How to check AHPRA registration, and why it is not screening

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) maintains a public register of every registered health practitioner in Australia, working alongside the National Boards for each profession. If you employ or work as a registered nurse, enrolled nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologist or any other regulated practitioner, the AHPRA register is the authoritative place to confirm registration. It is also one of the few credentials that can be verified against the issuing register rather than simply reviewed against a document.

This guide explains how to search the register, how to read status and conditions, how renewal works, and why a current AHPRA registration never replaces worker screening.

How to search the Register of Practitioners

The Register of Practitioners is free, public and continuously updated. It is the only reliable source of a practitioner's current registration status. To check a registration:

• Go to the AHPRA Register of Practitioners and open the search.
• Search by the practitioner's name or, more precisely, their registration number.
• Open the matching record and confirm the name, profession and registration type match the person in front of you.
• Read the registration status, the expiry date, and any conditions, undertakings or notations.

A registration number is more reliable than a name search, because common names return multiple results. Always confirm the date of birth or other identifying details with the practitioner if you are unsure you have the right record.

Reading registration status and conditions

Each register record shows the practitioner's registration type and status. The most common things to look for:

• Registration type: for example general, provisional, limited or non-practising. A non-practising registration means the person cannot practise in that profession.
• Endorsements: additional qualifications recognised on the registration, such as scheduled medicines endorsements for nurse practitioners.
• Conditions and undertakings: restrictions placed on a practitioner to protect the public. These can limit scope of practice, require supervision, or restrict where and how a person works.
• Expiry date: the date the current registration period ends.

If a record shows conditions or undertakings, read them carefully. A practitioner with a supervision condition, for example, may not be appropriate for an unsupervised community role. Conditions are there to manage risk, so treat them as part of your suitability decision, not as fine print.

How renewal works

General registration is renewed each year and the renewal cycle is set by each profession's National Board. Nurses and midwives, for example, renew by 31 May every year, with the registration period running from 1 June to 31 May the following year. Other professions have their own dates, so always confirm the cycle for the specific profession rather than assuming a single national date.

A few practical points:

• AHPRA sends renewal reminders before the due date, but the obligation to renew sits with the practitioner.
• If a practitioner does not renew by the due date, there is usually a short late period with an extra fee.
• If they still do not renew, their registration lapses and their name is removed from the national register. They cannot lawfully practise in that profession until they re-register.

For employers, this is why a single point-in-time check is not enough. A registration that is current today can lapse next month. The register reflects status at the moment you look, so checks need to be repeated, especially around each profession's renewal date.

Why AHPRA is not worker screening

This is the most important distinction in this guide. AHPRA registration and worker screening answer two different questions:

• AHPRA registration confirms the person is qualified and registered to practise their profession.
• Worker screening confirms the person has been checked against criminal history and, where relevant, vulnerable-person risk.

A practitioner can hold flawless AHPRA registration and still need separate screening before they work with older people, people with disability or children.

For Aged Care, worker screening from 1 November 2025 means one of only two things: a National Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) issued in the past three years, or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. AHPRA registration is not a third option and never satisfies this requirement. In disability settings, the NDIS Worker Screening Check already includes a nationally coordinated criminal history component, so you do not run a separate police check on top of it. The same bundling applies to state Working With Children Checks in childcare.

Treat AHPRA, screening and qualifications as separate layers. A registered nurse working in residential Aged Care needs current AHPRA registration, the correct screening, and their mandatory training all in place, not just one of the three.

Authoritative sources

• AHPRA Register of Practitioners: search and confirm a practitioner's current registration, status and conditions.
• Aged Care worker screening requirements: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing guidance on screening from 1 November 2025.
• NDIS Worker Screening Check: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission detail on clearances and what they cover.

How Koora handles AHPRA on a Career Passport

Koora verifies AHPRA registration at source as part of a worker's Career Passport. Because the register is authoritative, the registration is verified rather than simply reviewed, and the Career Passport reflects the status at the time the check runs. Continuous monitoring is on the roadmap, and the timing sits with AHPRA. AHPRA is rebuilding its integration API as a new REST-based service, expected to go live around August or September 2026, and is not onboarding new integrators until that work lands. Carrying AHPRA data in a Career Passport requires accredited Service Integrator access, which opens once the new API is live. At that point Koora moves AHPRA registration from verified at a point in time to verified and continuously monitored. We are committed to integrating as soon as AHPRA opens onboarding. Other credentials sit alongside it at the assurance level each one supports. National Police Checks, qualifications, training and NDIS Worker Screening Clearances have no register to query, so the compliance engine checks them against the requirements for the role, and a person reviews the documents themselves once a worker shares their passport or a provider requests access, or across an organisation's own records through the Crew service. Source verification of NDIS clearances is on the Koora roadmap.

Koora checks these credentials so a provider can see registration, screening and training in one place. The legal responsibility for who they engage still rests with the provider. Koora reduces the manual chasing without removing that responsibility, and compliance status always reflects the current state when a report is run, never a reconstructed history. If you are mapping which checks a registered role needs, start with Aged Care worker screening requirements, then layer in allied health Aged Care screening and the role detail in RN, EN and AIN roles in Aged Care.

Frequently asked questions

Does AHPRA registration count as worker screening?

No. AHPRA registration confirms a practitioner is registered in their profession, but it is not a screening check. Aged Care worker screening requires either a National Police Check issued in the past three years or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. AHPRA is never a substitute for either of those.

Where do I check if someone is registered with AHPRA?

Search the free public Register of Practitioners at ahpra.gov.au. Enter the practitioner's name or registration number, open their record, and read the registration type, status, expiry and any conditions or undertakings. The online register is the only reliable, continuously updated source of registration status.

How often does AHPRA registration need renewing?

General registration is renewed annually. Renewal dates differ by profession, for example nurses and midwives renew by 31 May each year, so always confirm the cycle for the specific profession. If a practitioner does not renew in time, their registration lapses and they are removed from the national register.