How to become a locum health professional in Australia
How to start locum and contract work as an AHPRA-registered health professional in Australia: registration, indemnity, ABN, GST, PSI, super, and tracking shifts, invoices and expenses in one place.
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
current AHPRA registration with your National Board required.
Rates vary widely by profession and setting. Hold a clear minimum, separate genuine contracting income (ABN, your own super) from PAYG agency or bank work, and benchmark against your profession's page.
A locum health professional covers clinical work on a session-by-session basis for the organizations that need them, as a self-employed professional rather than a salaried employee. This guide walks through everything you need to do to start, in order, and the common pitfalls that catch people in their first year.
Step by step
Your path to your first booking
6 steps, in the order that actually keeps you booked and paid.
Confirm your AHPRA registration and scope
Whatever your profession, check your registration with your National Board through AHPRA is current, that you meet CPD and recency-of-practice requirements, and that no conditions limit independent practice. Use only the titles your registration allows.
Arrange professional indemnity
Professional indemnity insurance is a condition of AHPRA registration for most professions. Hold a policy that matches your actual scope of practice, and confirm run-off and retroactive cover before switching insurers.
Sort screening and mandatory training
Most workplaces require a National Police Check, a Working With Children Check (state-dependent), immunisation compliance, and role-specific mandatory training. Keep certificates current and in one place: expiries are a common reason bookings fall through.
Register an ABN and decide your structure
You need an ABN to invoice. Most people start as sole traders. A company or trust can help at higher income, but Personal Services Income rules often apply when more than half your income is for your personal skill and effort, limiting splitting. Get accounting advice before incorporating.
Handle GST, BAS and super
Register for GST once turnover passes $75,000 (many health services are GST-free, so model your mix), lodge your BAS each quarter, and fund your own superannuation since there is no employer Super Guarantee on genuine contracting income. Keep a reserve every quarter.
Track everything from day one
Log every shift, invoice, expense, credential expiry, and business kilometre (deductible at the ATO 88c/km rate) across every workplace and agency. Sessional brings this cross-source admin into one place so tax time and renewals are not a scramble.
Get organised
Documents to have ready
Keep these current and in one place. Sessional sends reminders 30 days before each expiry.
- AHPRA registration certificate
- Professional indemnity certificate matching your scope
- National Police Check + Working With Children Check (state-dependent)
- Immunisation evidence (per workplace policy)
- Recent CPD record
- Up-to-date CV with two recent references
6
Steps to your first booking, in order
6
Documents to keep current and in one place
5
First-year pitfalls to sidestep
30
Days notice before each expiry, so nothing lapses
Built for AHPRA-registered health professionals starting out as locums and sole traders.
Learn from others
First-year pitfalls
The mistakes that quietly cost new locums time, money, and bookings.
- Letting a credential, check, or training certificate expire and losing bookings at short notice
- Not setting aside roughly 30% for income tax plus the Medicare levy, with nothing withheld at source
- Assuming PSI does not apply when most income is for your personal skill and effort
- Missing the GST threshold or a BAS deadline once turnover grows
- Not tracking business mileage at 88c/km and underclaiming deductions
Keep going
Tools and guides to take next
Last reviewed April 2026. Rates and regulator details change. If something looks off, let us know.
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