The AHPRA - or Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - is the Australian government body that oversees medical professionals’ registration. Whether you do this direct or via an agent there are lots of documents that need to be notarised. The good news is, I haven’t done any that need an apostille!
Typically, I get asked to notarise identity and degree certificates. Your passport and driving licence are normally required, and this is fairly easy to process. We can copy them here and stamp it with my ‘Australia stamp’ with the AHPRA wording on, confirming it is a true copy and it looks like you.
The more difficult documents are birth or marriage certificates. I legally cannot copy these to confirm an event due to copyright law. In order to notarise these, I attach a notarial certificate confirming it is genuine if I have ordered it for you (£11-£35 for the certificate) or take a declaration from you that the original is genuine. Either way, I dry seal the certificate and securely attach my certificate to it. Change of name deeds can be copied and certified as a true copy.
Degree certificates need to be verified. If you have access to HEAR or Gradintelligence with your university, the verification can be done instantly and for free. If not, I need to contact them and confirm the qualification gained is genuine. This is done directly or via a third-party platform. Either way your signed consent is needed along with the qualification details and your date of birth. The verifications can be done instantly (rare) or a few weeks. There are also peak seasons throughout the year which means that they can take a while to complete such as graduation week. Once the verification is back, I add the AHPRA wording and another stamp to confirm I have verified it is genuine.
Sometimes additional documents are required. Of late, AHPRA have been accepting employment letters directly from employer and NMC also verify directly. This means you don’t need to have them verified by a notary. If you are emigrating as a family, sometimes you or a family member may need to sign a declaration. This needs to be done in person and the person making the declaration identified with their passport and I witness their signature.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch as you start your emigration journey!
Need help registering with the AHPRA?
If you need the support of an experienced notary public, please get in touch.