Comparative Analysis of Licensing and Registration Process in Healthcare and Restaurateur Professions in Australia

This essay conducts a comparative analysis of the licensing and registration process in healthcare and restaurateur professions in Australia. It evaluates the strictness of the process and the specific criteria required for each profession. The healthcare profession requires fulfillment of specific criteria and is regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The registration process involves a stage-wise procedure and mandatory registration standards. On the other hand, the restaurateur profession requires compliance with guidelines of state or territorial authorities and specific educational and professional qualifications. Both professions are equally demanding and require responsible practices.

Comparative Analysis

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Healthcare Profession......................................................................................................................3
Restaurateur Profession...................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
Licensure or Licensing is a permission issued by the government agency for practicing a
profession. However, this permit cannot be obtained easily but it requires fulfillment of certain
specific criteria designed by the government for the practice of a specific profession. On the
other hand, in case of not having licensure laws, registration in the form of approval which varies
in requirements, can also be provided by the government. Various types of professions are
required to be registered with the government in order to be operated legally in a region. In
Australia, there are strict safety standards and licensing is essential for licensed professions. In
this essay, the comparative analysis will be conducted to evaluate the licensing and registration
process in healthcare and ----professions to identify the rigorous one.
Healthcare Profession
Healthcare is a profession because it is a specific type of job being practiced by the experts in the
Healthcare sector and it requires specific educational qualification and experience as a
practitioner. Without fulfillment of specific criteria, one cannot choose or practice healthcare
profession as it is a huge responsibility and requires proper licensing or registration under
government agency to start practicing this profession(AHPRA, 2018). It proves that healthcare is
a serious profession and requires fulfillment of certain specific criteria to be satisfied for the
practicing of this profession.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is responsible for permitting the
healthcare profession in the country in a legal manner. It is the responsibility of the National
Boards to carefully consider applications for registration and to evaluate them on the basis of
requirements established for registration by each of the Board. The registration has been
categorized on the basis of every particular profession. The healthcare profession is categorized
on the basis of fifteen healthcare sectors such as Dental, Medical, Psychology, Physiotherapy and
others. The process ofregistration involves a stage-wise procedure(nsw.gov.au, 2018). The
application for registration is required to fulfill the criteria mentioned in four stages of the
registration process and eighth stage is considered as the final stage. Stage 1 involves the online
or hardcopy submission of the application, which is reviewed internally for the fulfillment of all
the criteria. Stage 2 is the assessment process under which, the provided information is evaluated
in conformation with the registration standards. It requires to undergo several tests related to the

competency or the health issues. In accordance to it, the recommendations are prepared whether
to register the profession, or to register with certain conditions or to refuse the registration. On
the other hand, if the recommendation is to register the profession, delegate of the Board might
register the profession without any reference from the related National Board and complicated
cases are sent to the National Board for resolution. Stage 3 includes National Board Decision
which might agree to the recommendation or to take other actions. The decision of the Board
will be either be to register, to register with conditions or to refuse the applications. Stage 4
include finalization of registration and relevant letters as well as certificates to be prepared and
sent to the applicant.Stage 5 includes the submission process wherein, if the National Board
approves the application with conditions or discards it,the information is provided to the
applicant which are then elected to make submissions to the National Board(AHPRA, 2018).
Stage 6 is the assessment of the submission which is taken into consideration and the decision is
made. Stage 7 involves taking the matter to the tribunal if the applicant does not agree with the
final decision of the Board. Stage 8 includes the withdrawal of the application if the submission
is not received by the Board within a specific period of time.
In a similar manner, there are mandatory registration standards that are required to be followed to
get registered as a healthcare professional. It includes investigation of the criminal history and its
relevancy to the practice of the healthcare profession(health.nsw.gov.au, 2018). Furthermore,
international history check is must in the circumstances where, it is found that the applicant has
resided in more than one country other than Australia for a period of more than six months after
attaining 18 years of age and has been declared as a criminal history in jurisdiction of that
country. The other requirements include English language skills in order to be able to practice
healthcare profession in a protective manner(Department of Health, 2012). All the practitioners
are required to have suitable professional indemnity insurance (PII) to the level stated by the
National Board. The healthcare practitioners are required to participate in activities beneficial for
maintaining and improving the competence in healthcare profession in accordance with the
National Board. The applicants must have an experience of specific time period as healthcare
practitioner as mentioned by the National Board in the earlier years of the registration(Medical
Board of Australia, 2018).

Restaurateur Profession
Restaurateur is a profession that involves preparation and selling of food products. It is
considered as a profession because the operators of restaurants are required to have expertise in
food preparation for which, they have to obtain educational as well as professional qualification
as required by the licensing and registration authority of relevant state or territorial
government(Australian Institute of Food Safety, 2018). So, it proves that restaurateur business is
a specific kind of profession.
Licenses and registrations related specifically to the accommodation and food services industry
are usually managed by the state and territorial governments. The licensing and registration are
provided to the food and accommodation service industry on the basis of certain factors which
include preparation andretailingof food items, retailing and consumption of liquor, creating or
revealingthe signage or sign boards, limited trading days, procedures related to the outdoor
dining, permission to play sound or video recordings, and discarding of waste
materials(Restaurant & Catering, 2010). Australian Business License and Information Service
(ABLIS) is an online service provided free to assist an individual regarding their licenses and
registrations along with the code of practice for the purpose of operating a business(The State of
Queensland, 2018). The initial step required to be taken is to acquire a suitable business license
with the local council in Australia(business.gov.au, 2018). There are different rules and
regulations based on the location of business as well as the requirements of licensing also vary
on the basis of location of business. The restaurateur certification and authorization developed by
the industry consists of a two-stage process which include the Certified Professional
Restaurateurs (CPR) as well as the Restaurant Accreditation. In this context, the CPR program
identifies the skills and expertise of the restaurateurs in effective management of their
selling(The State of Queensland, 2018). After obtaining the certification, the restaurateurs are
requested to apply to get their businesses recognizedunder the certification program. The
eventualpurpose of the CPR program along with the Restaurant Accreditation is to develop the
excellence and proficiency of the restaurant profession and eventually the value of the dining
knowledge to the customers of the restaurant. The certification program considers the essential
management skills essential to operate the restaurant and the skills are defined on the basis of
National Competency Standards (NCS)(nsw.gov.au, 2018). The certification process includes
certain specific areas which are staff selection and their recruitment, planning process, customer

service, management or leadership, occupational health and safety along with food safety. Along
with it, all the participants in the certification program are required to complete the Responsible
Service of Alcohol and Food Safety Supervisor training as well. There are specific qualifications
that are required to be utilized in workplace in a professional manner which include proper
management of operational plan, providing responsible service of alcohol, management of
quality customer care and services, proper use of hygienic practices for in the food safety
criteria, to lead and manage the staff and implementation and monitoring of the work health and
safety practices within the workplace. The restaurateur should comply with all the food safety
regulations and the Food Standards Code are provided through the Food Safety Authority
Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). Therefore, obtaining licensing and getting registered as a
restaurateur professional requires compliance with certain specific criteria of the related state or
territorial authority of Australia.
Conclusion
After comparative analysis of licensing and registration process required for thehealthcare and
restaurateur profession, it has been realized that for the purpose of obtaining registration to
practice in healthcare sector, the legal procedures and documentation process is actually stricter
as compared to the restaurateur profession. Furthermore, legal compliance and going through
several tests and examinations make the process even harsher in Australia. On the other hand, the
restaurateur profession requires to be in compliance with the guidelines of the state or territorial
authorities. However, certain specific educational and professional qualifications are required to
be met for this profession, it is not that typical as to obtain license for healthcare practices. Both
the professions are equally demanding in the process of licensing and registration as both the
extremely responsible professions. The healthcare professions have to handle patients while
restaurateurs have to provide safe and quality food to the customers and any kind of
mismanagement can be hazardous for a life.
References
AHPRA, 2018. Registration Process. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/registration/registration-process.aspx
[Accessed 6 October 2018].

AHPRA, 2018. Registration Requirements. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/registration/registration-process/registration-
requirements.aspx
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
Australian Institute of Food Safety, 2018. Everything You Need to Know about Starting a Food
Business. [Online]
Available at: https://www.foodsafety.com.au/resources/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-
about-starting-a-food-business
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
business.gov.au, 2018. Accommodation and food services industry fact sheet. [Online]
Available at: https://www.business.gov.au/planning/templates-and-tools/industry-factsheets/
accommodation-and-food-services-industry-fact-sheet#licences
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
Department of Health, 2012. 2.3 Private hospital licensing and data collection. [Online]
Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/
phdcreview~phdcreview_curr~phdcreview_curr_3
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
health.nsw.gov.au, 2018. Licensing process. [Online]
Available at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Hospitals/privatehealth/Pages/licensing-
process.aspx
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
Medical Board of Australia, 2018. Registration. [Online]
Available at: https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/registration.aspx
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
nsw.gov.au, 2018. Licensing & notifying. [Online]
Available at: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/ip/licensing
[Accessed 6 October 2018].

nsw.gov.au, 2018. Licensing of private health facilities. [Online]
Available at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Hospitals/privatehealth/Pages/licensing-of-private-
health-facilities.aspx
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
Restaurant & Catering, 2010. Introduction. [Online]
Available at: http://rca.asn.au/rca/what-we-do/products-programs/professional-development-
certified-professional-restaurateur/
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
The State of Queensland, 2018. Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS).
[Online]
Available at: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/advice-support/tools/ablis
[Accessed 6 October 2018].
The State of Queensland, 2018. Licences, permits and regulatory requirements. [Online]
Available at: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/licensing-obligations/legal-
obligations/meeting-obligations/licences-permits
[Accessed 6 October 2018].