Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Nurses and midwives are required to renew their registration before 31 May 2022.
Nurses and/or midwives must meet the NMBA registration standards and declare or disclose information about continuing professional development (CPD), criminal history, health condition/impairment, professional indemnity insurance and recency of practice.
ANMF strongly encourages members to contact the Branch before declaring or disclosing health condition/impairment information as part of the registration/renewal process. It is the ANMFs recommendation that advice is sought well ahead of 31 May 2022.
I’m new to the profession. Do I still have to renew my registration by 31 May?
Nurses and midwives who received their registration in late 2021 or early 2022 must renew their registration by 31 May. Registration is renewed annually by this date regardless of how long you were registered during the previous 12 months.
There is one exception: graduates who registered within two months prior to the 31 May annual renewal date are registered to practise until 31 May of the following year.
Check the NMBA national register then contact the ANMF if you remain unsure as to when your renewal is due.
How many hours of practice do I need to demonstrate ‘recency of practice’?
Nurses and midwives must complete a minimum of 450 hours practice in the preceding five years to meet the NMBA recency of practice standard.
Those who hold dual registration must make separate recency of practice declarations. Consider the relevant competency and registration standards for each profession as there may and will be common elements of work and education.
What if I am a new graduate nurse/midwife?
Recency of practice does not apply to recent nursing or midwifery graduates from programs in Australia applying for registration for the first time, and student registration holders. Recent graduates are those applying for registration for the first time whose qualification was awarded not more than two years prior to the date of their application.
What if I am a non-practising registrant?
This is not a requirement of a non-practising registrant, however ANMF strongly encourage you to seek advice before moving to non-practising registration.
Read more about recency of practice.
Can I practise if have a health condition or impairment?
Nurses and midwives have an obligation to provide notification of a health condition/impairment that might affect your ability to practice. If you believe you may need to notify in relation to this, we encourage you to contact the Branch for advice. A signed and dated written statement with details of the condition/impairment, and how it is managed, will need to be provided to AHPRA. The National Board will then decide whether your impairment is relevant to your practice.
How many hours of CPD do I need?
Nurses and midwives are required to participate in 20 CPD hours, relevant to your practice, each year and keep record of this
If you hold a nursing and a midwifery registration (dual registration) you must meet this standard for each registration.
If you hold a ‘scheduled medicine endorsement’ and/or are endorsed as a nurse practitioner, you must complete an additional 10 CPD hours each year. Visit cpd.anmfvic.asn.au for courses.
Read more about CPD requirements.
What if I have a criminal record?
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law requires AHPRA, as the regulator, to consider if a health practitioner’s criminal history is relevant to the practise of their profession. Under the National Law, spent convictions legislation does not apply to criminal history disclosure requirements. This means that when making a declaration about criminal history, applicants and registered health practitioners must declare their entire criminal history, from Australia and any other country, including any spent convictions. Read about factors that AHPRA considers when making a criminal history determination.
What about professional indemnity insurance?
Nurses and midwives must confirm they have the required PII. ANMF full financial membership includes PII* that meets AHPRA requirements. You can download your PII certificate from the member portal.
What does it mean when I’m asked if my right to practise has been withdrawn or restricted?
This question only applies to a small number of nurses and midwives who have been given ‘rights’ to work at hospitals or other facilities, such as independent private practice nurse practitioners or midwives who have admitting rights.
This question does not require you to declare if your employment has been terminated, suspended or if you are being performance managed.
For more information read the Federal ANMF ‘Withdrawn or restricted right to practise’ fact sheet.
What is an exposure-prone procedure (EPP)?
An exposure-prone procedure (EPP) is one where there is a risk of injury to the healthcare worker resulting in exposure of the patient’s open tissues to the healthcare worker’s blood.
Nurses and midwives must declare if they perform EPPs in accordance with the NMBA guidelines for registered health practitioners in relation to blood-borne viruses.
Examples of EPPs include a midwife repairing an episiotomy, assisting with a caesarean birth, application of fetal scalp electrodes or a perioperative nurse surgical assistant involved in open surgical procedures.
For more information read the Federal ANMF ‘Exposure-prone procedures’ fact sheet.
How much does registration cost?
The registration fee for 2022 is $180 and this is tax deductible. View the NMBA fee schedule.
ANMF members should seek advice early from ANMF Member Assistance if they have any questions in relation to the renewal of their registration – be it recency of practice, declaration of health impairments, or any other matter.
*some exceptions apply. Refer to the PII policy for details.
