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01 Jul 2022
Today marks 10 years since the establishment of the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (the Board) and occupational therapy becoming a nationally registered health profession.
Ten years ago, a total of 13,611 occupational therapists were registered with the newly established Board and registered to practise across Australia. As at March 2022, the profession has grown to 27,411 registered practitioners.
Significant areas of growth for the Board and profession have been:
National registration allows practitioners to work anywhere in Australia. Practitioners only need to apply for initial registration once and must renew their registration every year to stay registered.
Before joining the National Scheme in 2012, occupational therapists had to have separate registration for each state or territory where they practised. The exception was practitioners based in Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania who were not required to be registered at all. State or territory- based regulation also meant different standards and guidelines for practitioners working across Australia.
National regulation means all practitioners are now on an online public register which enables consumers to check that their practitioner is registered, having met mandatory registration standards and other requirements.
An occupational therapist’s regulatory history is now also managed by a single entity, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), which works in partnership with the Board to protect the public.
Board Chair, Julie Brayshaw, believes it is important to recognise how far the profession has come.
‘Joining the National Scheme was significant for the growth of the profession and in building public trust in the work of occupational therapists.
‘The establishment of nationally consistent registration standards, codes and guidelines has been a significant achievement for the profession. Another highlight from the past ten years has been the development of new competency standards that were developed for occupational therapists working across all practice settings. These competency standards, embed an emphasis on cultural safety and outline the professional behaviours all occupational therapists should demonstrate to practice safely,’ Ms Brayshaw said.
A Board member for seven years, Roxane Marcelle-Shaw sees the benefits that have been delivered.
‘As a community member working with the occupational therapy profession in the national scheme, one of the highlights has been the collaborative effort to focus on the protection of public safety and improving responsiveness to consumer experiences. At the end of our first decade, and as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of our national registration and accreditation system couldn’t be clearer. It underpins our access to the safe and professional practice of occupational therapy, and ensures that services provided are of the quality expected right across Australia. Consumers can have confidence and peace-of-mind in every registered occupational therapist and the protections offered by the National Scheme,’ Ms Marcelle-Shaw said.