Pollyana

As of 4 February 2015, National Boards and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) have implemented a new procedure for checking international criminal history.

This new approach requires certain applicants and registered practitioners to apply for an international criminal history check (ICHC) from an AHPRA approved vendor, who will provide the ICHC report to the applicant or registered practitioner, and directly to AHPRA.

A new approach as of 4 February 2015

As of 4 February 2015, National Boards and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) have implemented a new procedure for checking international criminal history.

This new approach requires certain applicants and registered practitioners to apply for an international criminal history check (ICHC) from an AHPRA approved vendor, who will provide the ICHC report to the applicant or registered practitioner, and directly to AHPRA.

Applying for an ICHC

Please follow these steps when applying for an ICHC:

• Apply for an ICHC before submitting your AHPRA registration application.
• Read Important information for international criminal history check applicants before you apply for an ICHC.
• Apply for an ICHC from the AHPRA approved vendor - Fit2Work.
• Applicants will be responsible for paying for their international criminal history check.
• The approved vendor will provide an ICHC reference page and check reference number. You will need to provide these as part of your AHPRA registration application.
• The approved vendor will advise both you and AHPRA of the results when they are available.
• Do not send your international criminal history check results to AHPRA, as AHPRA will receive them directly from the approved vendor.

Who needs to apply for an ICHC

Certain applicants and practitioners applying for registration or renewal as of 4 February 2015 will need to apply for an ICHC. See criteria below:
New applicants

• All new applicants seeking registration as health practitioners in Australia, if they:
• declare a criminal history outside Australia, and/or
• have lived, or been primarily based in one or more countries other than Australia for six consecutive months or longer, when aged 18 years or more.

Registered practitioners

Currently registered practitioners who:

• are seeking to renew their registration or applying for a change in registration type, if:
• there has been any change to their criminal history in one or more countries other than Australia since their last declaration to AHPRA.
• at any time of the year, inform the relevant National Board that they have been:
• charged with an offence outside Australia that is punishable by a sentence of 12 months imprisonment or more, or
• convicted of, have pleaded guilty to or are the subject of a finding of guilt by a court for an offence, outside Australia, that is punishable by imprisonment.

Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (TTMR) registrants

• Practitioners who have been registered under Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (TTMR) from 4 February 2015 if they:
• declare a criminal history outside of Australia; and/or
• have lived, or have been primarily based in any one or more countries other than Australia for six consecutive months or longer, when aged 18 years or more.
• These practitioners will be required to complete an ICHC form sent to them by AHPRA.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - International criminal history checks

Pollyana

Personally it sounds like a recipe for chaos, not just AHPRA but also an external provider involved....but we shall see.........

genorm

Currently, AHPRA are unable to tell their left hand from their right. If it takes 18 months plus to register a nurse from the UK, how long will it take for this "NEW" process to complete - 5 years?

genorm

On another note, Criminal checks are undertaken by Immigration as part of the visa process. Once again, AHPRA is trying to muscle in on processes that are already undertaken by other government departments? What next - AHPRA controlled driving licensing?

Pollyana

Its a bit worrying isn't it. Especially as they have involved a third party. Currently police checks are the responsibility of the applicant and in many countries (like the UK) the police check result goes to the applicant who supplies it to DIBP. This new process is shielded in secrecy, with a third party applying on the applicants behalf.
So, thinking Uk checks - how are they going to do the check? It can't be ACPO ( as for the visa) cos that goes to the applicant. Are they doing CRB checks? If so, under what authority? There is so little public info available that I can't work out where/how they are checking or under what laws. If its going via Interpol gawd help everyone cos I used to do those and we waited 8-9 months for replies.

genorm

My understanding is that all CRB checks are now done in Liverpool, and I remember my last one in 2007 took months. I find this "double-dipping" by AHPRA quite unsettling - what rights to they have under the Geneva convention to do this? AHPRA's senior management as a group could probably be excused for misinterpreting UK educational standards, but Mr Fletcher has lived and worked in the UK and SHOULD be on top of this. Maybe he did a deal with the NHS to seriously hamper the prospects of UK nurses relocating to Oz. Prevention of the freedom of movement especially by insidious means, would be an extremely serious breach of a person's Human Rights.

Pollyana

In a previous life (before I moved to Aus) I worked for the police doing the checks which are now under the auspices of the CRB. The whole CRB set-up caused concern to those of us who had previously been responsible for checking, and the time taken for checking was one of the biggest red flags. Prior to that, the only way of checking with another country for their recirds was via Interpol, and the timeline meant that the checks were usually endorsed 'UK only'. I remember doing one with Germany over a person with cause for concern, and it took 9 months before coming back clear. We could not - even as a UK Police Force - go directly to another country and ask for a check on an individual. Whether the CRB checks with Interpol or not now, I don't know

So my first thoughts on the AHPRA announcement have been along the same lines as yours, under what laws etc do they have the right to do these checks? How long is it going to take? Will they be submitting the request through the AFP and then through Interpol? Surely they have to tell the applicants how this will be done.

However they plan to do this, it appears to be - as you say - an infringement of human rights. Police checks by an unknown route, taking an unknown time, with no warning before they were introduced - and duplicating the work of DIBP.

genorm

The "AHPRA Approved Vendor" is "Fit2Work.com.au"

Here is a link to their site:

https://www.fit2work.com.au/PreEmplo...+uklTU=&type=o

I'm quite alarmed by this move by AHPRA - what safegurds are in place to prevent invasions of privacy and/or identity theft by potential, unscrupulous employees of this "Approved Vendor" ?

Also, the very term "Fit2Work" and the relevant police checks, suggest this is something required by an employer, not a registration agency.

Here is the "Fit2Work" Privacy policy: http://www.mercury.com.au/privacypolicy.html

It should be noted that they only adhere to Australian privacy laws, (and presumably not others, ie EU and/or UK)

I may approach both AHPRA and "Fit2Work" to see what guarantees against corruption are in place.

I may also contact the Home Office in the UK to ask if this kind of activity is legal!

Pollyana

Yeah I followed the links to Fit2work but withut going through the application procdure its hard to see what is actually involved.
Most hospitals and Health depts here ask for polcie checks and/or workng with children checks anyway (as I'm sure you know) - hts effectively means that most migrants will have to produce three lots of police checks - one to DIBP, one to the employer and a third obtained by unknown means by Fit2work - who's going to verify it? Any checks in place in case of dispute by the applicant (who won't even have seen the resut)?

genorm

NB - I believe that these checks only apply to GPs and Physicians - not to Nurses.

mikelincs

Unless the criminal checks are similar to the ones health practioners have to get done in the UK. Not the normal immigration ones but the much more detailed ones that include reference to any suspicions and warnings given to the person. I know when I worked in the NHS I had to have a full disclosure check done so that I could even visit the children's or baby ward.

Pollyana

Not wishing to doubt you, but it does sound like an all inclusive rule?

All new applicants seeking registration as health practitioners in Australia, if they:

declare a criminal history outside Australia, and/or
have lived, or been primarily based in one or more countries other than Australia for six consecutive months or longer, when aged 18 years or more.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - International criminal history checks

(and its more stringent than DIBP who ask for police checks after 12 months not SIX

genorm

@mikelincs - Yes, I agree, but isn't that schedule available online for checks? I know I am able to look at entries where Health professionals in the UK have a restriction of some kind. (I can do the same within AHPRA). I just don't get why applicants have to pay twice for something. If AHPRA MUST do them, then DIBP don't - surely!

@Pollyana - reading it again, and checking on the Nurse/Midwife common forms, it does appear that this is indeed, for everybody!

genorm

Was it undertaken by the employer (NHS) or the registering body though Mike?

mikelincs

By my employer, and was a requirement for continuing to work in any area where there were children or other vulnerable people.