Reaccreditation

What is reaccreditation

Reaccreditation ensures that the AHT maintains clinical competence after initial accreditation. It is the personal responsibility of each AHT to maintain, enhance and extend their knowledge, expertise and competence.

Why reaccreditation

Reaccreditation provides assurance to the public that the AHT continues to meet the high standards set by the AHTA Credentialing Council.

Eligibility

Applicants must be a current AHT and apply for reaccreditation before their expiry date (five years from the last approval).

When to apply

Applications must be submitted no less than 60 days prior to the applicant’s reaccrediation expiry date.

Requirements

The reaccreditation obligation period is five years and commences on the date of the award of Accredited Hand Therapist (AHT).
The AHT is required to provide documentary evidence that demonstrates you meet requirements in the three key areas of professional development,

Hand Therapy Practice (2000 hours over the five-year period)
Ongoing Education (20 hours per annum).
Contributions to the Profession (25 hours over the five-year period).

Guidelines

Applicants must read and follow the Reaccreditation Guidelines

Evidence

To apply for reaccreditation the applicant must provide evidence of the completion of the required hours within three categories. This evidence must be entered into the applicant's CPD Diary using the provided forms, before applying for reaccreditation.

Forms

Forms can be located on the 'Forms' page of the website.

Parental leave

Parental leave (ahta.com.au)

How to apply

Fee

The reaccreditation fee is $250 (inc GST).

Incomplete applications will be 'rejected' and the applicant must resubmit their application.

The re-submission fee is $150 (inc GST).

The Reaccreditation fee is not refundable.

Application Process

The applicant must apply and pay the reaccreditation fee via the AHTA website.

The applicant's CPD Log will be checked, and evidence verified by staff on behalf of the Credentialing Council.

If the applicant has met all advertised requirements and evidence has been verified, applications will proceed to the Credentialing Council and the Board.

Reaccreditation Period

Applicants will be awarded reaccreditation for five years from the date of application submission or fee paid, whichever date is the latest.

Auditing

A sample of applications will be submitted to the Credentialing Council for auditing.

Credentialing Council Meetings 2024

Applications will be shared with Council members 10 days before each meeting.

To be considered at an upcoming meeting, applications must be submitted at least 30 days before your membership expiry date and before the scheduled meeting date.

Applications received after this deadline, with an expiry date falling within the next meeting date, will be reviewed at the following meeting.

Wednesday 05 Feb 2025
Wednesday 09 April 2025
Wednesday 04 June 2025
Wednesday 06 August 2025
Wednesday 08 October 2025
Wednesday 03 December 2025

Alternatives to reaccreditation

There are two alternatives to reaccreditation:

Associate membership
Associate membership is available for AHTs who do not meet reaccreditation requirements and do not want to lose their membership status permanently. Associate membership must be renewed annually.
Retired AHT
The AHTA Credentialing Council has established the designation, AHT Retired, to provide a mechanism for the continued recognition of retired AHTs after they have withdrawn from professional practice. The AHT Retired designation is intended to recognize the AHT’s years of service and commitment to excellence in upper limb patient care.

Extensions

If an applicant is unable to complete the requirements for reaccreditation by the date that their AHT credential expires, the applicant’s membership will be recategorised to Associate Member status.

Denial of application

The Board may resolve to deny the applicant reaccreditation as an AHT, if in the opinion of the Board, the AHT has:

failed to comply with the requirements of reaccreditation
been found to act dishonestly in the application for reaccreditation
failed to comply with any code of behaviour or code of conduct of the AHTA
acted in a manner that renders it undesirable that the Member continues to be a member where such action could include that the Member has acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the AHTA.

Grievances

The applicant may send a notice of grievance within 45 days of notification to the Chair of the Credentialing Council, setting out the proposed grievance and the grounds upon which it was based.

At least 28 days before the Credentialing Council meeting at which a grievance will be considered, the CEO must give the applicant written notice: stating the date, time and place of the meeting where the grievance will be considered; and that the applicant is entitled to attend the meeting or otherwise provide a verbal explanation and have an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Credentialing Council for its consideration before any decision is made. The Credentialing Council may invite the President to attend this meeting.

After considering any explanation, the Credentialing Council may uphold the decision to deny reaccreditation, may overturn the decision or may refer the grievance to the Board to make a final decision.

The CEO must give written notice to the Member of the decision as soon as reasonably possible.

There will be no liability for any loss or injury suffered by the Member due to any decision made in good faith.

Reaccreditation is required to maintain the credential and AHT status.

Failure to submit requirements by the due date will result in loss of AHT status.

Resources

Video 1 – Requirements and process	Video 2 – Individual scenarios

This video 'Reaccreditation Made Easy' provides step-by-step instructions on how to add CPD entries and also how to submit your application.