AHPRA’s Supervision Requirements - People Medical Consulting

Many of our supervised GPs have started and will be starting their first General Practice job in Australia. For this reason, we have put together an overview regarding AHPRA’s supervision requirements for General Practice under each level of supervision.

Do I need supervision?

Are you an International Medical Graduate (IMG)?

Yes – If you have been granted Limited or Provisional Registration with AHPRA, you’ll be required to complete a minimum of 12 months supervised practice in Australia.

No – So long as you hold General AHPRA Registration.

Who can provide supervision?

In our experience, AHPRA can be very strict with regards to their Supervision Guidelines. As a general rule, supervisors should be Vocationally Registered and have held their Specialist AHPRA Registration in the field of General Practice for a minimum of 3 years.

Let’s get technical! Principle Supervisors & Co-Supervisors must not:

have conditions imposed on their AHPRA registration or undertakings accepted by the Board as a result of health, performance or conduct issues
be a relative or domestic partner of the IMG, and
be an employee of the IMG.

If your either supervisors have been grandfathered – i.e. Weren’t required to sit for GP Fellowship before being granted Specialist Registration with AHPRA, this will need to be noted in the SPPA-30 Supervision Plan. It’s also recommended to provide evidence of the grandfathering by way of an advice letter or email confirmation if possible.

Do I need to nominate 2 supervisors?

AHPRA prefers two supervisors, both a Principle and Co-Supervisor, to be nominated to ensure the appropriate level of supervision and support is provided to enable safe practice.

However, if the clinic cannot possibly provide 2 supervisors, 1 primary supervisor may oversee the IMG with the right supervision plan.

Are there limits to how many GPs can be supervised at any time?

Yes, a supervisor, who is concurrently consulting their own patients, can supervise up to 4 GPs. However, they are only permitted to supervise up to 1 GP under level one supervision.

If a supervisor is not consulting their own patients whilst the GP is practicing, they can supervise up to 4 GPs across all supervision levels.

So, what’s required under each level of supervision?

Level One Supervision

In our experience, IMG’s gaining registration for the first time are likely to get level one supervision.

Under level one supervision, the Principle Supervisor and Co-Supervisor are directly responsible for each individual patient the Supervised GP consults with.

A supervisor must be physically present in the practice at all times while the supervised GP practices (Supervision via phone or any other telecommunication is not acceptable).
The supervised GP must consult with their supervisor about the management of each patient before concluding the consultation and before the patient leaves the practice.

Level Two Supervision

Under level two supervision, both the supervised GP and supervisors share the responsibility of each individual patient. For this reason, the supervisors are to ensure the level of patient management undertaken by the supervised GP is based on their knowledge and level of competency.

Supervision via phone or any other telecommunication is acceptable, however a supervisor must be physically present in the practice for a minimum 80% of the time the supervised GP practices.
The supervised GP must consult with their supervisor daily about the management of individual patients.

Level Three Supervision

Under level three supervision, the supervised GP is primarily responsible for each individual patient.

A supervisor must ensure that there are measures in place that enable the monitoring of the supervised GP and safe practice.
The supervised GP is permitted to work alone, so long as a supervisor is contactable via phone or video link.

Level Four Supervision

Under level four supervision, the supervised GP is fully responsible for each individual patient

A supervisor must oversee the supervised GP’s practice and must be available for consultation should it be required.
A supervisor must periodically conduct reviews of the supervised GPs practice.

Do I need supervision when working in After-Hours, On-Call, Home Visits, or Locum Services?

Supervision requirements apply at all times, regardless of the type of clinical work being undertaken by a supervised GP. The appropriate level of supervision requirements must be followed even if working in after-hours, on-call, home visits or on a locum.
Please note that locum services and jobs with only on-call or home visits cannot be applicable for supervised GPs on level one or two supervision.

However, supervised GPs on level three or four supervision may provide on-call, home visits, andlocum services as long as they meet the supervision requirements.

Note: The information presented above has been gathered from the AHPRA website and has been updated as of 2023-11-07.

How many supervisors do I need to supervise an IMG on Level 1 Supervision?

What does my clinic need to supervise me?

Can my Supervisor Have More Than One Level 1 Supervised GP?

Offering Supervision for Limited or Provisional Registration

We Can Help You

Here at People Medical Consulting, we have a passion for guiding medical practitioners through their career pathways to Australia. We have extensive experience in assisting medical facilities in recruiting doctors from local and overseas who will best suit their requirements.

We provide Document Assistance for those requiring support for their PESCI with IME, ACRRM or RACGP, registration and all other mandatory AHPRA requirements, fellowship program related forms and letters, application for Medicare provider and prescriber numbers, application for 19AB or 19AA exemptions and preparation of employment documents.

If you’re looking for assistance, contact us at help@peoplemedical.com.au and we would be glad to help you.

Information from this blog has been taken directly from: