Physiotherapy Board of Australia Chair Kim Gibson says, ‘More than anything, I would like to welcome our new graduates to the profession. Despite perhaps a challenging end to your studies, it is an exciting time to be a physiotherapist.’

Registrant data from the Board shows that as of 30 June 2020,  there are 37,113 registered physiotherapists in Australia. This shows 1823 new practitioners since the end of 31 January 2020.

The role of the Board

Our top priority is safety of the public.

The Board works with other regulators and stakeholders in a complex regulatory environment.

The functions of the Board include:

• registering physiotherapists and students


• developing standards, codes and guidelines for the physiotherapy profession


• handling notifications, complaints, investigations and disciplinary hearings


• assessing overseas trained practitioners who wish to practise in Australia


• approving accreditation standards and accredited courses of study.

The Board has a range of resources to help your understanding of what it means to be a registered physiotherapist in Australia.

New graduates

You can apply for registration online via the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) or the Board’s website.

You’ll need to provide evidence that you meet the registration standards for criminal history, English language skills and professional indemnity insurance standards.

Important information to include with the application It’s important that you provide  correctly certified photo ID documents with your application.

To get it right the first time, download the guide ‘Certifying Documents: Instructions for applicants and authorised officers’ from here, and take it with you to the authorised officer.

Be sure to include:

• complete criminal history disclosures


• complete information about any health impairment (and how you’re managing it)


• information on how you meet the English language standard.

Advice on how to apply as well as tips for avoiding common causes of delay can be found on the graduate applications page on the Ahpra website.

You can also visit the student registration page of the Board’s website to view a video about the registration process.

You cannot be registered until your education provider provides us with your graduate results and confirms your eligibility to graduate.

We’ll let you know when we’ve received your results and we’re ready to make a final assessment of your application.

Once we’re satisfied you meet all the registration requirements, we will register you and publish your name to the national register of practitioners.

National graduate survey

Last year Ahpra conducted its first survey of new graduates to hear about their experience registering for the first time.

We contacted more than 24,000 graduates with a response rate of over 15 per cent.

As a result, some of the improvements we’re making include:

• emailing graduates with updates to complement the online application tracker and give more detail about where your application is at in the assessment process


• providing more guidance on how to correctly certify photo identity documents.

We hope this will make first-time registration a smoother, less stressful experience.

>> Visit physiotherapyboard.gov.au for more information.

For registration enquiries, difficulties in accessing the online application form, or if you are experiencing financial hardship, call 1300 419 495