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30 Mar 2016
Online renewal is now open for nurses and midwives registered to practise in Australia.
Over 370,000 nurses and midwives are due to renew their general or non-practising registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (the Board/NMBA) by 31 May.
Last year, 97.5 per cent of nurses and midwives renewed their registration online.
NMBA Chair, Dr Lynette Cusack RN, said email and hard copy reminders for the 2016 renewal campaign had been updated with a refreshing new layout and included more helpful links to information about renewal, including the recently released video for nurses and midwives.
‘The new-look email renewal reminders are a one-stop shop for access to online renewal and to resources explaining the renewal process or how to reset your password,’ Dr Cusack said.
‘All the important information nurses and midwives need to know about renewal of their registration is in the reminder or is only a click away.’
Feedback about the new-look reminders can be emailed to nmbafeedback@ahpra.gov.au.
Registered and enrolled nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners should look out for an email this week from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) reminding them to renew registration. The email is the first in a series of email and hard copy reminders being sent by AHPRA on behalf of the NMBA.
If you do not receive a reminder email please check your contact details held by AHPRA are up to date. Go to ‘login’ at the top of the AHPRA or NMBA website homepages, enter your User ID and password to access the secure portal and choose to update your contact details.
If you do not renew your registration by 31 May, or within the following one-month late period, your registration will lapse. Your name will be removed from the national Register of Nurses and Midwives and you will not be able to practise without making a new application for registration.
Dr Cusack reminded nurses and midwives to carefully read the Board’s requirements for renewal of registration.
‘Revised registration standards and standards for practice published in February for nurses and midwives come into effect on 1 June 2016 or 1 January 2017 respectively, and do not apply to renewals of registration due by 31 May 2016,’ she said.
‘The current registration standards are still in effect and all nurses and midwives must meet these requirements for their registration to be renewed.’
If you are unsure about whether or not you meet the requirements of a registration standard, answer ‘no’ to the relevant disclosure question.
‘Your application will be reviewed by an AHPRA registration staff member who will refer the matter to the NMBA and seek more information from you if required,’ Dr Cusack said.
Each renewal application with a negative declaration will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to note that a nurse or midwife will remain registered until a decision is made about their renewal application.
This means a nurse or midwife may still be listed on the national register of practitioners even if their registration expiry date has passed.
Under the National Scheme1, nurses and midwives are randomly selected for audit each year to ensure compliance with the scheme’s mandatory registration standards.
‘Any nurse or midwife who is found to have knowingly made a false declaration can expect the Board to take action against their registration,’ Dr Cusack said.
The following pages on the NMBA website contain useful information for nurses and midwives; and their employers:
Download a PDF of this Media release - Online renewal for nurses and midwives is now open - 30 March 2016 (220 KB,PDF)
1National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme).