AHPRA Eligibility Extension and Validity

Some of you out there might have a situation where you have an eligibility letter from AHPRA but you are not yet enrolled in any bridging course. At the same time, your eligibility letter is about to expire. 

Now, you already find a school or educational provider for your bridging program. However, the program will start a month after your eligibility will expire. What you will do?

Simple, stop stressing yourself about your registration. Since, once you are enrolled in your chosen education provider, your are now eligible to register after passing your bridging course. So, it does not matter anymore if you finished your course after your eligibility letter expires. What AHPRA requires you is to submit your identity check (if not done yet) and a letter of recommendation for registration directly from your educational provider.

BUT, what if the educational provider will not accept you for the course due to the reason that your eligibility letter will expire before the course will be completed. Here are the things that you need to do:

Either:

Email your case officer and ask for a statement from him or her stating that you can still be enrolled in the course for as long as before your eligibility letter expires you are already enrolled.Then forward it to the educational provider, since majority of the educational providers are unaware of this situation or was not elighten about this issue.

(Most likely you will get a response like this " You have one year to be enrolled in a bridging course, if you are enrolled by the expiry date this willl be taken into consideration.")

or

Explain to your educational provider that there is no any problem of enrolling you or accepting you in the program since your eligibility will expire a month or a week after while the program has already started. Nevertheless, if they wwill ask for any support of this statement, then forward the email from your case officer to the admission officer in your chosen school or course provider.

BUT:

There is some situation here that their or your eligibility letter is about to expire and you have not found any bridging school as of the moment that will enroll you. It is because that they are already full for the entire year or you though it was so easy to find a bridging course in Australia. 

With this situation you are required to contact your case officer directly. Do not be shy to contact them since they will be so happy to explain to you what are your options. It is better to give them a call,since majority of the case officer will provide their direct hotline number. 

Explain to them your situation and the reasons why you required to ask for an extension of your eligibility. However, most of the case officer will tell you that you need to re-apply again and repeat the entire process to gain that eligibility letter again. This will be frustrating side, but atleast you have tried. In some instance, your case officer will extend another month or a couple of months. This will be your luckiest day.