Division of Health Sciences
Students studying in the above programs have Student Registration
requirements under South Australian legislation (Practice Acts)
governing professional registration.
**NOTE for students in Clinical Pharmacy programs:
What does student registration mean?
Students studying in the above programs are required to be ***annually
registered on the Student Register of the relevant Registration Board
before attending classes. No student may commence classes, or remain
active in the program (even if not attending classes) in any year
without a current student registration. Students
without a current student registration (including while on leave from
their program) will lose their place in the program.
*** Note: Pharmacy students require student registration once only, on
entry into the program.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of SA is yet to advise regarding whether
they will require annual registration or registration only on entry to a
program.
Who is responsible for notifying the details of what is required
to register?
The registration Boards are responsible to provide this information.
Details about student registration are available on the following
registration Board websites. [Note that details on the Nursing and
Midwifery Registration Board website may not be available until late
2009].
Please look only at the details on the website of the Board relevant to
your program, as the requirements for each
Board differ to some degree:
Nursing and Midwifery Board of SA:
http://www.nmbsa.sa.gov.au/stan_other.html
Physiotherapists Board of SA:
www.physioboardsa.org.au/
Podiatry Board of SA:
www.pbsa.saboards.com.au/
Occupational Therapists Board of SA:
www.otrb.saboards.com.au/
Pharmacy Board of South Australia:
www.pharmacyboard.sa.gov.au/
The Registration process requires the supply of certified documents to
Boards. Information about sourcing a Justice of the Peace (JP), who can
certify such documents, is available at
http://www.unisa.edu.au/facilities/cs/jp.asp
Assistance with Registration
If you have any queries about the registration process, please contact
the registration Board, not the University.
Whose responsibility is it to comply with Student Registration?
It is the student's responsibility to fully comply with the registration
Board's requirements for student registration.
When should commencing students begin the registration process?
As the registration process may take some time, it is essential that
domestic students commence the process as
soon as they receive their Offer Letter.
International students may wait until they arrive in Australia,
but must commence gathering the required documents as soon as they
receive their Confirmation of Enrolment.
Is Registration required if an offer is deferred?
No. However, if you accept the offer the following year you must
register.
What are the options should the registration Board refuse to
register a commencing student?
Please read the information available on the Board websites. The
Practice Acts do allow for an appeal process through the District Court.
If a commencing student receives notification from a Board that
registration has been refused they should immediately contact their
Program Director (name available on the program website) or:
Ms Bronwen Webb
Division Manager, Division of Health Sciences
Email:
bronwen.webb@unisa.edu.au Tel: (618) 8302 2288
The University may offer the student a place in a program where
registration is not required, if a place is available and the student
meets that program's entry requirements.
After the initial registration, how often is registration
required and when is registration renewed?
All Boards that require annual registration notify students in advance
of when their registration requires renewal. Physiotherapy Board student
registrations are on a calendar year (January to December) basis.
Occupational Therapy and Podiatry Board registrations are on a financial
year (July to June) basis. Initial registration is for 18 months to fit
in with this. The Pharmacy Board requires student registration only on
entry to the program. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of SA has yet to
advise re renewals.
Is registration required while on leave from a program or if
'active' in the program but not enrolled?
Yes. You must remain registered with the Board if you are on
Leave of Absence from your program or if you remain 'active' (that is,
you have not officially withdrawn from the program) even if you have no
enrolments. If you are not registered (and this is checked annually with
the Board) your enrolment in the program will be cancelled and the Board
has the right, under the Act, to fine the student for not notifying them
of the change in enrolment status.
What are the options if a student loses their place in a
program, due to non compliance with the student registration
requirements?
The student may appeal the University's decision to cancel the student's
place in the program, provided the registration process has been
commenced and the Board has confirmed that the application is being
considered and registration is likely to be successful.
The appeal must be made in writing to:
The Division Manager, Division of Health Sciences
University of South Australia
GPO Box 2471, Adelaide 5001.
(The appeal letter may be hand delivered to the Division office, room
P6-61, Level 6 Playford Building.)
The appeal should outline the extenuating circumstances that might have
prevented the student being unaware of student registration requirements
provided via offer letters, SATAC Guides, information sessions and
University websites.
In the instance of a successful appeal against the University's decision
to remove the student from the program, the student would be re-instated
only after notification was received from the Board that student
registration had been achieved.
If the appeal to the University is not successful, or, despite a
successful appeal, student registration is not achieved, a student
wishing to regain a place in the program would need to
re-apply through SATAC for admission the following
year, with no guarantee of gaining a place. [Note that a student
who had their application for registration refused by a Board, should
consider the likelihood of a second application being successful, before
applying for the same program again.]
At the University's discretion, a place in a program that does not have
registration requirements may be offered, through internal transfer, but
this is not guaranteed. It will depend on a place being available and
the student meeting all entry requirements for that program.
Does withdrawal from the program require notification to the
Board?
Yes. The Practice Acts make this a responsibility of
both the student and the University. Financial penalties apply for both
the student and the University if this is not complied with.
IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO CONTINUE YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDIES, THEN YOU MUST
COMPLETE A "WITHDRAW FROM PROGRAM" FORM - AVAILABLE AT CAMPUS CENTRAL or
at the following site:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/student/forms/default.asp
and you MUST notify the relevant Board and your Program Director.
If a student does not formally withdraw from a program, but takes no
part in it for a period of time, they can be "deemed" to have withdrawn
in conditions outlined in the University's Enrolment policy A48.5. The
link to the policy is below.
http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/policies/academic/A48.asp
Medical Fitness requirements under the new Practice Acts
The registration application process requires students to disclose any
medical condition which may affect fitness to practice. Under the new
Practice Acts the University and individual health professionals (which
includes University staff who are health professionals) are required to
notify the Board if they consider a student to be "Medically Unfit" to
practice. While the term "Medically Unfit" is not defined in the new
Acts, legal advice is that this means that the student may pose a risk
to patient safety when providing treatment. The University has processes
to fairly handle this situation. These are outlined in the Assessment
Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM), under "Practicum, Field and
Clinical Placements". (The APPM is annually reviewed.)
http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/2010/APPM_2010.pdf
The final decision about "Medical Fitness" of a person is taken by the
registration Board, not the University. One of the options the
registration Boards have under the Practice Acts is to provide student
registration in a limited form, applying specific limitations. In
situations where a Medical Fitness issue has caused the Board to refuse
student registration, even in a limited form, the University will
discuss the available options with the student. These may include
internal transfer to a program with no student registration
requirements.
Important
There are penalties under the new Practice
Acts, for both students and the University, if their respective
requirements under the Acts are not complied with. Links to the Practice
Acts are available on the registration Board websites and it is
important that students are aware of the content of the legislation and
their responsibilities under the Practice Act.
