If you’re a South African healthcare professional applying to work in Australia, there’s a good chance you’ll come across AHPRA’s document certification requirements at some point in the process.
And while getting a document certified might sound fairly straightforward, AHPRA is particular about how it needs to be done.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has specific requirements for certified copies submitted from outside Australia. The person certifying your documents needs to be appropriately authorised, the original documents need to be sighted, and the certification itself needs to follow AHPRA’s prescribed format.
For applicants in South Africa, a Notary Public is one of the recognised people who can do this.
At Forecast Consulting, we can assist with the notarisation and certification of documents for AHPRA applications, making sure they’re prepared correctly before you submit them.
What documents might you need certified?
The exact documents will depend on your profession and application, but AHPRA may ask for certified copies of documents such as:
- Your passport or other identification
- University degrees and academic qualifications
- Professional certificates
- Registration documents
- Marriage certificates or documents showing a change of name
- Other supporting documents requested as part of your application
Doctors, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals applying for registration in Australia may all encounter these requirements.
The important point is that a normal photocopy, or even a copy certified without following AHPRA’s requirements, may not be enough.
Getting AHPRA documents certified in South Africa
AHPRA recognises a Notary Public as an authorised person to certify documents outside Australia.
The Notary Public must see the original document and compare it with the copy being certified. The copy can then be certified as a true copy of the original.
AHPRA also has requirements around how each page is handled and the wording that appears on the certification. Each page needs to be appropriately initialled, and the prescribed certification wording must be used.
This is why it’s worth mentioning from the outset that your documents are specifically being prepared for AHPRA. It allows the Notary Public to certify them with those requirements in mind rather than simply providing a general document certification.
What about passports and documents with photographs?
Documents containing a photograph need a little extra attention.
For these documents, AHPRA requires additional wording confirming that the photograph is a true likeness of the person presenting the document.
A passport is the obvious example.
The Notary Public therefore needs to see both you and the original document. This allows them to confirm your identity and complete the certification correctly.
Can AHPRA certification be done online?
No. This is one of those situations where you’ll need to attend in person.
Because the Notary Public needs to sight your original documents and, where applicable, confirm that a photograph is a true likeness of you, the certification cannot simply be completed over a video call.
Bring the original versions of all the documents you need certified with you to your appointment.
Why getting the certification right matters
An AHPRA application can already involve quite a bit of paperwork. The last thing you want is to discover that a document needs to be certified again because a page wasn’t initialled correctly or the required wording was missing.
Some of the seemingly small details matter.
For example, certification can cause problems if:
- The original document wasn’t sighted
- The wrong certification wording was used
- Individual pages weren’t correctly certified or initialled
- The true-likeness wording was left off a photographic document
- The person certifying the document wasn’t authorised to do so
Taking care of these requirements before you submit your application can help avoid unnecessary back-and-forth later.
AHPRA document certification with Forecast Consulting
Forecast Consulting assists individuals and businesses with notarisation, document authentication, Apostilles and other international document services.
If you’re applying to AHPRA from South Africa, our Notary Public can certify your documents with AHPRA’s requirements in mind, including the additional certification needed for documents containing your photograph.
The process is straightforward. Bring your original documents to your appointment and let us know that they’re being prepared for an AHPRA application. We’ll take care of the certification in the appropriate format.
If you need AHPRA document certification in South Africa, get in touch with Forecast Consulting to arrange an appointment with our Notary Public.