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Student Registration with Professional Boards

Important information for continuing students in:

(*except students studying offshore)


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. Financial penalties exist if the student does not comply with his/her responsibilities under the Act.

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 a 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 has had their application for student 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 over 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 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.

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