Comparative Analysis Of Licensing And Registration Processes For Healthcare And Restaurateur Professions In Australia, Essay.

By means of a comparative analysis (a) evaluate the licensing and or registration processes imposed upon two built environment/property/development professions; and (b) advise which one is the moren rigorous process.

In your essay you must ensure, amongst other things, that you:

limit your comparison to two built environment/property/development professions only;

Clearly identify each profession and briefly explain why each is considered to be a profession;

Clearly identify and engage with the statutorily imposed licensing and/or registration processes of each profession;

Appropriately reference related current law and codes; and

Clearly identify which process is the more rigorous process and explain why.

Healthcare Profession

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 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.

Registration Process for Healthcare Profession

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 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: https://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: https://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: https://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].