Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement—Health) Determination 2022

Administered by Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Legislation au F2022L00079 In force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Mutual Recognition Act 1992

Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022

This explanatory statement provides notes on the operation of the Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022 (the Determination). The specific provisions in the Determination are outlined in Attachment A. The information in the explanatory statement is an aid to understanding the Determination and should not be substituted for the Determination.

Context and purpose

Part 3A of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth (the MRA) provides for the automatic mutual recognition of occupational registrations (AMR). AMR will provide an entitlement for an individual to carry on an activity in a second State, under the registration covering the activity in their home State through Automatic Deemed Registration (ADR).   

Part 3A of the MRA provides for the making of a determination that requires a person who intends to carry on an activity in reliance of ADR to notify the local registration authority for the occupation before the person begins to carry on the activity. The Legislation Act 2003 of the Commonwealth provides for the making of legislative instruments.

Summary

Through this Determination, the Minister for Health (Victoria) requires a person to notify a local registration authority before the person begins to rely on automatic deemed registration to carry out an activity under a relevant occupation in Victoria. The registrations to which the Determination applies are radiation source use licences, security plan and transport security plan assessor approvals, and tester of prescribed radiation sources approvals under the Radiation Act 2005; certification of cooling tower system risk management plan auditors and pest control licences under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008; and food safety auditors under the Food Act 1984. The Determination comes into operation on 1 February 2022, for a period of 10 years.

The effect of the proposed Determination is to extend the current requirement for notification in respect of the above occupational registrations. The current requirement for notification currently exists under the Treasurer of Victoria’s Determination: Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement—Various) Determination 2021 (the Treasurer’s Determination). The Treasurer’s Determination expires on 31 January 2021.

Notification enables the Department of Health to communicate with persons who wish to rely upon ADR to practice their occupation in Victoria about matters of interest, such as any regulatory changes that may impact on the conduct of their activity. It also enables the Department of Health to include those persons practicing in Victoria in reliance on ADR in public registers of professionals who can conduct their relevant occupation within Victoria. This greatly assists employers and businesses to establish whether a person is legally registered to carry out relevant activities in Victoria.

Consultation

The Department of Health conducted consultation with stakeholders through publications on the webpages of the affected departmental registration areas, except for food safety auditors. It is noted that the numbers of food safety auditors who could be impacted is extremely small compared to the other licensing schemes. The publications explained the effect of the MRA, how ADR applies to persons wishing to practice in Victoria, and outlined the current mandatory notification requirement that is in place under the Treasurer’s Determination. Relevantly, the publications also notify individuals of the Department of Health’s intention to extend the requirement for notification for another ten years under a new Determination. The publications invited stakeholders to comment on the proposed extension.

No comments were received from stakeholders concerning the proposed extension of the notification requirement.

Further consultation was not considered necessary, as the change effected by the Determination is minor in nature. First, the Determination maintains the current requirement for notification in respect of the relevant occupational registrations. The Department of Health has already received notifications from various individuals who rely upon ADR to carry out their occupation in Victoria. Second, the impact of the requirement for notification is minor. Without the Determination, the relevant professionals registered in another state are automatically authorised to practice that profession in Victoria without having to take any steps. The impact of the Determination is to compel affected individuals to notify the relevant Victorian authorities before they carry on their profession in Victoria. Notably, however, under section 42J(3) of the MRA, no fee is payable upon notification. Therefore, there is no economic burden beyond the time taken to identify and contact the relevant authority in Victoria.

A person who fails to comply with a section 42J(4) Determination will not have automatic deemed registration. The consequence for non-compliance for a relevant professional is not carrying on their profession in Victoria, carrying on their profession in Victoria without lawful authority, or having to obtain substantive registration to carry on their profession, a more onerous process. Beyond not having ADR, the MRA does not set out any penalties or other consequences for non-compliance with a Determination.

A preliminary regulatory impact assessment was undertaken for the proposed Determination and submitted to the Commonwealth Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The assessment concluded that the proposed Determination will not impose a substantial economic or social burden on any sector of the public, and that a Regulatory Impact Statement was not required. The OBPR reviewed the assessment and agreed with this conclusion.

In preparing the Determination, the Minister for Health had regard to the expert information available and the positions of persons likely affected.     

 


Attachment A

Details of the Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022

Part 1 – Preliminary

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that this Determination is to be cited as the Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022 (the Determination).

Section 2 – Commencement

This section provides the date on which the Determination comes into operation. The Determination commences on 1 February 2022.

Section 3 – Authority

This section outlines the authority through which the Determination is made. The Determination is made under section 42J of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Commonwealth).

Section 4 – Simplified outline of the instrument

This section explains that the purpose of this instrument is to require a person to notify a local registration authority before the person begins to rely on automatic deemed registration under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 of the Commonwealth to carry on an activity in Victoria. This section outlines the application of the notification and the period of the Determination.

Section 5 – Definitions

This section provides, for the purposes of this Determination, self-explanatory definitions of the following terms:

-          The Act is defined in this section as meaning the Mutual Recognition Act 1992

Section 6 – Notification requirement

This section lists the specific paragraph of the MRA relied on to make the Determination, the activity under the occupation where a person must notify a local registration authority before the person begins to rely on automatic deemed registration.

The Determination is made in accordance with paragraph 42J(4) of the MRA. A person intending to carry on at least one of the activities covered by the registrations listed in reliance on ADR must notify the local registration authority. This means that an individual cannot carry on the activity in Victoria without first providing notification. An individual may obtain the notification requirements through the local registration authority for the activity.

 

 

Under section 50 of the Legislation Act 2003 (Cth), the requirement for notification applies until the first 1 April or 1 October falling on or after the tenth anniversary of the registration of the instrument on the Federal Registration of Legislation.

 

 

James Merlino MP

Acting Minister for Health (Victoria)  

Date: 20/01/2022

Overview

The Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022 was enacted to address the need for individuals with occupational registrations in other states to notify local authorities in Victoria before commencing activities under automatic deemed registration (ADR) as provided for under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (MRA). This Determination, issued by the Minister for Health (Victoria), extends the existing notification requirement that was set to expire on 31 January 2022. The policy objective is to ensure that professionals practising in Victoria under ADR are aware of any regulatory changes and to facilitate the inclusion of these professionals in public registers, thereby aiding employers and businesses in verifying the legal status of practitioners within Victoria. The Determination applies to specific health-related occupational registrations, such as radiation source use licences and food safety auditors, and it mandates notification without imposing a financial burden, as no fees are charged under section 42J(3) of the MRA. Non-compliance with the notification requirement results in the loss of ADR, potentially necessitating substantive registration for continued practice in Victoria.

Scope and Application

The Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022 extends the existing notification requirement for certain health-related occupations under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (MRA) to ensure that professionals who intend to practice in Victoria under Automatic Deemed Registration (ADR) must notify the local registration authority before commencing their activities. This requirement applies to specific registrations such as radiation source use licences, security plan and transport security plan assessor approvals, tester of prescribed radiation sources approvals, certification of cooling tower system risk management plan auditors, pest control licences, and food safety auditors. The Determination applies to individuals who hold relevant occupational registrations from another state and intend to practice in Victoria under ADR. It aims to ensure that the Department of Health can communicate with these professionals about regulatory changes and include them in public registers, thereby assisting employers and businesses in verifying the legal registration status of professionals operating in Victoria. The Determination is made under section 42J of the MRA and operates for a period of ten years, starting from 1 February 2022. It extends the current notification requirement under the Treasurer of Victoria’s Determination: Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement—Various) Determination 2021, which expires on 31 January 2022. No fee is payable for notification, and failure to comply will result in the individual not having automatic deemed registration, potentially necessitating the pursuit of substantive registration in Victoria.

Key Provisions

The Automatic Mutual Recognition (Victoria) (Notification Requirement–Health) Determination 2022 (the Determination) under section 42J of the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (MRA) mandates that individuals intending to carry out certain activities in Victoria under automatic deemed registration must notify a local registration authority before doing so (Section 6). This requirement applies to specific activities such as radiation source use licences, security plan and transport security plan assessor approvals, tester of prescribed radiation sources approvals, certification of cooling tower system risk management plan auditors, pest control licences, and food safety auditors (Section 6). The Determination came into effect on 1 February 2022 and will remain in force for 10 years, until the first 1 April or 1 October after the tenth anniversary of its registration (Section 2 and 50 of the Legislation Act 2003). The Determination imposes specific obligations on individuals who intend to engage in activities covered by the listed occupational registrations in Victoria. They must notify the relevant local registration authority before commencing their activities. This notification is a prerequisite for relying on automatic deemed registration under the MRA (Section 6). Failure to comply with this requirement means that the individual will not have automatic deemed registration, potentially resulting in them being unable to legally carry on their profession in Victoria unless they obtain substantive registration (Section 42J(4) of the MRA). Notably, under section 42J(3) of the MRA, no fee is payable upon notification, meaning there is no economic burden beyond the time taken to notify the relevant authority in Victoria. The Determination does not specify any civil or criminal penalties for non-compliance with the notification requirement. However, non-compliance results in the individual not having automatic deemed registration, which means they may not legally carry out their profession in Victoria unless they obtain substantive registration. The MRA does not provide for any specific penalties for non-compliance with a Determination, so the primary consequence of non-compliance is the inability to practice in Victoria under automatic deemed registration, necessitating the more onerous process of obtaining substantive registration. The Determination was made following a consultation process, where stakeholders were informed about the proposed changes through publications on departmental webpages. The Department of Health noted that the impact of the notification requirement is minor and that no substantial economic or social burden would be imposed on any sector of the public, as concluded by a preliminary regulatory impact assessment reviewed by the Commonwealth Office of Best Practice Regulation. The assessment indicated that a Regulatory Impact Statement was not necessary.

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Administrative Law
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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.