Requirements for Admission to the Register of Accredited Medical Sonographers

Sonographers with Qualifications obtained outside Australia who wish to work in Australia

All Sonographers with qualifications obtained outside Australia must have their qualifications and experience assessed by the Australian Institute of Radiography  (AIR) before applying for entry onto ASAR.  Sonographers who are issued with a Certificate of Proficiency from the AIR may then apply for entry onto ASAR under Category 1B below.

Category 1A – Accredited Qualification
To be eligible for admission under category 1A the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be an Australian / New Zealand Citizen, or a Permanent Resident of Australia, and
• Must hold an ASAR accredited qualification in medical ultrasound

View current list of ASAR accredited qualifications.

If the qualification was obtained more than 3 years ago, applicants need to have been active for an equivalent of 1 year part-time/6 months full-time in clinical ultrasound practice in the last 3 years. If otherwise, applicants need to comply with ASAR’s return to clinical practice policy.

Applicants with 40% or more of their clinical experience offshore during the course of their study will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Category 1B – AIR Certificate of Proficiency in Ultrasound
To be eligible for admission under category 1B the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be an Australian / New Zealand Citizen, or a Permanent Resident of Australia, or hold a valid Australian working visa, and
• Must hold an AIR Certificate of Proficiency in Ultrasound

Renewal each year for applicants with a valid working visa is dependent upon presenting ASAR with proof of valid work visa for that year.

If the AIR certificate was obtained more than 3 years ago, applicants need to have been active for an equivalent of 1 year part-time/6 months full-time in clinical ultrasound practice in the last 3 years. If otherwise, applicants need to comply with ASAR’s return to clinical practice policy.

This category is suitable for applicants who:

• hold temporary visa and wish to obtain employment in Australia
• hold overseas qualifications and wish to obtain employment in Australia
• are temporary residents and have obtained an ASAR accredited qualification and wish to obtain employment in Australia

 

Requirements for Admission to the Register of Accredited Student Sonographers

Category 2A – Accredited Student Sonographer
To be eligible for admission under category 2A the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be an Australian / New Zealand Citizen, or a Permanent Resident of Australia, or hold a valid visa to work / study in Australia, and
• Must be a student participating in an ASAR accredited program of study in medical ultrasound

View current list of ASAR accredited programs.

Category 2C – Conditional Student Sonographer
This category of accreditation is for applicants who intend to undertake an ASAR accredited program within one year. These applicants will be granted entry on to the register on the condition that they supply ASAR with an employer’s letter* stating that the applicant will enrol in an ASAR accredited program within one year of registering with ASAR.

To be eligible for this admission, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be an Australian / New Zealand Citizen, or a Permanent Resident of Australia, or hold a valid visa to work / study in Australia, and
• Must provide ASAR with an employer’s letter* stating that the applicant will enrol in an ASAR accredited program within one year of registering with ASAR

Note*: This letter is only applicable for initial application to ASAR and is valid for one year. Failure to enrol in an ASAR accredited program within the specified time frame will result in removal of that person from the Register.

Category 2P – Provisional Student Sonographer
This category of accreditation is for Sonographers who wish to return to clinical practice following a period of inactivity. These applicants will be granted entry on to the register provided they successfully comply with ASAR’s return to clinical practice policy and guidelines within the specified time frame. On completion, Sonographers will be placed in their appropriate AMS categories (subject to the Sonographer fulfilling the ASAR Regulations for Accreditation). Failure to comply with ASAR’s return to clinical practice policy within the specified time will result in removal of that person from the Register.

To be eligible for admission, a Sonographer must meet the following criteria:

• Must be eligible for admission on to the ASAR Register through one of the AMS Categories, and
• Must successfully comply with ASAR’s Return to Clinical Practice (RCP) requirements within the specified time frame

View further information on RCP Guidelines.

Timelimit on Course Completion: The ASAR Course Completion Policy outlines the maximum length of time students have to complete an ASAR accredited course.

Australian Orthoptic Board

As per the agreement between ASAR and AOB, ASAR accepts AOB registered members as appropriate for ASAR accreditation. AOB members need to contact the AOB office for more information to apply for ASAR accreditation, or check their website at www.australianorthopticboard.org.au.

Temporary Residents/Overseas Qualifications

ASAR is not responsible for assessing overseas-qualified Sonographers for immigration purposes. Sonographers in this situation must contact the Australian Institute of Radiography (AIR). If the applicant is successful in the AIR assessment, granting of accreditation by ASAR is usually a simple matter of sending the AIR statement to the ASAR Secretariat together with the completed ASAR application form and prescribed fee.

Temporary Residents With ASAR Accredited Qualifications

If you are an overseas resident and have graduated with an ASAR accredited post graduate qualification in ultrasound and you want to work in Australia, then you require a valid work visa and you must follow the application process for overseas applicants (AIR Assessment) as outlined for temporary residents/overseas qualifications. If all requirements for application are met, then you qualify for accredited status, i.e. as an Accredited Medical Sonographer (AMS) on the ASAR Register.

Continuation Of Accreditation

In order to remain on the Register, an accredited Sonographer must satisfy the ASAR CPD requirements and pay the prescribed annual fee. Student Sonographers, apart from paying the prescribed annual fee should provide evidence of their student status every year when they renew their ASAR accreditation.

Discipline Specific Areas of Sonography Practice

A sonographer is a highly skilled medical imaging professional who performs diagnostic ultrasound examinations of various areas of the body. Sonographers must hold relevant and accredited postgraduate qualifications in their area of practice to obtain accreditation with ASAR, and need to maintain accreditation by documenting their continuing professional development (CPD) activities with one of the ASAR recognised CPD programs.

Several areas of discipline specific practice are recognised by ASAR:

•  General – abdomen, male and female pelvis, obstetrics, musculoskeletal, superficial parts (e.g.breast, thyroid), general vascular, paediatrics.

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology – obstetrics, female pelvis, maternal abdomen, thyroid and breast, neonatal ultrasound examinations.

•  Vascular- dedicated vascular ultrasound imaging, including but not limited to the abdominal vessels, fistula mapping (for dialysis), venous incompetancy mapping, arterial and venous studies of the upper and lower limbs, head and neck.

•  Cardiac – paediatric and adult cardiac anatomy, function, physiology at rest, with exercise, during intervention (e.g. drug infusion, device deployment).

•  Breast – dedicated ultrasound breast imaging, including interventional techniques and the correlation of examinations from other breast imaging modalities (e.g. mammography and MRI).