Every doctor and nurse who practises in Australia must be registered with their National Board through Ahpra, the national regulator, and anyone can search the public register for free. It's worth a quick look before any cosmetic treatment.
How to search
Go to the Ahpra website and open the Register of practitioners. You can search by:
- Name, as it appears on their registration
- Registration number, which starts with a code for the profession, such as MED for doctors
- Profession, state or suburb, to narrow the results
What to check
Each listing shows:
- Registration status, which tells you whether they're allowed to practise
- Registration type, such as general or specialist registration
- Any specialty, for doctors with specialist registration
- Any conditions, undertakings or reprimands
- Their principal place of practice
Titles to look out for
Since 2023, only doctors with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, or ophthalmology can call themselves a surgeon. If someone uses that title, their listing should show the matching specialist registration.
If something doesn't match
Some practitioners are registered under a different name to the one they use, so if you can't find someone, ask for their registration number. If something still doesn't look right, Ahpra takes confidential calls on 1300 419 495.
Dr Mekhail's registration number is MED0002699362. This guide is general information, not medical advice.