Registration standards

December 2024

Ahpra and National Boards (except for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia) have published advance copies of the revised Registration standards: English Language Skills (the ELS standards). These include:

• the Common English language skills standard which applies to all applicants for initial registration in Chinese medicine, chiropractic, dental, medical, medical radiation, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology, and
• the Nursing and Midwifery ELS standard, which applies to all applicants for initial registration as enrolled nurses, registered nurses and midwives.

Advance copies of the ELS standards are available on the Ahpra website. Please note that the 2015 ELS standards will remain current until the revised ELS standards come into effect by April 2025. We are focusing on improving the applicant experience and will provide more specific information about when the standard will come into effect in early 2025.

Read the news item for further information about the updates to the ELS standard and what you need to know about any changes before they come into effect.