Practising Memberships

Classes of Practising Membership

AHANA has approved three classes of Practising Membership. The AHANA Board recognises the diversity of AHAs and AHA practise and has approved multiple entry points into the Practising Member (Provisional), Practising Member (General), and Practising Member (Certified) classes of membership.

Information about eligibility for the different classes of Practising Membership is provided in the table below, along with information about the key supporting evidence/information required to apply. 

Read the below information but still not quite sure which Practising Membership to apply for? Complete the AHANA Membership Decision Maker tool to determine which class may be best suited for your circumstances, or alternatively you can email us at membership@ahana.com.au if you have any questions. 

Membership Pathway Guide

If you are unsure which AHANA membership category applies to you, the guide below may help.

Eligibility for Practising Membership

You may be eligible for practising membership if you:

• Are currently working as an Allied Health Assistant
• Support allied health professionals in the delivery of health services
• Work under appropriate delegation and supervision
• Demonstrate commitment to professional standards

Why Become a Practising Member?

• Professional recognition through Australia's national AHA association
• Access to professional development opportunities
• Guidance on scope of practice and supervision
• Connection to a national community of Allied Health Assistants
• Eligibility to appear in the AHANA Register of AHAs

Learn more about AHANA membership benefits

Application Process

1. Select the membership category that best reflects your role
2. Complete the online membership application
3. Your application will be reviewed by AHANA
4. You will receive confirmation of your membership

Certified Copy

A Certified Copy is a copy of an original document that has been guaranteed in writing by a person legally authorised in the jurisdiction to certify that a copy is a true copy of the original.

Please refer to this resource for more information.

AHA Practise Template

The purpose of the AHA Practise Template is for AHANA to understand whether - for entry points into membership classes which require a certain number of practise hours as an AHA - you have practised at least that many hours as an AHA within the timeframe specified, and have practised as an AHA recently.

You do not have to provide a complete work history.

If you can show you met the threshold (in terms of hours' AHA practise) for that entry point into membership with the required recent practise at a single employer, then you only need to complete the template showing details of your practise with that employer.

The threshold for each entry point is total hours of practise as an AHA, regardless of whether you worked with a single allied health professional, multiple allied health professionals, or across multiple disciplines. If you work with multiple allied health disciplines, you do not need to show that you have met the threshold for each discipline, just in total.

If you worked as a general AHA supporting multiple disciplines at the one employer, e.g. on the same part time contract, you would have one line for that employer and list at least one of the AHPs you supported (ideally someone who still works there so can verify your AHA practise).

If you had multiple contracts with the one employer starting and ending on different dates, e.g. a 10 hour a week contract as a Physio Assistant delegated and supervised by a Physiotherapist, and a second 15 hour a week contract as a Speech Pathology Assistant, you could choose to represent those two contracts in different lines. This simply makes calculating the number of hours' AHA practise a bit easier.

If you have any questions regarding the AHA Practise Template, or your membership application, you can contact AHANA. If the membership team reviews your submitted template and has any questions, they will contact you to clarify what is needed.

Insurance Cover

AHANA requires all Practising Members to have insurance in place which covers all the AHA's activities while practising as an AHA. This insurance cover may be provided by one or more employers or may be taken out by the AHA themself.  

The minimum insurance cover required is: 

• Public liability (or General and Products) insurance cover of no less than $1,000,000; and
• Professional indemnity insurance cover of no less than $1,000,000,  

which covers the AHA's activities while practising as an AHA. 

This is the minimum cover. All Practising Members must consider whether this level of cover is appropriate for their personal circumstances.

The Practising Member declaration includes a statement by the applicant that they either have appropriate cover, or will take it out within 21 days of their membership commencing or them commencing practise, whichever is later.

Suitability Issues

Applicants for Practising Membership must declare all Suitability Issues in their application form. 

Suitability Issues are any adverse charges, convictions, orders or findings, whether related to an applicant’s practise or not, including but not limited to the following from Clause 15.2 of Membership By-law 2022-01: 

• current criminal charges or prior criminal convictions or findings of guilt for offences punishable by 12 months’ imprisonment or more, either in Australia or elsewhere, including in relation to fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty; 
• ethics or disciplinary penalties imposed by AHANA or another professional body that represents health or community care workers, either in Australia or elsewhere; 
• adverse findings, orders or prohibitions issued by a complaints commissioner or ombudsman that have constrained or limited person’s right to provide health or community services in Australia or elsewhere; 
• enforcement action taken by a state, territory or federal government regulator or other similar body outside of Australia; 
• insolvency or administration proceedings or orders; or  
• disqualification from managing a corporation, 

and any other matters which a reasonable person would consider are relevant to the question of whether the applicant is suitable to hold membership of AHANA.