There is no single ethics course for Ahpra conditions, because conditions differ. If your registration has conditions such as supervision, limits on how or where you practise, restricted access to medicines or limits on patient contact, an ethics or professionalism course does not replace what any condition requires. What it can do is form part of the evidence you put to your National Board when you apply to have the conditions changed or removed. Ahpra says the Board assesses whether the reasons for the restrictions have been "adequately addressed such that the restrictions are no longer required". A completed course on the subject of the concern, with a dated certificate and a written reflection on what you have changed, is one way to show that. This guide covers conditions other than education conditions and health conditions: a condition that itself requires education sets out what it needs in its own wording.
If conditions are on your registration, Remediation for Fitness to Practise covers how to build a remediation plan that answers each part of the concern, with dated evidence. It is A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) for 2 CPD hours, self-paced, with a dated certificate on completion.
For what each kind of condition means, who imposes it and what the public register shows, read Conditions on your Ahpra registration: what they mean and how to meet them.
Which conditions an ethics course can support
Ahpra's National Restrictions Library groups conditions into categories. For the ones below, a course on the subject of the concern behind the condition can be part of the evidence for a review. Read the reasons in your notice: they name the concern the Board wants to see addressed.
| Condition | What a course can help you show | Courses that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Supervision and mentoring | That you practise safely and to the standard expected, and the learning that supports it | Remediation for Fitness to Practise; Ensuring Clinical Competence and Patient Safety |
| Restricted practice (for example, not practising alone, set hours or no telehealth) | That the risk behind the limit has been understood and dealt with | Ensuring No Repeat of Misconduct or Mistake in Future Practice; Insight for Fitness to Practise |
| Restricted medication access | Safe prescribing and the records that go with it | Prescribing Guidance and Standards; Documentation for Healthcare Professionals |
| Restricted patient contact | Boundaries with a patient or a colleague, consent and chaperones | Professional Boundaries Course; Privacy, Consent and Chaperone in Healthcare Practice |
| Other (for example, an audit of your practice) | Records and practice that meet the standard | Documentation for Healthcare Professionals |
Where the concern was about honesty, conduct or how you dealt with a colleague, the ethics or professionalism course written for your profession, or Probity and Honesty, fits the concern more closely. Find yours on the page for your National Board.
What the Board looks at when you apply for review
- When you can apply. You apply on Ahpra's form ARCD-00 once the review period has ended, or earlier if there has been a material change in your circumstances.
- What the Board assesses. Whether the reasons for the restrictions have been adequately addressed, so that they are no longer required. Your application should set out the basis for your request, with evidence.
- Reports. Ahpra says reports supporting an application should be dated within the four weeks before you apply and should address the risks the restrictions were imposed to reduce. Ahpra will not seek reports on your behalf, so gather them yourself.
- How long it takes. Ahpra says an application may take four to twelve weeks to consider where the restrictions do not stop you practising. Applications about restrictions that stop you practising are given priority.
How to use an ethics course in your application
- Match the course to the concern. The reasons in your notice name it. For a boundaries concern, choose a boundaries course; for a prescribing concern, a prescribing course.
- Complete it early in the review period. That leaves time to put the learning into practice, so your reflection, and any supervisor report, can describe changes that have lasted.
- Write a reflection. What happened, what you learned, what you have changed in your practice and how you keep it up. Our guide on how to write a reflection for Ahpra sets out the structure.
- Put it with your application. Include the dated certificate and the reflection with the reports your conditions call for.
- Keep complying. Every condition stays in force until the Board changes or removes it.
Ethics and Professionalism Courses for Practitioners With Conditions
Each course is self-paced and online, with an assessment you must pass and a dated certificate showing the course title, provider, date and 2 CPD hours. Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal (MBBS, MRCS, MRCGP).
- Remediation for Fitness to Practise a remediation plan that answers each part of the concern, with dated evidence · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Ensuring No Repeat of Misconduct or Mistake in Future Practice what you have changed so the concern does not recur · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Insight for Fitness to Practise showing you understand what went wrong and why it mattered · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Reflection for Fitness to Practise writing the reflection that goes with your application · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Professional Boundaries Course boundaries with a patient or a colleague, including dual relationships · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Prescribing Guidance and Standards prescribing, medicines and the records that go with them · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Documentation for Healthcare Professionals records that say what happened, and when · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
- Probity and Honesty honesty with patients, employers and the regulator · A$200 (A$140 with Bulk Buy 10) · 2 CPD hours
Choose 2 or more courses as a Bulk Buy, from A$350 for two to A$1,400 for ten, on the Bulk Buy page.
What a course does not do
A course does not meet, replace or shorten any condition, and it does not change a condition by itself: the National Board, or its delegate, decides. Healthcare Ethics Australia cannot promise any outcome. Speak to your indemnity insurer, medical defence organisation or union about your own application.
Sources and further reading
- Ahpra: Review of conditions or undertakings
- Ahpra: Practitioner restrictions (National Restrictions Library)
- Ahpra: Monitoring and compliance fact sheet
Frequently asked questions
Is there an ethics course for Ahpra conditions?
There is no single course for every condition, because conditions differ. Where your registration has conditions such as supervision, limits on how or where you practise, restricted access to medicines or limits on patient contact, an ethics or professionalism course on the subject of the concern can form part of the evidence you put to your National Board when you apply to have the conditions changed or removed. It does not replace what any condition requires.
Can an ethics course get conditions removed from my registration?
Not on its own. The National Board, or its delegate, decides an application for review. Ahpra says the Board assesses whether the reasons for the restrictions have been adequately addressed, so that they are no longer required. A completed course with a dated certificate and a written reflection is one part of that evidence, alongside the reports your conditions call for, such as supervisor reports.
When should I complete the course?
Early in the review period rather than in the weeks before you apply. That gives you time to put what you learned into practice, so your reflection, and any supervisor report, can describe changes that have lasted. Keep complying with every condition throughout.
What should I send with the certificate?
A written reflection that links the course to the concern: what happened, what you learned, what you have changed in your practice and how you keep it up. Ahpra says reports supporting an application for review should be dated within the four weeks before you apply and should address the risks the restrictions were imposed to reduce, and Ahpra will not seek reports on your behalf, so gather them yourself.
Does this guide apply to an education condition?
No. A condition that itself requires education sets out what it needs in its own wording, and this guide does not cover it. Read that condition closely and ask your case officer about anything you are unsure of.
How long does a review of conditions take?
Ahpra says an application may take four to twelve weeks to consider where the restrictions do not stop you practising. Applications about restrictions that stop you practising are given priority. You apply on Ahpra's form ARCD-00 once the review period has ended, or earlier if there has been a material change in your circumstances.
This article is published by Healthcare Ethics Australia for general information. It is not legal advice and does not replace advice from your indemnity insurer, professional association or a lawyer about your own matter.