53.6% increase on practitioners referred to a tribunal, Ahpra annual report reveals

The 2025/26 Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency annual report has been released, revealing a record 13,171 completed notifications — more than any year since the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme commenced in 2010 — and, the regulator said, “an improved response to racism and discrimination and a continued focus on proactive, risk-based regulation”.

Constituting the most serious matters, 295 practitioners were referred to a tribunal over concerns about their professional conduct, clinical performance and other issues. This marked a 53.6% increase on the previous year and was the most since 2013/14, Ahpra said, adding that effective harm prevention is a key theme of the National Scheme Strategy 2031, launched in March.

“This year we completed more notifications than at any time in the National Scheme’s history, while reducing the number of long-running matters. That means earlier answers for patients and practitioners, and a regulatory system better able to focus on the risks that can cause the greatest harm,” Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said. “Health care is changing. This means regulation must become more preventive, more transparent and better able to identify risk before harm occurs.”

The report also reveals that the number of registered health practitioners rose by 4.1% to 999,105 in 2025/26. With Ahpra introducing new expedited pathways for international practitioners in a range of professions during the year, the latest figures show there were 70,832 first-time registrants, including more than 23,000 internationally qualified practitioners, with more than 185,000 students studying to become health practitioners.

“As we close in on the significant milestone of one million registered health practitioners, we will continue to streamline our registration systems and processes and ensure a safe and sustainable workforce,” Untersteiner said. The number of practitioners who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander was also found to have grown by 7.3% to 12,892, while Ahpra said that targeted recruitment campaigns saw the number of Board and committee members who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander increase by 6 to 52.

You can read the annual report 2025/26 at www.ahpra.gov.au/Publications/Annual-reports/Annual-report-2026.aspx.

Image credit: iStock.com/skynesher