Allied health in Aged Care: screening for AHPRA-registered practitioners

Allied health practitioners are a core part of Aged Care. Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians and psychologists are often contracted in to deliver services in residential homes and under Support at Home. Many providers assume that because these practitioners hold current AHPRA registration, the screening box is already ticked. It is not.

AHPRA registration and worker screening answer two different questions. Registration confirms the practitioner is qualified and legally permitted to practise their profession. Worker screening confirms they are not barred from working with vulnerable people. From 1 November 2025, the Aged Care screening obligation applies to allied health practitioners just as it applies to personal care workers, nurses and kitchen staff.

AHPRA registration is not a screening substitute

This is the single most common gap in allied health onboarding. A registered practitioner has met their profession's standards and passed the Board's checks, but AHPRA does not run a worker screening assessment against state and territory disqualifying offences in the way a worker screening check does.

Under the Aged Care screening rules, there are only two accepted options for any Aged Care worker:

• A national police certificate issued within the last three years, or
• An NDIS Worker Screening Clearance.

AHPRA registration is never a third option. A physio with current registration and no police certificate or NDIS clearance does not meet the screening obligation, regardless of how senior or experienced they are.

What the two accepted screening options mean

A national police certificate issued within the last three years is the most common route for allied health practitioners who work only in Aged Care. It must be current at the time the worker starts and re-run before it ages past three years.

An NDIS Worker Screening Clearance is the alternative. It is a points-in-time clearance valid for five years and is well suited to practitioners who already work across NDIS and Aged Care. Worth noting: the police history component is built into the NDIS Worker Screening Check, so a practitioner with a valid clearance does not also need a separate police certificate.

For practitioners who deliver both NDIS and Aged Care services, holding the NDIS clearance can simplify screening across both sectors. See dual Aged Care and NDIS compliance for how that overlap works in practice.

AHPRA registration is its own expiry to track

Even though registration is not a screening check, it is still a compliance requirement in its own right, and it has its own renewal cycle that providers and practitioners must keep current.

AHPRA registration renews annually. For most allied health professions, including physiotherapy and occupational therapy, the renewal date is 30 November each year, with a short late period after that. If registration lapses, the practitioner is removed from the national register and is no longer permitted to practise. A lapsed registration is a genuine compliance failure, separate from any screening gap.

The upside is that registration status can be verified at source. The AHPRA register is a public, authoritative record, so registration can be confirmed directly against it rather than relying on a certificate the worker hands over. See how to check AHPRA registration for the detail.

So for a single contracted allied health practitioner, a provider is tracking at least three separate things:

• Current AHPRA registration (verified at source, renews around 30 November annually)
• A reviewed police certificate (under three years old) OR an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance
• Any role specific or mandatory training the provider requires

The subcontractor and agency trap

Allied health is frequently delivered through agencies, sole trader contractors or labour hire arrangements. This is exactly where screening gaps appear, because providers can assume the agency has done the checks and the agency can assume the provider has.

The Aged Care screening obligation does not shift with the employment arrangement. The registered provider remains responsible for ensuring every worker who delivers care to its recipients is appropriately screened, whether that worker is a direct employee, a contractor or engaged through a third party. A signed agency agreement does not discharge the provider's duty to sight the evidence.

Practical steps for providers engaging allied health through third parties:

• Ask for evidence of both AHPRA registration and screening before the first visit, not after.
• Confirm screening type and expiry, not just that "a check exists". A two year old police certificate is fine today but needs re-running before it turns three.
• Re-confirm at intervals, because contractors rotate and clearances expire mid contract.
• Keep your own record. Relying on the agency's record leaves you exposed if it is incomplete.

For the broader picture on third party arrangements, see subcontractor and labour hire screening obligations.

Authoritative sources

• Screening requirements for the Aged Care workforce - Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• New ways of working in Aged Care - future Aged Care worker screening model
• NDIS Worker Screening Check - NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• AHPRA - national register and registration renewal

How Koora helps

Koora's Career Passport gives an allied health practitioner one portable, reviewed record of their credentials. AHPRA registration is verified at source against the national register and tracked to its annual renewal. Police certificates and NDIS Worker Screening Clearances are reviewed and monitored so that an expiring or aged out check surfaces before it becomes a problem.

For providers, that means the screening status of every contracted practitioner, including those engaged through agencies, sits in one place rather than across a stack of emailed PDFs. Koora pre-clears these credentials and flags gaps, but the legal obligation to sight the evidence and decide who can work stays with the provider. Compliance reporting reflects the current state at the time the report runs, so you can see who is clear today without reconstructing a paper trail.

The result is fewer surprises at audit, and a clear answer to the question that catches providers out most often: registered with AHPRA is not the same as screened to work in Aged Care.