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Professional Registration
Registration with the Multidisciplinary Therapies Australia Regulation Association (MTARA) recognises professional standing within MTARA's professional practice framework across Disability, Ageing and Mental Health across the lifespan.
MTARA maintains two distinct professional registration streams:
Registered MDT Specialist
Functional Capacity Practice
Registered Rehabilitation Consultant (RRC MTARA)
Clinical Functional Rehabilitation
Each registration has a distinct professional scope, competency framework and practice purpose. Practitioners who independently meet the requirements of both professional streams may be eligible for dual registration.
Educational Entry Standard
MTARA professional registration is an advanced-practice professional registration framework.
Applicants are required to hold a recognised tertiary qualification at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 9, or an assessed equivalent, relevant to the multidisciplinary fields that inform Functional Capacity Practice.
AQF Level 9 corresponds to a Masters Degree and reflects advanced and integrated knowledge, specialised professional skills, independent critical analysis, synthesis of complex information, autonomy and expert professional judgement.
MTARA recognises that Functional Capacity Practice is inherently multidisciplinary. Human functioning may be influenced by physical, neurological, developmental, cognitive, psychological, psychosocial, behavioural, communication, environmental, participation and support factors.
Accordingly, MTARA does not restrict its educational foundation to a single professional discipline.
Relevant AQF Level 9 Fields
Relevant Masters-level qualifications may include, but are not limited to:
Master of Allied Health
Master of Rehabilitation
Master of Rehabilitation Counselling
Master of Rehabilitation Science
Master of Health Science
Master of Public Health
Master of Disability Studies
Master of Disability and Inclusion
Master of Autism
Master of Special Education
Master of Education, where the program includes substantial study relevant to disability, development, inclusion, behaviour or functional participation
Master of Developmental Education or Developmental Disability
Master of Mental Health
Master of Mental Health Practice
Master of Counselling
Master of Psychology
Master of Social Work
Master of Occupational Therapy
Master of Physiotherapy
Master of Speech Pathology
Master of Exercise Physiology
Master of Nursing
Master of Gerontology
Master of Ageing
Master of Dementia
Master of Neuroscience
Master of Cognitive Science
Master of Behavioural Science
Master of Applied Behaviour Analysis
Master of Human Services
Master of Community Services
Master of Health and Human Services
Master of Interdisciplinary Studies, where the program contains a relevant multidisciplinary combination of fields contributing to Functional Capacity Practice
The qualification title alone does not determine eligibility. MTARA may consider the applicant's academic transcript, areas of postgraduate study, professional education, clinical or functional practice experience and demonstrated competency when determining whether the educational foundation is sufficiently relevant to the registration sought.
Multidisciplinary Educational Pathways
Functional Capacity Practice draws upon multiple areas of professional knowledge rather than a single discipline.
MTARA assesses the applicant's education as a whole to determine whether it provides the advanced multidisciplinary knowledge required for the professional scope sought.
An applicant's AQF Level 9 education may therefore demonstrate advanced study across one or more areas including:
Human Function and Participation
Disability and Functional Capacity
Rehabilitation Sciences
Allied Health
Physical and Neurological Function
Cognition and Executive Functioning
Autism and Neurodevelopment
Developmental Disability
Psychology and Behavioural Science
Psychosocial Disability and Mental Health
Social Work and Human Services
Communication and Interaction
Ageing and Gerontology
Dementia and Cognitive Ageing
Special Education and Development
Community Participation and Inclusion
Environmental and Contextual Factors
Health Science
Research and Evidence-Based Practice
Clinical and Professional Reasoning
Registration Categories
Registered MDT Specialist | Disability, Ageing & Mental Health
Professional Field: Functional Capacity Practice
Registered MDT Specialists specialise in comprehensive Functional Capacity Assessment and multidisciplinary functional formulation across the lifespan.
The scope includes:
Functional Capacity Assessment;
Multidisciplinary Functional Capacity Assessment (MDTFCA);
functional observation and analysis;
multidisciplinary evidence integration and triangulation;
cumulative functional impact analysis;
functional formulation;
activity and participation analysis;
support-needs assessment;
Home and Living functional assessment;
functional risk and safeguarding assessment;
environmental and contextual analysis;
functional recommendations; and
professional Functional Capacity reporting.
MDT Specialist registration is an assessment and functional formulation registration. It does not independently confer an ongoing clinical rehabilitation or treatment scope.
Registered MDT Specialist | Forensic Functional Analysis
This registration scope applies Functional Capacity Practice within legal, tribunal and forensic contexts.
Practice may include independent Functional Capacity Assessment and functional analysis; evaluation of functional impact relevant to legal proceedings; consistency and reliability of functional presentation; functional vulnerability and risk; sustainability of functioning; evidence integration; and professional functional opinion within the practitioner's demonstrated competence.
Registered MDT Specialist | Family & Community Services
This registration scope applies Functional Capacity Practice to caregiving, family, household and community functioning.
Practice may include functional aspects of caregiving and parenting; household functioning; family participation; service-engagement capacity; community participation; informal supports; functional safety and stability; and the impact of disability or functional incapacity upon caregiving and family roles.
Registered Rehabilitation Consultant | Disability, Ageing & Mental Health
Professional Field: Clinical Functional Rehabilitation
Registered Rehabilitation Consultants are clinical rehabilitation practitioners specialising in direct intervention addressing human functioning across Disability, Ageing and Mental Health across the lifespan.
RRC practice is directed toward developing, restoring, maintaining, optimising or compensating for functional capacity, increasing independence and participation and reducing avoidable functional deterioration.
The RRC scope may include:
Functional Capacity Intervention
Functional Skill Rehabilitation
Functional Cognition Rehabilitation
Routine and Activity Rehabilitation
Independence and Capacity Development
Compensatory Rehabilitation
Adaptive Functional Strategies
Participation Rehabilitation
Psychosocial Functional Rehabilitation
Maintenance Rehabilitation
Functional Deterioration Prevention
Environmental Functional Intervention
Transition Rehabilitation
Community Reintegration
Rehabilitation Coaching and Education
Functional Rehabilitation Planning
Functional Outcome Measurement and Review
RRCs undertake rehabilitation assessment where required to establish baseline function, determine rehabilitation needs, formulate functional goals, select appropriate interventions and evaluate response to rehabilitation. The RRC assessment function exists in support of clinical rehabilitation practice and is distinct from the comprehensive independent Functional Capacity Assessment and reporting role of the Registered MDT Specialist.
RRC Educational and Competency Requirements
Applicants seeking registration as a Registered Rehabilitation Consultant (RRC(MTARA)) must meet MTARA's AQF Level 9 educational entry standard and demonstrate education, professional development and competency relevant to direct Clinical Functional Rehabilitation. Relevant postgraduate education may be drawn from fields including rehabilitation, allied health, disability, health science, occupational and functional practice, physical rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation, developmental practice, mental health, psychosocial rehabilitation, behavioural science, functional cognition, ageing, gerontology, community rehabilitation and other relevant multidisciplinary areas.
Applicants must demonstrate competency in:
clinical rehabilitation reasoning;
functional rehabilitation assessment;
identification of rehabilitation needs;
functional goal formulation;
rehabilitation planning;
selection and delivery of functional rehabilitation interventions;
capacity development and restoration;
maintenance and compensatory rehabilitation;
functional cognition and everyday activity strategies;
person-centred rehabilitation;
risk recognition and appropriate escalation;
multidisciplinary clinical practice;
monitoring response to intervention;
functional outcome measurement;
professional documentation and record keeping; and
recognition of professional scope and appropriate referral.
Registration is determined on the applicant's combined educational preparation, professional experience and demonstrated competence, rather than qualification title alone.
Dual Registration
Practitioners who independently satisfy MTARA's requirements for both professional streams may apply for dual registration.
Dual registration recognises professional competence across the complete MTARA functional practice continuum:
ASSESS → FORMULATE → REHABILITATE → MEASURE
Holding one MTARA registration does not automatically confer eligibility for the other. Each professional scope must be independently demonstrated and approved.
A dual-registered practitioner may practise within:
Functional Capacity Practice as a Registered MDT Specialist; and
Clinical Functional Rehabilitation as a Registered Rehabilitation Consultant.
Professional Experience
Academic qualification establishes the educational foundation for registration but does not, by itself, establish professional competence.
Applicants must demonstrate professional experience relevant to the registration sought. For MDT Specialist registration, relevant experience should demonstrate competence in functional assessment, evidence integration, multidisciplinary reasoning, functional formulation and professional reporting.
For RRC registration, relevant experience should demonstrate competence in rehabilitation, direct functional intervention, capacity development, clinical reasoning, rehabilitation planning and functional outcome evaluation. MTARA may require supporting evidence including curriculum vitae, position descriptions, professional references, de-identified work samples, case evidence, competency documentation, professional development records or other material reasonably required to establish competence.
Professional Requirements
All MTARA registrants must maintain the professional and suitability requirements applicable to their registration.
These include:
Current National Police Check
Professional Indemnity Insurance — minimum $10 million
Public Liability Insurance — minimum $10 million
Continuing Professional Development
Recency of Practice
Compliance with the MTARA Code of Practice
Practice within the approved professional scope and demonstrated competence
Appropriate professional record keeping and privacy practices
Accurate representation of qualifications and registration
Additional screening, credentialling, insurance or practice requirements may apply according to the population served, jurisdiction or clinical environment in which the practitioner works.
Recognition of Prior Education and Professional Experience
MTARA recognises that experienced practitioners may enter Functional Capacity Practice and Clinical Functional Rehabilitation through diverse professional and interdisciplinary educational pathways. Where an applicant holds an AQF Level 9 qualification that does not carry an immediately identifiable Functional Capacity Practice or rehabilitation title, MTARA may assess the substance of the qualification, including academic transcripts, postgraduate specialisations, completed subjects and the relationship between the applicant's education and professional practice.
International qualifications may be considered where evidence demonstrates comparability with the required Australian educational level and relevance to the professional scope sought. Professional experience may support evidence of competency and multidisciplinary practice but does not ordinarily substitute for MTARA's required tertiary educational standard.