Limited Registration Australia

[Claire55555]

Hi
I am heading out to Sydney in October of this year on a working holiday visa for 1 to 2 years and am hoping to work on a limited registration. I have now specialised in MSK physio and am hoping to get a job in this area. With the change to AHPRA that happened on the 1st July it now seems that the registration i will need will be limited registration in the public's interest. In order to get this I will need to get an offer of employment from an employer willing to provide supervision and write to AHPRA saying this. I will also need to send a form off to the Australian Physio Council with the offer of employment details as well as a lot of info about my degree course etc to prove that i cant get full registration (I graduated in 2006 from the University of Birmingham, England) at the price of $440, and this takes about 4 weeks to be processed.
I am happy to go through this process but my concern is finding an employer that will be willing to as well.
Does anyone have any suggestions or awareness of how practical this will be?
Thank you so much for any help
Claire

Similar Threads:

• Options for Equivalence, General Registration or Limited Registration
• Working with Limited Registration in Australia
• Confused, please help! Limited Registration working opportunities / recruitment agencies in Australia!
• Limited registration in Australia
• Looking for sponsor for limited registration in Australia

[J.Lalor]

Hi ljrobbob,
I am an Irish citizen due to graduate with a physiotherapy degree from the UK in June. I am hoping to go to Austrailia, Melbourne in particular through the limited registration application process. I have started my application but was wondering if you had information on how I would go about getting a job which allows me to have a supervsior/sponsor?
I would be very grateful for any information on this.

Kind regards,
Joyce

[katielondon]

What a helpful thread!
I'm just starting the process of looking for work for next Feburary in Oz (I'll be travelling from October and so am keen to sort as much as I can now) and I'm fairly confused to be honest!
If anyone with any experience can answer my questions I'd be massively grateful!
- I've printed off a 12 page form for Limited Registration in the Public Interest, is this the only forms I need?
- Do I fill this form in and then apply for jobs?...then wehn/if I get a job they'll write to the APC?
- From what I've read you need a WHV too, is that correct?
- Is it easy enough to sort employment before moving out to Oz?
- I've seen lots of adverts for outpatients work, are there a good selection of inpatients jobs?

I'm sure all these questions have been asked in various combinations before and thanks to you guys for sharing your knowledge (and time!!!) trying to help others make the move. Obviously looking for a job in Feb 2012 is a bit tricky from April 11 but I'm really keen to get as much in place as possible.
Many thanks
Katie

[durranthelen]

Hi There, can anyone shed any light for me on limited registration please! I have managed to find an employer that can employ me under these terms, I also have sent of the application for assessment for limited registration which is curently being processed. I am now trying to fill out the last part the actual limited registration application ready for when the APC hopefully approve my skills to work in this employment. I am confused as the limited registrationa application just says i need to get my empoyer to fill out the back two pages of the form, write a letter saying they know and accept there responsibilities as a supervisor and finally a letter saying why they need someone under limited registration in the public interest. This i can do.. however in the procedures of supervisors documents.. it states before i start employment i need to fill out part A and B to assess my competence and make a supervision plan with my employer. How can i have my competence assessed if i am not allowed to treat pateints yet as im not registered? and also im not in the coutry yet as i start my job a week aftre i get there?! does anyone understand this process or have completed it? as i leave the country in 2 weeks and need to sort it all out before i go, i thought i was all sorted with a job and the app going through.. now i feel a bit stuck?!! help?!

[mattiazambaldi]

hi everyone!
how do you manage to get a sponsor? I mean, you need to have it before leaving europe.. where do you look for it? any website to suggest?

thanks

[sam5986]

Hi all,

I have been trying to get an offer of employment for a while now for 'limited registration'. I have emailed and spoken to quite a few agencies but they all seem to be quite negative and say that i would be better to gain full registration or go via NZ. This thread has made me feel more positive but does anyone have advice or has recently had an offer of employment.

Cheers guys

Sam

[AoifeL]

Hi Sam
As someone currently in Australia pursuing limited reg in the public interest I can testify to it being a royal pain the backside!! I am regretting not going down the NZ reg path so much....which is what all the agencies told me to do when I was in your situation before I came over here!! SO I think I probably should have listened to them.
However there are plenty of employment opportunities over here especially in rural areas but it's convincing the employers that it's worth employing you with limited reg that's the hard part. Reed Recruitment recently contacted me with a limited reg job if you wanted to try them.
Hope this helps,
Aoife

[Catarina]

Hi guys!
I want to move to australia in january 2012.
I work for 5 years and i have a 4 year graduation in physiotherapy, a post graduation in physiotherapy in sports and a master in physiotherapy sciences, i would like to go first with a limited registration for after aply for assessent of equivalence of qualification. I will take all my documentation translated. I would like help in how to get a sponsor in wollongong from january on to be able to aply for limited registration first.
Thanks

[AoifeL]

Hi Catarina
Have you considered registering via New Zealand instead? If you get registered there you can gain full registration in Australia from that. I believe the process for equivalence assessment is a difficult one and they ask for alot of detail from your university. You will also have to prove your fluency in English.
Aoife

[Catarina]

Hi AoifeL!
I´m not considering New Zeland because and will move to australia with my boyfriend and he already has a job in wollongong. Is it being too hard for you there. With good english and all the programatic contents of my 4 year study do you think its still too hard?
Thanks

[AoifeL]

Hi Catarina
I think you've misunderstood me. You can in theory apply for registration in New Zealand but that does not necessarily mean you work there. By gaining registration there you can then apply to Australia and it is a much simpler process than the one you're doing. You should read some of the other threads in this section of "Working In Australia" where they discuss New Zealand registration in more detail. Hope this helps.
Good luck
Aoife

[Fyzzio]

Hi Aoife,
sounds good, but is not quite as easy.
1) I heard that the European mainland degrees have a hard time to be accepted in NZ. I believe, only the Dutch one stands a chance. But not 100% sure.
2) You also need to do a language test for NZ or have worked in an English speaking environment (see their registration form)
3) The registration form has a tick box, where you have to confirm (and you have to sign this!) that you will work in NZ
3) To apply for TTMA, you have to apply and pay for an Annual Practicing Certificate in NZ

And @ Catarina: Have you got a quote for the translations yet? I have met a Physio recently who paid NZ$ 4000,- just to get her curriculum and transcript translated!!!!!! And that was for a Bachelor degree.

I wonder what happens, if you sign their form, pay for and get the APC and then head off to Australia. Has anyone done this? Will this be chased?

[AoifeL]

Hi Fyzzio
You obviously have greater knowledge of the NZ system than me and it was in fact some of your posts in other threads that put me off the registration through NZ as I wasn't comfortable signing the form to say I would be seeking work in NZ. As a result I decided to pursue limited registration. The same language requirements are outlined in the Australian registration form as well. However I do know of several physios here in Aus that have gained reg via the TTMA though they are all Irish or UK trained.

It's unfortunate it is such a difficult process as most of our qualifications are very similar but I understand you have to protect your profession and everyone has to be treated equally.

Thanks for your informative post
Aoife

[Teekay]

Registration is not guaranteed, so if you dont satisfy the NZ board, they wont register you.
You DO NOT have to work in NZ if you get NZ registration.

Finally.
I an on Limited registration. and iv had it renewed for another year in line with renewing my Working holiday visa. Yes, I am in a hospital, in the city. And yes, there is much support. I work with around 20 other physios. Work on my own, but there is so much support that you never feel isolated.
If you look around, you can find good work.

Hope that helps.

Liam.

Hi Liam,
Do you have an idea if you are allowed to change employer with your limited registration??? or allowed to change employer before applying for another limited registration from the APC?

[Teekay]

Hilary and Claire

There is a shortage of physiotherapists in Australia and employers are very likely to be more than happy to offer employment and support your application. This system has been in place in Victoria and South Australia for several years and has not hindered applicants for limited registration. The difference now is that rather than the Board sending documents to the APC, the applicant must send them to the APC and then apply to the Board. This is due to the national law requirements.

You can search for jobs online at seek.com.au and physiotherapy.asn.au. You could also place an advertisement with physiotherapy.asn.au

Hope this helps you both - Australia does need experienced physiotherapists.

The Australian Physiotherapy Council
Additional Comment I forgot:
Further to last reply, there are also positions advertised on physiobase.com

With regards to the limited registration, can you change employers??? if yes can you start working for the employer while you wait for a new limited registration application to come through?

[physioemma]

Hi Catarina

Just to let you know, I asked the APC about equivalence of qualification and they said that a UK degree would NOT be granted equivalence of qualification. You can ask them about your specific degree. Also, Limited Reg is apparently being phased out in about 3 months' time, and would only be an option still if there is a 'natural disaster' in Aus and a severe shortage of physios...

(I think I might have already emailed you this info?!)

Gd luck

Emma

Hi guys!
I want to move to australia in january 2012.
I work for 5 years and i have a 4 year graduation in physiotherapy, a post graduation in physiotherapy in sports and a master in physiotherapy sciences, i would like to go first with a limited registration for after aply for assessent of equivalence of qualification. I will take all my documentation translated. I would like help in how to get a sponsor in wollongong from january on to be able to aply for limited registration first.
Thanks

[mcoyne84]

Hi
Very helpful thread!!i am just beginning looking into doing physio in australia or NZ but dont knw where to start looking!!!is there any helpful sites u could direct me too about getting registared especially limited reg which i think is the route i want to take??

Cheers
Mairead

[rosyjcw]

Hi all. This has been a really useful thread for the limited registration process as its a bit of a minefield!I'm a band 6 physio currently working in London and hoping to work in Australia (ideally Melbourne) on a working holiday visa via limited registration in the public interest. I wondered if anyone who has done this had any tips on when/where to look for jobs. Im hoping to be there this Oct/Nov and wasn't sure when I need to start looking. I notice that they use 'grades' to rate experience in job adverts and I wondered if anyone knew which australian grade is equivalent to which UK band...any info much appreciated!

rosy

[cformby]

I didn't have any luck getting limited registration sorted. I am living in Melbourne though and there's so many physios around here that it just doesn't make sense for employers to really offer it as an option (particularly if you're coming on a working holiday visa so can only work for a max of 6 months with one employer).

Once you're registered it's quite easy to find work (I went the NZ route, tedious and a little expensive but definitely worth it), most of the locum work is in the private sector. Nursing homes are always looking for people and pay pretty well and private practices pay VERY well compared to the NHS so even workign a few days a week can be enough if you're ata good one. I've worked in a few places (private practice, nursing homes, on site workers) and am about to start working for a public hospital. The public hospital jobs don't come up too frequently but they are about. The biggest ones are The Alfred (who normally do all their own advertising and recruitment) and St Vincents (who normally get recruitment agents to fill their locum posts). I worked as a band 6 for a few years in London and am paid as a grade 2 over here. Hope this helps, if you want any more specific info just ask!

[rosyjcw]

hi cformby..thanks so much for taking the time to answer..really useful info. congratulations on making it over there! i had been wondering how employers would view physios coming over on limited registration especailly with the supervision and paperwork that theyd need to do..but id seen a few posts from people saying there was work and the ACP had said there was a shortage of phsyios so i was hopeful! but good to get an idea of the current climate from someone who's there. how long ago did you do the nz registration...i looked into that but saw on the application form that there's a section on intention to practice in nz..did you spend anytime working there or did you head straight to australia? i suppose if you go through that route you need working holiday visas for both australia and nz?

thanks

[cformby]

I began getting my registration about this time last year and it eventually arrived in November! I can't blame the NZ board entirely though. At first I had it returned to me as I didn't have enough evidence for the neuro part of the application (make sure your evidence fits the EXACT criteria, I had been working as a band 6 neuro physio for over a year but part of my evidence didn't fit the criteria, although it showed what I can do it didn't show that i was at the level of a new graduate - when I spoke to the board they said despite me proving I was above the leve of a new graduate I had to prove I was at that level instead). I then resent the form but as a new tax year had started the form had changed (by one tick box) so i had to go back to have a lawyer sign the new copy etc and repost it (although I did get this done in Ecuador while travellinng adn the Ecuadorian post lost it, then the Colombian post had the same problem and bad luck so did the Guatemalan post so my Mexican version eventually arrived 3 months later!). Once all the evidence was received it was a pretty easy process.

Under the visa part I wrote on the form that I would be submitting an application for a working holiday visa once i had registration (an Aussie recruitment consultant advised me this was acceptable) and as for working in NZ I plan to head over there for a couple of months for the ski season so I wasn't really lying. There's definitely a few physios over here that have no intention of ever going to work there though adn they haven't had any problems. My advice would be to send the application sooner rather than later before the loop hole is closed if you don't actually plan to work there (but of course you will be planning to work there and wont be providing false information right? )

I headed straight to Aus and don't have any sort of NZ visa yet but will probably be getting one over the next couple of weeks.

In short, it can be a lengthy process but it's quicker than the Aussie exams, it is expensive (NZ application fee, NZ registration fee, NZ certificate fee, AUssie application fee, Aussie registrtaion fee, Aussie personal indemnity insurance, the list goes on....) IF you were just thinking of coming here for a couple of months to supplement your income while travelling, don't bother. You'll spend more than you'll earn but if you want to work it's a great place. The wages are much better (but the cost of living is high), the Aussies are great and it's a really good environment to work in.

Hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else you need help with.

[rosyjcw]

hello, ok i think i'm going to go down the nzroute! ive been going through all the application info and i'm in the process of contacting my uni to get the info i need from them about curriculum etc..theres a section on confirmation of supervised practiced and i wonderd if you sent copies of your placement booklets or if you just got your uni to write a statement about what was covered? also..i didnt actually do a respiratory placement at uni and although i did a junior rotation and im oncall..given what you said about proving youre at newly qualified level i was worried this might be a bit of a problem!

thanks again for your help

[cformby]

My uni syallubus covered my placements in sufficient detail so I didn't send any of my placement books (unless I was using them as supporting evidence). By gaining your degree it means that you've covered all the areas of supervised practice outlined in your course syllabus.

I'm sure you'll be fine with the respiratory aspect. Remember NZ do do a 4 year degree so their respiratory modules will be a little more in depth than ours and from memory nothing done as a junior will mean that your appriasals wont cover the NZ competencies. I'd spent quite a while working as a band 6 in neuro before applying so think that's more what the problem was. I used my oncall competenices and junior experience to fulfil the respiratory part of the NZ competeny and had no problems there whatsoever.

Let me know if you get stuck on anyting else. Probably a good idea to get someone who isn't a physio to check over all of your stuff (I got my mum to do mine), things you think are obvious aren't always and it takes someone who doesn't know what you're talking about to point it sometimes.

[rosyjcw]

great, thanks- that sounds hopeful! ive requested the info from my uni and im currently trying to gather info for the compencies. i wasnt sure exactly the format this should take - i wondered if i need to refer to each competency component separately (eg 2.1, 2.2 etc) or just find stuff that best evidences the competency as a whole (eg competency 2). Also, for rows two and three, when it says 'refer to..' did you just list/bullet point the pieces of evidene or do you need to describe in any way examples of what you've done. i dont know if youd be willing to share an example of one of your competency sheets to get an idea of the format that would be really useful.

thanks rosy

[cformby]

I referred to each competency componemt separately

e.g 2.2 My university course syallbus (page 23) demonstrates........ Further evidence an also be found in my clinical placement booklet (level 3 page 7)

I don't think you have to refer to them all individually but I thought it was worth the extra effort as the board are so strict I didn't want them to return my application for something that i could have done quite easily.

I described each item for rows 2 and 3, again not sure if you need to do this but better to not ahve it returned.

I haven't got a copy of my competency sheets here with me sorry but if you follow the format they're pretty easy to complete, they just take a long, long time (I think mine took about 20 hours to have it all done properly and I still had it returned to me needing more info).

[rudy_4588]

Hi I am a newly qualified physiotherapist and I would like to embark on my physiotherapy career in Australia. Is this realistically viable for a new graduate? Previous posts have suggested that in actual fact the application process to join the APC is catered more towards new graduates, does anyone know if this is still the case? Does anyone have experience of completing the APC written and practical examination? My partner is from Australia and I am considering relocation.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Rudy