Too many licensing authorities, not enough accountability or power to enforce standards
Fourteen health professions come into the jurisdiction of the Australian Health Professionals Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Having one national licensing authority for the professions instead of separate authorities in each state and territory makes good sense. For doctors, if AHPRA had stopped at one registration fee, and left the paraphernalia to the states and territories, it would have been a modest body and not enmeshed with a national medical board and a national medical council. This awkward arrangement is demonstrated in the recommendations of a recent parliamentary report.1
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