Frequently Asked Questions

Joining AAPTA is very simple; you can do so by clicking here and then Apply for Membership. 

There are heaps of benefits of joining AAPTA. It is the one-stop preparation point for your Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC) exams through which you will be provided with all the support, guidance and access to relevant resources including webinars, workshops, mock exams and coaching services throughout your APC journey and beyond.

Please follow this link to fully understand the benefits of AAPTA membership. 

If you are applying for "Premium Membership"- Upon successfully approved application, You will receive an email from AAPTA with a payment link to proceed further and complete your application process. Upon successfully registered as a "AAPTA Premium Member - You will receive your personalised login details, Membership Certificate, AAPTA Comprehensive Information Booklet, Special Discount code for premium members.

You need to start by visiting The Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC). The Australian Physio Council is the only assessment authority for overseas physiotherapy practitioners looking to work in Australia. The council offers assessments for the purposes of 1. General Registration with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia and 2. Skilled Migration under the Department of Home Affairs

You can then become a member of AAPTA (like thousands of other overseas trained physiotherapists who became part of this well-established network), to access guidance, support, information from a highly professional, experienced and trusted mentors and to access all the relevant resources (webinars, workshops, coaching, mock exams etc.) required at every step of your APC exam preparation and beyond. 

Please refer to The Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC) webpage directly for an up-to-date and accurate details on Standard Assessment Pathway

AAPTA team has put together an infographic details on the Standard Assessment Pathyway for our members benefit as outlined below, based on the information available on the Council's page

 

Please refer to the Fee Schedule listed on the APC webpage for the up-to-date information. 

Interim Certificate is the award of a certificate given by the Australian Physiotherapy Council to an overseas trained Physiotherapist undergoing an Assessment process, upon successful Eligibility Assessment and completion of Cultural Safety Training.

Please refer to the Australian Physio Council website directly for further details. 

An interim certificate allows an overseas trained Physiotherapy to apply for a Limited registration with AHPRA to practice Physiotherapy under supervision

 

As per the Council's website, there is no requirement to fulfil English language requirements for the Standard Assessment pathway; however, you may be required to do so for AHPRA's registration purposes for Limited or General Physiotherapy registration.

While there is no comprehensive list of resources recommended for your written exam preparation, there is a list of resources compiled by the Physio council which can be accessed on the council's website under Written Assessment Information Booklet.

AAPTA team also has compiled a list of resources useful for not only your exam preparation but also for your physiotherapy practice after your exams. We endeavour to keep adding more resources under this link, as well as under the resources section of the Premium Members (Membership Zone) area. 

The amount of preparation needed for APC clinical exams can vary from candidate to candidate; the factors that may play a role in your preparation are for example; your learning goals, needs and gaps, your prior knowledge, skills (Cardio vs MSK vs Neuro) and experience (overseas vs Australian experience), your prior qualifications (bachelors vs masters), number of years since you were graduated including recency of practice, exposure to and understanding of the Australian health system and many more. 

AAPTA team encourages candidates preparing for APC exams to thoroughly understand the APC clinical exam process and the Performance domains/criteria set up by the APC as a starting point of your clinical exam preparation. As an adult learner, it is encouraged that you engage in the self-directed and life-long learning process and demonstrate reflective practice. The reflective practice may help you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses against the APC performance indicators which will help you to understand the areas you need to focus more on for your preparation. The ultimate Mantra we advise you to follow for your exam preparation is, "Practice, Practice and Practice". It is advised that you start practising for your clinical exams from the time you complete your written exams; you are encouraged to practice using variety of case scenarios (from Cardio-respiratory, Musculoskeletal and Neurological conditions), under variety of clinical settings (acute, rehab, community) while demonstrating appropriate clinical reasoning, evidence-based practice, risk management and health promotion strategies. 

AAPTA can offer you many opportunities to 1. Evaluate your learning needs 2. Identify your strengths and areas for improvement and 3. Strategies to improve your performance. This is offered via webinars, coaching, mock exams and study days (workshops). Offering very detailed and highly constructive feedback along with tips and strategies to work on your learning gaps is one of the strengths of AAPTA team. 

AAPTA team also has compiled a list of resources useful for not only your exam preparation but also for your physiotherapy practice after your exams. We endeavour to keep adding more resources under this link, as well as under the resources section of the Premium Members (Membership Zone) area. Please make use of these resources to kick start your preparation. 

Alternatively, you simply need to get in touch with us to access the AAPTA services you may need for your successful exam preparation. 

No. As per the Australian Physiotherapy Council website, all your three clinical assessments are now conducted on the same day, in a simulated environment in the APC simulation lab which is located in Richmond, Melbourne, Australia.

If you are overseas, you need to make the necessary arrangements to attend your clinical assessment such as visa, accommodation and travel etc. 

As per the Australian Physiotherapy Council website, they have made some recent changes in August-23. Please refer to the news for further details (Click on the link), as no longer required to restart the whole process if appearing for the standard assessment pathway. If you have attempted all three Clinical Assessment exams, and only passed some, you will have multiple resit attempts to successfully pass the remaining Clinical Assessment.

Please refer to the Clinical Assessment section of the Australian Physiotherapy Council's page.

Please also refer to the following sections of the AAPTA webpage; Useful resources, Services, Events/Workshops and Resources section of Membership Zone

Alternatively, get in touch with AAPTA for all the help you need for your clinical exam preparation. 

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is the national peak body that supports the National Health Practitioner Boards (including Physiotherapy Board) in implementing the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. For more details simply visit - The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

According to Physiotherapy Board, there are four types of registration as follows:

1. General registration

2. Limited registration: (postgraduate training or supervised practice, teaching or research in the public interest)

3. Non-practising registration

4. Student registration.

Limited Registration is a type of Physiotherapy Registration that allows an overseas trained Physiotherapist to practice Physiotherapy under supervision, while the candidate is in the process of gaining General Physiotherapy Registration or simply interested in working in Australia for a short period of time. Please refer to the Physiotherapy Board's Registration Standards to fully under the types of limited registration and the process to apply for limited registration. 

Please also refer to the FAQ and Fact sheet section and the registration forms section of the Physiotherapy Board 

Please also refer to the APC website for details on applying for an Interim certificate that is required to practice Physiotherapy under Limited Registration

If you’ve completed an AHPRA Approved Program of Study for physiotherapy in Australia, you would be eligible to apply directly to the Physiotherapy Board of Australia for registration to practise here. That means that you would not require any assessments with the Council for registration purposes. Please visit Ahpra website to search for Approved Programs of Study by profession. Simply select “physiotherapist” and then click Search in order to see a list of programs that will lead to registration upon successful completion.

According to Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, it is to ensure that health practitioners are able to practise competently and safely, registered health practitioners must have recent practice in the scope in which they intend to work and maintain an adequate connection with their profession. The specific requirements for recency depend on the profession, the level of experience of the practitioner and, if applicable, the length of absence from the practice.

According to the Physiotherapy Board, for Physiotherapy Profession, you must have carried out 450 hours of practice during the three-year period immediately prior to the start of the registration period, or 150 hours in the previous registration year. For more details please visit the AHPRA directly.

According to the Physiotherapy Board's Guidelines for Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII), the PII protects that practitioner "against civil liability incurred by, or loss arising from, a claim that is made as a result of a negligent act, error or omission in the conduct of the physiotherapist". 

The Physiotherapy Board requires all the practising physiotherapists (registered) must have an adequate PII cover. 

The Australian Physiotherapy Council requires the candidates undergoing the assessment process to have a minimum of $5 million cover. As per the Australian Physiotherapy Council, the candidates undergoing an assessment process, are automatically entitled to receive FREE PII ($20 million) through the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA). Please visit the Australian Physiotherapy Council website directly for details. 

Yes, as per CPD guidelines by Physiotherapy Board of Australia, CPD learning activities include a wide variety of formal and non-formal activities. Participation in AAPTA events ( webinars, mock exams, study days/workshops, coaching, case discussion with aapta mentors etc.) all form part of both formal and non-formal activities outlined by the Physiotherapy Board

As per the Board, examples of formal and non-formal activities are as follows:

"1. Formal learning activities: •Tertiary courses • Accredited courses • Work-based learning contracts • Conferences, forums and seminars • Undertaking research and presentation of work • Courses leading to a degree, higher degree and research degree • Online learning (interactive discussion and chat rooms) • In-service education programs • Making presentations • Videoconferencing.

2. Non-formal and incidental learning activities: • Reflecting on the experience in day-to-day activities • Reading books, journals, etc. • Secondment and/or contact with other professionals • Quality assurance activities, such as accreditation • Participation in committees • Information sharing at meetings • Discussion with colleagues • Internet research". 

To meet the registration standard, you must complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD each year. For more details please visit the Physiotherapy Board directly.

Yes, AHPRA allows overseas trained Physiotherapists to practice Physiotherapy under "Limited Registration". Please refer to the Physiotherapy Board's Registration Standards for details on how you can apply for limited registration and practice Physiotherapy in Australia under Supervision

Please also refer to the FAQ and Factsheet section of the Physiotherapy Board website. 

Please also refer to the Australian Physiotherapy Council website for details on obtaining an Interim Certificate that allows you to practice under "Limited Registration" standard. 

Yes, an overseas qualified physiotherapist is allowed to work as a physiotherapy assistant (PTA)/ Allied Health Assistant (AHA) in public or private hospitals, private practices, Aged/residential care nursing homes or in any other setting that requires a PTA/AHA. While employers may prefer candidates with specific qualifications (e.g. Certificate IV in Allied Health) to be considered for PTA/AHA roles, there are a number of overseas trained physiotherapists who have and have been working as a PTA/AHA during their APC process without having local PTA/AHA certificates or training. 

While employers may prefer candidates with specific qualifications (e.g. Certificate IV in Allied Health) to be considered for PTA roles usually called as "Allied Health Assistant", there are a number of overseas trained physiotherapists who have and have been working as allied health assistant during their APC process without having local allied health assistance certificates or training.