Ahpra and the National Boards today opened consultation on two of the Kruk review interim report’s recommendations: 

• expanding the range of countries recognised in English language skills registration standards (where there is evidence that citizens educated in these countries have the English language skills needed for practice in Australia), and 
• changing one element of the English test results accepted by the National Boards that regulate registered health practitioners. 

The College already engaged extensively with the Kruk Review including meeting with the review team and providing two consecutive submissions; the Kruk Review Interim Report in June 2023, ;and the Review of regulatory settings for overseas doctors (March 2023).

The key issues the College raises include: 

• That any strategies to increase the number of doctors into Australia must address the geographic and skills distribution of the workforce to areas of need especially for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Otherwise, they are likely to exacerbate rather than improve the current distortions. 
• That provision of safe of medical care must remain paramount. Assessments of international doctors must maintain acceptable standards, but the best results in terms of bringing skilled, dedicated doctors to rural and remote communities will be achieved where these quality assurances, are teamed with policies to promote high-quality induction and onboarding for new doctors, fit-for-purpose upskilling and/or training, and strong personal support.  

Members are invited to send individual submissions. Information about the consultation, which closes on 13 September, is available on the Consultations page of the Ahpra website.