Board and AHPRA publish health profession agreement

The Dental Board of Australia (the Board) and AHPRA today published the Health Profession Agreement that outlines the partnership between the Board and AHPRA, and the services AHPRA will provide to the Board in 2014/2015.

The Board and AHPRA work together to implement the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, (National Scheme), which is the scheme regulating registered health practitioners in Australia, in the public interest.

The guiding principles of the National Law¹ require the National Scheme to operate in a 'transparent, accountable, efficient, effective and fair way'; and for registration fees to be reasonable 'having regard to the efficient and effective operation of the scheme'.

One of the fundamental aspects of the National Scheme is that there is no cross-subsidisation between professions. This means that the regulation of each profession is entirely paid for by that profession's registration fees.

Dental Board Chair, Dr John Lockwood AM, said that it was important that the profession and the community know how registration fees are used in regulating the profession in the public interest.

'We are accountable to both the profession and the community to ensure we provide as much information as possible about how registration fees are allocated to regulate the profession in Australia,' Dr Lockwood said.

AHPRA CEO, Martin Fletcher, said that the Board and AHPRA were committed to working together to ensure not only transparency and accountability in financial reporting, but also in the role both play in protecting the public through the regulation of the profession.

'AHPRA and the Board work together to implement the National Scheme following the guiding principles set out in the National Law in order to protect the public,' Mr Fletcher said.

Reference

1. Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory.