The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is the national organisation responsible for implementing the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) across Australia.

Ahpra works in partnership with national health practitioner boards (National Boards) to ensure that the community has access to a safe health workforce across the 15 professions currently registered under the National Scheme. Every decision Ahpra and National Boards make is guided by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as in force in each state and territory (the National Law).

Ahpra has an office in each state and territory responsible for the majority of operational matters and a national office in Melbourne. Ahpra reports to a Ministerial Council. Ahpra supports the operations of the National Boards for each profession covered by the scheme, and the state and territory boards and committees established by the National Boards.

The services provided by Ahpra to the National Boards employ best practice approaches to regulation and cover registration functions, the management of a national public register of health practitioners, the handling of notifications on behalf of the Boards and, subject to decisions by states and territories, responsibility to the National Boards for the highest standards of professional investigations and disciplinary prosecutions.

The fifteen health professions included in the scheme are:

• Chiropractic
• Occupational therapy
• Chinese medicine
• Osteopathy
• Dental
• Paramedicine
• Medical
• Pharmacy
• Medical radiation practice
• Physiotherapy
• Nursing
• Podiatry
• Midwifery
• Psychology
• Optometry
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Health Practice