Occupational Therapy Council of NSW Newsletter October 2019

Dear Colleagues

Welcome to the second Occupational Therapy Council of NSW newsletter of 2019. With the deadline to renew your registration approaching in November, the Council felt it was timely to share some of the issues the Council is currently dealing with arising from the random registration audits undertaken by AHPRA. 

In sharing these issues with you, the Council hopes to stimulate your own reflection and provide you with a greater understanding of what you are actually committing to when you apply to renew your registration or register for the first time, including some of the pitfalls to avoid.

Renewing your Registration – Commitments and Pitfalls

You must make a number of declarations when renewing your annual registration or registering for the first time. These cover the areas of criminal history, continuing professional development (CPD), professional indemnity insurance (PII), recency of practice (ROP) and your health. Applicants registering for the first time as qualified professionals will also make declarations related to education, English language proficiency and proof of identity.

The declarations made at the time of registration are subject to audit by AHPRA on a routine basis.

What are you committing to when applying for registration?

The practice and behaviour of Occupational Therapists in Australia is governed by the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia - Code of Conduct and the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia Competency Standards. 

Completing your application for registration and paying your registration fee is just one aspect of being a registered Occupational Therapist. When you make your declaration and pay your registration fee you are also making a number of commitments.  These commitments are:

1. That there have been no changes to your health or good standing that would adversely affect your ability to practise in a safe and competent manner.
2. That you have met, or will meet, the standards of practice for the Occupational Therapy profession.
3. The standards of practice you are committing to are not only the professional standards outlined in the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia’s Code of Conduct but also the Board’s Registration Standards.

The Occupational Therapy Board of Australia Registration Standards define the requirements that applicants, practitioners or students need to meet in order to be registered and cover five areas of professional practice:

• continuing professional development
• professional indemnity insurance arrangements
• English language skills
• criminal history 
• recency of practice.

Registration Audits

AHPRA undertakes routine audits of the Registration Standards. These audits are conducted to ensure that registered Occupational Therapists are compliant with the relevant registration standards, have not made false declarations at the time of registration and to promote public safety. If you are to be audited, AHPRA will provide a formal notification that explains what will be required of you during the audit process. 

As NSW has a coregulatory model, any concerns regarding an Occupational Therapist practising in NSW highlighted by the audit process are referred to the Occupational Therapy Council of NSW for management.

What happens if I make a false declaration?

The Council may refuse registration if a statement made by an Occupational Therapist in the applicant’s annual statement is false or misleading or if the findings constitute behaviour for which health, performance or conduct action may be taken under the law.

Some common pitfalls

In recent months the Council has received a number of complaints from AHPRA in relation to registration audit outcomes.  It may be of interest and assistance in preparing your own registration for you to be aware of some of the common pitfalls we encounter. 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

This is the most common area in which Council is identifying errors made by practitioners when responding to audits, by a large margin. The following errors are the most common:

• Evidence provided to AHPRA pertains to the incorrect audit period (see the below Reflection point).
• On assessment, material included as CPD is more in line with routine work activities rather than activities which meet the Board’s guidelines for CPD.
• Evidence provided to AHPRA is not presented in a log format but rather consists of a series of scanned journal articles with dates and times written on the front page.  No other information is provided.

Reflection point

Ms B was audited by AHPRA, who identified concerns regarding her compliance with the CPD registration standards. Despite numerous requests to Ms B for additional information, AHPRA remained dissatisfied with the audit findings and referred their findings to Council. 

On review, the Council identified that Ms B had provided CPD evidence which was dated outside the audit period. This essentially meant that Ms B, on the evidence submitted, did not meet the hours mandated for CPD. Council subsequently made contact with Ms B after multiple attempts and advised her of the discrepancies in her CPD log.  Council requested Ms B attend a counselling session with a Counselling Panel made up of Council members. 

At the session, Ms B was advised that Occupational Therapy registration is due on November 30 each year and the registration period is from December 1 to November 30.  Ms B was advised that some of her CPD evidence fell outside the registration year being audited and therefore could not be included.

Fortunately, Ms B had brought her CPD portfolio and CPD log to the session and was able to demonstrate that she had complied with the mandatory requirements for the audit period. Ms B was able to identify how she had made the incorrect entries in her CPD log and, with the assistance of the Counselling Panel, identified strategies on how she could avoid making the same error in the future. This included making entries in her CPD log at the time of undertaking an activity or as soon as possible afterwards.

The Panel was also able to assist Ms B in improving her strategies for maintaining up to date contact details in order to facilitate communication with her in the future.  During the session, the Panel emphasised the importance of effective professional communication with key stakeholders, as outlined in the Code of Conduct. The Counselling Panel was satisfied that no further action was required.

Useful information on undertaking CPD and maintaining appropriate records can be found in the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia - CPD Guidelines and Information.

*Pseudonyms were used in this example and relevant dates were removed to protect the identity of the practitioner. 

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)

Occupational Therapists must not practise the profession in which they are registered unless they hold appropriate professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements in relation to their practice.

Initial registration and annual renewal of registration requires a declaration that the Occupational Therapist will not practice unless they have appropriate PII arrangements.

Professional indemnity insurance (PII) arrangements means arrangements that secure for the therapist’s professional practice, insurance 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 Occupational Therapist.

To date, the errors we have encountered related to the practitioner providing details of policies applying to the incorrect audit year. This can be prevented by ensuring that a file of all relevant insurance policies is maintained by a practitioner for each registration year where a practitioner is not covered by the policies of an employer.

The Council hopes you have found the information in this newsletter useful.  The Council would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing commitment to the profession and maintaining the high standard of professional service provided to the residents of NSW.