Medical Board of Australia registration fees are set to increase by $31 a year as of October.
The cost of annual registration will rise from $1027 to $1058 covering the period from October 2025 to the end of September 2026 – a 3% increase.
The increase was announced alongside new fee schedules for the governing bodies of each regulated health profession under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
Ahpra chief executive officer Justin Untersteiner said the National Boards and Ahpra had been mindful of cost-of-living pressures in the community, while also ensuring the National Scheme can continue to perform its vital public protection functions.
“Registration fees fund our work to keep the public safe,” Mr Untersteiner said.
“In setting fees, we’ve kept them as low as possible without compromising service quality or our ability to protect the public.”
RELATED: Ahpra parental leave rebate for doctors
Aphra said the work the fees fund includes developing professional standards that guide professions and set expectations, and investigating and managing concerns about registered health practitioners, including taking immediate action and referring matters to tribunals, accrediting, or approving programs of study.
This year the National Boards and Ahpra also introduced a 30% rebate on annual renewal fees for practitioners who have recently taken an extended period of parental leave, or certain other forms of leave such as disability and carers leave.
“This is the first step in a range of measures to make fee arrangements fairer and more flexible,’ Mr Untersteiner said.
Recommendations from a wider review into pro-rata fees are expected in November with approved changes to come into effect from July 2026.
The 3% increase is among the highest across the different boards, with dentists being hit with the largest increase of a little more than 4%.
The National Scheme is self-funded with each Board responsible for meeting the full costs of regulating their profession.
Ahpra noted that fees for each National Board reflect the “risk and complexity of the individual professions, as well as the resources needed to address them”.
While Ahpra does not receive ongoing government funding, in 2025/26 Ahpra and National Boards received funding from governments to implement reforms arising from the independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners.
Want more news, clinicals, features and guest columns delivered straight to you? Subscribe for free to WA’s only independent magazine for medical practitioners.
Want to submit an article? Email editor@mforum.com.au