Progress on the revised competency standards project for OTs
Back in March, we published an article about revised competency standards development project for occupational therapist. More recently the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (the Board) has released its communique, announcing that significant progress on the project has been made.
Together with Carramar Consulting and members of both reference group and advisory panel, the Board has created proposed draft standards which incorporate a revision to the structure and content of the standards.
The Review of the Board’s policies on professional indemnity insurance, continuing professional development and recency of practice standards will soon start with a preliminary consultation. The Board will be welcoming feedback from key and interested stakeholders both during the preliminary and public consultation phases.
The Board is planning an information session in Queensland in September 2016. The Board will discuss its work with education providers and explore the obligations of education providers in the context of the National Law.
The Board is exploring opportunities for engaging with new graduates of occupational therapy to ensure graduates are eligible, qualified and suitable to hold registration in the profession.
A National Restrictions Library has been developed to provide a consolidated structure for common restrictions used across the regulatory functions of all of the National Boards and to support:
- consistency in recommendations from AHPRA to the National Boards and delegates
- consistency in the restrictions appearing on the national public register of health practitioners, and
- a best practice approach to monitoring compliance with restrictions.
The Board intends to release further details about the project as work progresses. Further updates will be provided in future communiqués and on its website.
The Occupational Therapy Council has involved Ms Rebecca Allen and Ms Dene Iwanicki as representations in the reference group/steering committee on the review project. Both are professional advisers of Program Accreditation Committee (PAC) and Overseas Qualification Assessment Committee (OQAC) respectively.
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