The process to see paramedics as registered health professionals moves along – see this post from ‘The Paramedic Observer’ https://www.facebook.com/ParamedProf/posts/1308854855824931.
The Summary of the Draft Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Amendment Law 2017 attached to that post says:
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Approved qualifications for paramedicine will be decided by the National Board in accordance with the usual arrangements for accreditation functions in the National Law
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However, in addition to the approved qualifications, and as agreed by the Ministerial Council on 7 October 2016, the Bill recognises that a person who holds a Diploma of Paramedical Science, Diploma of Paramedical Science (Ambulance), Advanced Diploma of Paramedical Science (Ambulance), Diploma in Paramedical Science (Pre-Hospital Care) or Advanced Diploma Paramedical Sciences (Pre-Hospital Care) issued by the Ambulance Service of NSW will be qualified for general registration in paramedicine under the National Law.
A correspondent has written and asked:
I note that the various incarnations of the Diploma of paramedical science will be accepted for registration but only if awarded by ambulance NSW.
My questions…
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Is it ok to discriminate against identical qualifications issued by another RTO, that was delivered to a standard defined by a government agency?…
The first proposition isn’t necessarily true. The Bill, should it become law, will provide that the Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas issued by NSW Ambulance will be acceptable for paramedic registration but it does not mean that Diplomas offered by other RTOs will not be accepted. Whether they are, or are not, will be a matter for the Paramedicine Board. Having said that it is however unlikely that other Diploma’s will be accepted as they are not currently identified by the Council of Ambulance Authorities as qualifications for employment as a paramedic – see http://www.caa.net.au/paramedic-education/accredited-courses.
Assuming then that the NSW Ambulance Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas will be the only accepted diplomas for accreditation, is it OK to discriminate against other RTO issued Diplomas? ‘OK’ begs the question of whether we mean morally, intellectually or legally? The answer is that it is OK on a legal basis. Discrimination is a matter of making choices, it is only unlawful if the discrimination is made on prohibited grounds, eg gender, marital status, race etc. That is not the case here.
One could make arguments regarding the notion of ‘competitive neutrality’ in government services and that what this is doing is anti-competitive by denying other RTOs the option to offer paramedic diplomas that lead to registration. But politics is the ‘art of the possible’ and if this concession was required to get NSW on board then the Parliament can make those laws.
Further the anti-competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) only applies to a State to the extent that the state is carrying on a business (s 2B). I don’t see that NSW Ambulance is a ‘business’, though the point could be argued (see United Firefighters Union of Australia (‘UFU’) V Country Fire Authority (‘CFA’) [2014] FCA 17 (31 January 2014) (February 12, 2014). I can’t resolve the intricate details of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) but I’ll boldly suggest that I don’t think that it will prove a barrier to this provision.
Further, I imagine that there will be a significant difference to a diploma offered by an ambulance service and any other RTO. An ambulance service can put their students on the road from day one. It will still be the case that NSW Ambulance will have a virtual monopoly on emergency ambulance services so graduates from NSW Ambulance will have opportunities for significantly more clinical exposure than students of any other RTO. If that’s correct the distinction isn’t merely protecting the NSW Ambulance diploma from competition but reflects and actual difference in qualification.
And, as noted, another RTO will be able to apply to the Paramedicine Board to have its qualifications recognised and if it can show equivalency that may be accepted.
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How does this help the cause of finding alternative career paths for qualified people, outside the state ambulance services?
Qualified people will be registered as paramedics and will be able to move across the industry. What changes is what ‘qualified people’ means. A person with a diploma, rather than a degree, will not be ‘qualified’.
Having said that I do not that there are ‘grandfathering’ provisions. To return to the Paramedic Observer’s page and a powerpoint presentation that is attached. It there says
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During the first three years of the scheme provisions allow paramedics who are already practising but do not hold a qualification approved by the Board for general registration under s53 to be granted general registration,
Persons currently working as a paramedic will be registered and they too will be able to move across the industry. Future students who want to be paramedics will have to have regard to the approved qualifications.
Australian Emergency Law 
As a medic in the ADF who has been issued a Diploma in Paramedicac (science)
Will this be recognised as the is issued by the government and RTO.
That will be up to the Paramedicine Board. The actual Bill is not available for public inspection (as far as I can tell) so the exact words are yet to be seen but based on the public material that is available the grandfathering provisions should apply if you are currently working as a paramedic.
I agree with the A/Prof on this matter.
While it would be ideal for the qualification standard for entry to the profession to be uniformed across the country; the benefit of having NSW included (therefore making the registration of paramedics truly national) outweighs the negative of the differing qualification levels.
Michael is also correct re the NSW Ambulance Diploma vs the AQF/RTO requirements. NSW Ambulance meets the AQF requirements for issuing the Diploma after approximately 1 year of study/experience, yet the organisation makes vocational entry paramedic complete 2-3 years of on road experience prior to considering paramedics to be ‘qualified’. During this ‘extra’ time paramedics also complete more study & courses that enable them to practice at a level that exceeds the AQF diploma criteria/standard.
The ADF did have a representative on the National Paramedic Stakeholder Reference Group and I image as this process moves towards the next step, the ADF will be invited to be part of any stakeholder meeting conducted by AHPRA.
Whilst the NSW situation is not ideal, it was felt to keep the momentum going and not to delay paramedic registration any further this clause was accepted by the Reference Group. One would hope that when the Paramedic Board is formed and the mechanism for approval is in place, that NSW Ambulance would also submit its course for review by the board.
Below are extracts from the Summary of HPRNL Amendment Law_FINAL http://bit.ly/2kIfds9 explaining provisions in the Bill.
My understanding of the Grandfather clause is it only works for three years. Does that mean that current long serving Paramedics will need to bridge into a degree in order to maintain registration? I also don’t see any reference to MICA level paramedic practice and the registration requirements.
Roy, those issues will be addressed by the Paramedicine Board, they are not appropriate to put in the Act. The reason the NSW qualifications were put into the Act is because that was necessary to get NSW to come on board. NSW health weren’t willing to give up the right to train their own paramedics or trust a board to accept their qualification. Peter, in his comment on this post, explains it all with much more detail.
Hi Roy, Since registration is primarily about patient safety; AHPRA does not really have any motivation to register paramedics at different levels; i.e. ALS paramedic, MICA paramedic, etc.
If we consider nursing; despite their being Registered Nurses (RN), Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), Clinical Nurse Consultants (CNC), etc. they are not differentiated at registration, all RN’s, their hospital (employer) appoints them to these specialist positions via an ‘award’.
As such I do not see paramedics being registered at levels about ‘paramedic’. It will be for the paramedicine board to decide, but the only way specialist training would possibly be identified would be through ‘endorsements’. Employers, can still classify/identify paramedics of varying levels and determine scoop of practice for individual (or groups of) paramedics.
@Roy. You would guesstimate that any current vocationally trained newly registered grandpaarented paramedic would not be required to complete a conversion degree to maintain registration. If the board for some reason decided this then the state/territory employers would lose the bulk of their staff three years on from the start date of registration. This would be seen as an outrageous decision on behalf of the board and one would suspect that it would not happen.
As an emergency medicine doctor, it’s about time our Paramedics were recognised for their experience and professional patient care; it’s finally good to see that they’ll be nationally registered on AHPRA just like all the other health care professions. I’m personally surprised it took this long.
What will be interesting to see is how much will they charge for the yearly registration and will Paramedics be required to take-up personal medical indemnity insurance like medical practitioners? or can they rely on their employer for indemnity?
You can expect a $159. Annual fee, with an Application fee ontop.
Gordon, where do you get the figure of $159 from?
I am currently a paramedic with NSW Ambulance, having entered through Vocational Education and hold a Diploma of Paramedical Science Ambulance through NSW Ambulance. Do I need to complete the conversion course for a Bachelor qualification
Charnan, no you won’t need to. In order to get NSW on board, all the states had to agree that the NSW Ambulance Diploma would be an accepted qualification for registration. Section 312 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law says:
(1) This section applies to an individual who holds a Diploma of Paramedical Science issued by the Ambulance Service of New South Wales.
(2) The individual is qualified for general registration in paramedicine for the purposes of section 52(1)(a).