What is an HPI-I and why do allied health professionals need one?
Secure digital connection starts with your individual Healthcare Provider Identifier (HPI-I).
In this practical webinar, AHPA is joined by representatives from Services Australia and Ahpra to explain what HPI identifiers are, why they matter, and how allied health professionals and organisations can obtain and use them correctly.
Allied health professionals require an HPI-I to:
Connect to My Health Record
Use secure messaging
Participate in Provider Connect Australia
Share consumer health information safely and securely
If you work within an organisation, your HPI-I connects with your organisation’s Healthcare Provider Identifier – Organisation (HPI-O). Both are essential components of digital connection.
This webinar explains how it all fits together.
Who should attend:
Allied health professionals
Private practice owners
Practice managers
Allied health service delivery organisations
This session is particularly relevant for private practices seeking to connect with national digital health systems for the first time.
Date: Monday 30 March 2026
Time: 5:00–6:00pm AEDT
Location: Online via Microsoft Teams
Free registration
Learning outcomes
By the end of this webinar, participants will:
Understand what an HPI-I is and how it functions
Know why an HPI-I is required for secure information sharing
Identify the correct pathway to obtain an HPI-I
Understand how their organisation obtains and uses an HPI-O
Know where to access detailed guidance and support
Understand how HPI identifiers enable participation in national digital health products
Why this matters for allied health
Digital health is no longer optional infrastructure. It underpins how information is shared, how care is coordinated, and increasingly how services are funded.
Without an HPI-I and HPI-O in place, allied health professionals and practices cannot securely connect to national digital systems.
Understanding and implementing these identifiers ensures your practice is prepared to participate in a connected, secure and interoperable health system.
Presenters
Why connection and use of digital health products is essential now for allied health professionals.
Anita Hobson-Powell
Commonwealth Chief Allied Health Officer
Anita Hobson-Powell is the Australian Government’s Chief Allied Health Officer. Anita is trained as an exercise physiologist. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Movement, Master of Science and Master of Business.
Anita’s career has been dedicated to excellence across health, sport, and wellness domains. She spent almost 18 years working in associations, advocating for recognition and access to allied health professions and establishing the quality assurances of self-regulation health professions.
Digital Tools in Allied Health: Benefits, Challenges and What’s Needed in Practice
Chen Li
Accredited Hand Therapist
Chen Li is an Accredited Hand Therapist (Australian Hand Therapy Association) with a decade of experience in hand and upper limb rehabilitation. As a sole trader and principal clinician in Sydney, she uses integrated digital health systems in her practice to deliver efficient patient-centred care and streamline referral pathways.
Overview of AHPA’s digital health program
Bronwyn Morris-Donovan
Chief Executive Officer, Allied Health Professions Australia
Bronwyn is a primary health sector advocate with expertise in policy and advocacy, health sector strategy and service innovation. She has a clinical background in podiatry and brings to the role a deep connection to allied health and primary health care. Bronwyn has experience across several Australian health peaks including the RACGP, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses, Australian Podiatry Association and the Mental Health Professionals’ Network.
Where to Start: Resources and Practical Next Steps
Jackie O’Connor
Digital Health Lead, Allied Health Professions Australia
Jackie is a Prosthetist Orthotist by clinical professional background with a Master’s in Health Service Management who found her way into policy and advocacy due to a passion for wanting to address practice problems at a systems level. Jackie believes solutions to many system challenges lie within digital initiatives and is therefore determined to provide the allied health sector with the opportunity to easily engage with fit for purpose digital solutions.
About the AHPA Digital Health Education Webinar Series
The AHPA Digital Health Education Series is part of the AHPA Digital Health Connection Project, a collaboration between AHPA and the Australian Digital Health Agency to encourage and enable connection to key digital health products by allied health professionals.
Webinar 1 examined the broader system changes underway and why digital connection matters now.
Webinar 2 focuses on the first practical step: securing and using your HPI-I.
Webinar 3 will explore privacy and cyber security. Date May 2026 TBC.