evidence they have, your experience and your performance in the PESCI.

We are seeing a lot of proposals to refuse recently from AHPRA. The key reasons applications are getting refused are due to:

• PESCI results- how many times have you been unsuccessful in passing your PESCI? What are the time frames between your PESCI attempts? They will also look at your overall PESCI results and improvements or additional requirements that are commented on in PESCI provider’s recommendations.
  
  
• Supervision- whether there is the availability of two supervisors who are able to meet AHPRA’s supervision guidelines. It’s really important to remember that a doctor working in Australia for the first time will have either Level 1 or Level 2 supervision (most likely—there are always some exceptions!). This level of supervision requires two VR doctors with 3+ years of General Practice experience to be available onsite at least 80% of the time (Level 2) or 100% of the time (Level 1). There is no guarantee of getting Level 2 supervision so your supervisors should be prepared to offer Level 1 before you proceed. Read the guidelines here.
  
  
• Experience- Your total experience in your field of medicine (Hospital or General Practice) and whether it relates to the type of job you’re seeking registration for. Be aware, they will look for discrepancies in information provided (for example, the AHPRA CV you provide compared to your certificate of good standing).
  
  
• Recency of practice – AHPRA will look at how recently you practiced, whether it meets the standard and other gaps in your clinical practice. Read the standard for this here. 
  

AHPRA’s key goal is to ensure patient safety, so while it appears unfair the aim is to ensure everyone who has registration is practicing safely.

If you get a refusal proposal, AHPRA will make it clear why they are considering refusing you which gives you an insight to their concerns and the opportunity to demonstrate how you intend to practice safely specifically addressing their concerns.

The key things you will need to remember are—

• You will have a maximum of 30 days to provide a response that challenges AHPRA’s proposal to refuse your registration.
• If a response is not received, or the response received does not address the specific concerns AHPRA have for the basis of their refusal then your application will formally be rejected.
• If your application is rejected, then any future applications for registration will need to be made in full from this time onwards (i.e. fresh application, full process). You will also need to identify that you have had a prior refusal.
• Once you have provided AHPRA with a response, your application will be sent back to the Medical Board for review at the next available meeting date.

Our team has been spending time reviewing proposals for refusals and suggesting plans of action for doctors which range from withdrawing their application and undergoing further training, observing or experience all the way through to helping fight AHPRA’s decision and putting together a strong case for approval.

Note: The information presented above has been updated as of 18.07.2023.

How Can We Help You?

Our team offers General Practitioners assistance with finding jobs and a career pathway, and Medical Facilities to find a new Medical Practitioner. We also help with the full application process with AHPRA, RACGP, ACRRM, Department of Health, Medicare including 19AA & 19AB. If we can help, please contact us at help@peoplemedical.com.au.

People Medical Consulting are a team of professionals with a passion for guiding those specialising in the Medical industry to find their career pathway and settle into Australia. Working with both Australian trained and Overseas trained professionals, we have extensive experience in Recruitment of General Practitioners and Document Assistance for those requiring support with RACGP, AHPRA, 19AA and 19AB Medicare Exemptions.