Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia - May 2025
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May 2025

Issue 40 - May 2025

From the Chair

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2025! The year is off to a flying start with public consultation on our updated Professional capabilities document, which opened in March. This is your opportunity to have a say on regulation that affects you directly.

This is also the first year of the embedded learning model for nuclear medicine students in Queensland, which has been coordinated by RMIT and Queensland Health. We will be following the progress of some of the participating students in our newsletters over the next several years with an introduction to the program and first interview in this issue.

We were in Adelaide for the annual ASMIRT conference in March, which was full of learning, collaboration and important discussions. And we will be attending the annual ANZSNM conference in May in Melbourne, come and say hello!

And last but by no means least, a big welcome to Justin Untersteiner, the new CEO of Ahpra. We look forward to working with you and taking the National Scheme into the future.

Cara Miller
Chair, Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia

Board news

Consulting on updated Professional capabilities for medical radiation practice

Public consultation on the draft Professional capabilities for medical radiation practice is now open.

The Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia (the Board) invites you to share your thoughts about the minimum practice threshold for the profession. We want to understand how the draft capabilities affect you, your patients and your community.

The public consultation closes Wednesday, 28 May 2025.

To view the consultation and supporting documents please head to the Current consultations page under the News tab on the Board’s website. Please email your feedback to medicalradiationconsultation@ahpra.gov.au.

Teaching and Mentoring on the Run programs

The Board is again offering Teaching on the Run (TOTR) workshops for medical radiation practitioners. TOTR is a national program that helps improve the quality of teaching offered to healthcare practitioners and students. It is suitable for all levels of qualified practitioners.

This year the Board is also offering Mentoring on the Run (MOTR) which is designed to assist practitioners to provide mentoring, advice and guidance for mentees.

Numbers are strictly limited.

Details about the workshops and links to enrol can be found on the Supervisor training page of the Board’s website.

Latest workforce data released

The Board’s latest quarterly registration data report covers the period to 31 December 2024. At this date, there were 20,861 registered medical radiation practitioners, including 20,269 with general registration. This figure includes 16,467 diagnostic radiographers, 3,003 radiation therapists and 1,374 nuclear medicine technologists.

There were 136 practitioners who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or 0.7 per cent of the profession.

For further data breakdowns by division, age, gender and principal place of practice, visit the Board’s Statistics page to read the report.

Spotlight on students

Meet the nuclear medicine students getting experience early

Queensland students are experiencing a new way of learning with RMIT's Bachelor of Medical Radiation (Nuclear Medicine – Industry Practice). The program offers a blend of remote learning and hands-on training, with students embedded and financially supported by public and private partner organisations across the state.

This new program allows Queensland-based students to balance studies with work and personal commitments, while simultaneously contributing to the much-needed growth of the local nuclear medicine workforce.

Chief Allied Health Officer at Queensland Health, Liza-Jane McBride said this program is providing a pipeline of skilled workers for the healthcare system.

‘Nuclear medicine scientists are essential to the health and safety of our communities, and we’re excited to see more students access opportunities like these for innovative education and training,’ Ms McBride said.

The Board spoke to some students about their experience with the program and why this model was the right fit for them.

Ashleigh Nguyen

With over 10 years of experience as a medical imaging assistant, Ashleigh was always interested in pursuing a career in nuclear medicine. When the opportunity to combine her work and her passion for learning popped up with the embedded student model, she jumped at the chance.

‘This model works really well for me, for my learning style and for my family. I have four kids, and this hybrid model with a mix of online learning and hands-on experience is what’s given me the opportunity to be able study,’ Ashleigh said.

‘I’m able to learn the content in class, then apply it in practice, and reflect on it with my mentors at placement, my course coordinators and my fellow students.’

Rebecca Hall

Rebecca, who is 41, grew up in a very remote Yolngu community in North-East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, and at the time had very little interest in academia. Now halfway through the first semester of her nuclear medicine degree, she says she’s found her path.

‘The on-the-job training has been invaluable, learning from experienced nuclear medicine technologists, working with cutting edge technology. Discovering the incredible potential of radiation in medicine is both exciting and fascinating,’ Rebecca said.

‘This program is life changing, allowing me to be present for my family as well as facilitating my career as a future medical radiation practitioner here in Queensland. I am thrilled to be part of this program and proud to be contributing to Queensland’s future in nuclear medicine.’

What’s new?

Increased protection for the public

Patients are being given greater insight into the safety of practitioners, under new measures that will see proven instances of sexual misconduct permanently published on their public register record.

The amendments will also provide increased protections for people who make complaints about health practitioners, including new measures making it an offence for practitioners to enter into non-disclosure agreements that prevent complaints being made to health regulators.

Announcing the changes at the time, Ahpra Acting CEO Kym Ayscough said the new measures were a milestone in patient protection.

‘Everybody has the right to expect their practitioner to be safe and fit to practise, and these reforms strengthen that right,’ Ms Ayscough said.

‘We support these changes, which align with the range of reforms that Ahpra and the National Boards are progressing as part of our actions to improve public safety involving sexual misconduct in healthcare.’

Read about the key changes to the National Law.

Updated English language skills registration standard now in effect

The revised Registration standard: English language skills is now in effect. While already registered practitioners won’t need to meet this standard, these changes will enable more flexible pathways for future applicants, getting more practitioners into the workforce safely.

Important changes to the standard include expanding the list of recognised countries, reducing the accepted score for the writing component of approved English language tests to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent), adding the Cambridge English language skills test and improving flexibility for applicants to meet National Boards’ English language skill requirements.

Read more about the updated standard.

New case studies added to guidance for practitioners using social media 

Ahpra and the National Boards have made some updates to the social media guidance to ensure it remains relevant and useful to practitioners.  

The updates include prioritising the information around public comment and trust in the professions to highlight the recent joint statement on discrimination and racism, new case studies for social media activities likely to warrant an investigation, and further professionalism pitfalls to be aware of when using social media.  

While these additions do not change the underlying guidance for practitioners, it provides further clarity on emerging issues. Ahpra and the National Boards will assess the need to conduct a full review of the guidance in the future, with an opportunity for you to provide feedback.  

Read the latest additions to the social media guidance on our website.  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy

Ahpra and the National Scheme have announced their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy, informed by extensive consultation and the expertise of Professor Yin Paradies, a leading scholar in racism and cultural safety.

This policy has been developed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to create a safe, valued, and respectful environment within Ahpra and the National Boards. It forms a critical step in enacting Ahpra and the National Scheme’s policy and legislative commitments to eliminating racism.

Racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples is persistent, harmful, and structurally embedded. This policy acknowledges those realities and provides clear mechanisms for preventing, addressing, and eliminating racism within Ahpra, the National Boards and committees. It establishes stronger reporting pathways and introduces the Racism-related Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-only Special Issues Committee (RATSISIC) to ensure culturally informed responses to racism.

The policy reflects the hard work and leadership of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy Working Group, chaired by Professor Carmen Parter, whose contributions were vital to its development.

Download a copy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anti-Racism Policy. You'll find this under 'Ahpra, Ahpra Board and National Boards information', click on the Ahpra tab.

Stay in touch with the Board

  • Visit the Medical Radiation Practice Board website for news about the profession, information on the National Scheme and for registration standards, codes, guidelines, policies and fact sheets.
  • Lodge an online enquiry form.
  • For registration enquiries call 1300 419 495 (from within Australia) or +61 3 9125 3010 (for overseas callers).
  • Address mail correspondence to Cara Miller, Chair, Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia, GPO Box 9958, Melbourne VIC 3000.







 

 
 
Page reviewed 6/05/2025
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