May 2025

Issue 38 – May 2025

From the Chair
Priority news
Board news
- Latest workforce data released
What’s new?
Want more information?

From the Chair

Image of Kristy Robson

The Board is consulting on two reforms to strengthen the regulation of podiatric surgeons and we want to hear from you. The proposed reforms respond to recommendations from the independent review of podiatric surgeons that was published last year. Read more about the consultation in the article below.

Safe healthcare relies on trust between patients and practitioners, and we know that discrimination and racism erodes that trust, puts lives at risk, and has no place in healthcare. I encourage you to read the joint statement from Ahpra and the National Boards on this important topic.

Following on from this joint statement, some new case studies have been added to guidance about using social media, including what sort of use might warrant an investigation and professionalism pitfalls to be aware of.

Dr Kristy Robson
Chair, Podiatry Board of Australia

Priority news

Have your say on proposed reforms to strengthen regulation of podiatric surgeons

The Board is seeking your feedback on the following proposed reforms to strengthen the regulation of podiatric surgeons in response to recommendations from the Independent review of the regulation of podiatric surgeons:

proposed changes to the Registration standard: Specialist registration for the podiatry specialty of podiatric surgery to require podiatric surgeons to hold endorsement for scheduled medicines, and
proposed draft Guidelines for practitioners undertaking podiatric surgery.

These proposals aim to strengthen the registration and practice requirements for podiatric surgeons and enhance the overall safety and quality of the care they provide. They will form part of the Professional performance framework for podiatric surgeons that the Board has developed in response to another recommendation from the independent review.

Visit the Board’s Consultations webpage to see a snapshot of the consultation and read the consultation paper. You can also find information about how to provide feedback.

The consultation closes on 4 July 2025.

Discrimination and racism will not be tolerated: Joint statement from Ahpra and the National Boards

More than 900,000 registered health practitioners provide much needed safe healthcare every day in Australia.

Safe healthcare relies on trust between patients and practitioners. Discrimination and racism erode that trust and put lives at risk.

There is no place for discrimination, racism or intolerance in healthcare.

Ahpra and the National Boards remind registered health practitioners of their obligations under their codes of conduct and ethics to provide care that is free of discrimination and racism. The codes of conduct and ethics set out the legal requirements, professional behaviour and conduct expectations for registered health practitioners in Australia. The codes underpin the requirements for the delivery of safe and respectful practice.

The shared Code of conduct, for example, states that practitioners must:

respect diverse cultures, beliefs, gender identities, sexualities and experiences of people, including among team members
adopt practices that respect diversity, avoid bias, discrimination and racism, and challenge belief based upon assumption.

The codes for all professions include similar requirements.

Practitioners are also reminded of their obligations when using social media and encouraged to review the social media guidance that has been updated following the release of the joint statement. The updates include prioritising the information around public comment and trust in the professions, new case studies for social media activities likely to warrant an investigation, and further professionalism pitfalls to be aware of when using social media.

Practitioners must also comply with the standards of their workplace and adopt practices that foster a respectful, inclusive and safe healthcare environment.

Read the full statement on the Ahpra website.

Public consultation on a revised National Prescribing Competencies Framework

Ahpra has been contracted by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to conduct a review of the National Prescribing Competencies Framework (the framework) and is inviting feedback on a revised framework.

The framework describes the competencies for appropriate, safe and effective prescribing across relevant health professions, including the podiatry profession.

You can find more information about the consultation in the news item and on the Ahpra Consultations page, including a consultation paper, resources for the public and information about how to provide feedback.

Consultation closes on 30 May 2025.

Board news

Latest workforce data released

The Board’s latest quarterly registration data report covers the period to 31 December 2024. At this date there were 6,285 registered podiatric practitioners, including 6,042 with general registration, 41 with both general and specialist registration, and 202 with non-practising registration.

There were 43 practitioners who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or 0.7 per cent of the profession.

There were 275 practitioners with endorsement for scheduled medicines.

For further data breakdowns by age, gender and principal place of practice, visit the Board’s Statistics page to read the report.

What’s new?

New case studies added to guidance for practitioners using social media

Ahpra and the National Boards have made some updates to the social media guidance to ensure it remains relevant and useful to practitioners.

The updates include prioritising the information around public comment and trust in the professions to highlight the recent joint statement on discrimination and racism, new case studies for social media activities likely to warrant an investigation, and further professionalism pitfalls to be aware of when using social media.

While these additions do not change the underlying guidance for practitioners, it provides further clarity on emerging issues. Ahpra and the National Boards will assess the need to conduct a full review of the guidance in the future, with an opportunity for you to provide feedback.

Read the latest additions to the social media guidance on our website.

Updated English language skills registration standard now in effect

The revised Registration standard: English language skills is now in effect. While currently registered practitioners won’t need to meet this standard, these changes will enable more flexible pathways for future applicants, getting more practitioners into the workforce safely.

Important changes to the standard include expanding the list of recognised countries, reducing the accepted score for the writing component of approved English language tests to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent), adding the Cambridge English language skills test and improving flexibility for applicants to meet National Boards’ English language skill requirements.

Research provides clues to boost health workforce retention

Most Australian health practitioners surveyed say they want to stay in their profession, however more than one in 10 are unsure about their future or have plans to leave within a year, with mental burnout a key reason why.

New research from Ahpra, published in the Australian Health Review, identifies the factors driving practitioners’ choices to stay or leave the health workforce, across nine regulated health professions.

Despite a regulated workforce of 920,535 health practitioners in 2024, forecasts predict that the sector will struggle to meet the demands of Australia’s growing and ageing population in coming years.

Ahpra’s Workforce Retention and Attrition Project found the top five reasons influencing practitioners to leave their profession included mental burnout, retirement, feeling undervalued/unrecognised, lack of professional satisfaction, and work no longer being fulfilling.

Chair of the Psychology Board of Australia and Co-convener of the Forum of National Registration and Accreditation Scheme Chairs, Rachel Phillips said improvements in these areas could have a major impact on increasing retention in the health workforce and, importantly, improving the health and wellbeing of practitioners.

‘A resilient health workforce is essential to keeping our communities safe, healthy and growing, and the wellbeing of our practitioners goes hand-in-hand with that,’ she said.

‘These findings highlight the importance of a working environment that is both professionally fulfilling and supportive of practitioner wellbeing – not only for the welfare of our valued practitioners themselves, but also the health needs of the patients they care for.’

New Ahpra portal

Ahpra recently launched a new online portal, where you can access new digital smart forms for applications and renewal of registration.

Your Ahpra portal will be where you can manage your registration. You can download your registration certificate, renew your registration, and apply to change your registration type.

Next time you log in the experience will be a bit different. We’ve introduced multifactor authentication (also called two-step verification) for additional account security. There is also a new proof of identity process. Your identity will be verified by a third party using biometric verification.

You don’t need to do anything until it’s time for you to renew your registration. Look out for the usual reminders for this and we’ll explain how to set up your account then.

Need to access your Ahpra portal now? Go to our Ahpra Portal help centre.

Help protect your data

Help protect your data by being alert to scammers and only logging in to the Ahpra portal direct from the Ahpra website: www.ahpra.gov.au.

We will only ask you to log in to your Ahpra portal when you’re due to renew your registration.

Ahpra appoints new CEO

Ahpra has appointed Justin Untersteiner as Chief Executive Officer.

Justin, who joined Ahpra in April, brings over 20 years’ experience in regulation and compliance, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

Ahpra Board Chair Gill Callister PSM said that Justin was an impressive leader who stood out in a field of domestic and international candidates.

‘Justin’s experience in leading change and bringing new approaches, combined with his knowledge of regulation and compliance, made him a standout candidate,’ she said.

‘Justin’s appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Ahpra, and the Board is looking forward to working with him to build the next phase of Australia’s health regulation system.’

Justin succeeds Martin Fletcher who completed his final term as CEO in December 2024.

Learn more about Ahpra’s new CEO.

Want more information?

Visit www.podiatryboard.gov.au for the mandatory registration standards, codes, guidelines and FAQs. Visiting the website regularly is the best way to stay in touch with news and updates from the Board.
Lodge an enquiry form via the website by following the Enquiries link on every web page under Contact us.
For registration enquiries, call 1300 419 495 (from within Australia) or +61 3 9125 3010 (for overseas callers).
To update your contact details for important registration renewal emails and other Board updates, go to the Ahpra website: Update contact details.
Address mail correspondence to Dr Kristy Robson, Chair, Podiatry Board of Australia, GPO Box 9958, Melbourne VIC 3001.