Start by looking for a particular practitioner, service or health condition in your area.
Once you know which kind of practitioner you need, there is a separate job: checking the particular person. It takes about five minutes and almost nobody does it.
Go to the AHPRA public register and search the practitioner's full name. If they are an acupuncturist, Chinese herbal medicine practitioner, psychologist, physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath, they must be there.
Look at three things: that the registration is current, what division it is in, and whether there are any conditions or undertakings listed. Conditions are not automatically disqualifying, but you should know they exist.
That is expected for naturopaths, remedial massage therapists, nutritionists and several others — those professions are not AHPRA registered. It is not a red flag by itself.
Ask instead which professional association they belong to, then check that association's own member directory. Associations set training requirements and handle complaints, and membership is verifiable.
Ask whether they hold professional indemnity insurance. Registered practitioners must; others should. Then ask where a complaint would go. Anyone who cannot answer that question quickly has not thought about accountability.
This is the one that separates the careful from the rest, and you can do it before contacting anyone.
A registered health service in Australia may not use testimonials about clinical care, may not promise outcomes, and may not use scare tactics. A website built on patient quotes claiming conditions were resolved is telling you either that nobody there is registered, or that they are not complying with the conditions of their registration.
On the Lower North Shore you have a lot of choice, which is good news and makes the checking more worthwhile, not less. The five minutes above apply equally to us: look us up before you book.
