Allied health at Bond

Dietitians are health professionals with recognised expertise in the science of nutrition and dietetics.  A career in nutrition and dietetics is rich and rewarding and can span a diverse range of work settings, such as clinical practice, food service, public health, sports nutrition, aged care, and research, to name just a few. 

Bond’s Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice program provides students with a foundation of nutrition science which is extended to the practice of dietetics with 24 weeks of professional placement internships. The program also provides exceptional experience in high-level research with a further 20 weeks of nutrition research internship.  All students undertake an elective internship in a setting of their own choosing and gain a unique perspective into international nutrition issues and considerations through an international placement (or equivalent Australian domestic experience).

The program offers three exit points:

• Graduate Certificate in Nutrition
• Graduate Diploma in Nutrition
• Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice which is accredited by Dietitians Australia and has been granted candidate status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the USA

With a shift to client-directed care models, Occupational Therapists are more in demand now than ever. Occupational Therapists work in a diverse range of areas including disability, rehabilitation, mental health, aged care and primary health services.

Bond's Master of Occupational Therapy is the first in Australia to combine extensive clinical skills training with the opportunity to complete a clinical or business-focussed research project. This is a unique feature prepares graduates to develop skills at a proficient level; particularly in relation to roles such as Practice Manager, Change Agent and Scholarly Practitioner, as articulated in the Canadian Profile of Practice for Occupational Therapists.  Our program also places a strong emphasis on practical workplace experience with extensive clinical placements in a variety of hospital, community and private practice settings ensuring that our graduates are distinguished by their exceptional patient skills and workplace ethics.

Physiotherapists (also called Physical Therapists) are highly-qualified, licensed healthcare professionals who use advanced techniques and evidence-based care to assess, diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of health conditions and movement disorders. 

Physiotherapists work in a range of settings that include private and public hospitals, community health services and private practice across the lifespan from paediatrics (children) to aged care.

Bond’s Doctor of Physiotherapy places a strong emphasis on clinical experiential learning with up to 50 per cent of the program undertaken in a clinical context. The program includes 36 weeks of clinical placements, which means our graduates are the preferred option for employers looking for highly trained and experienced practitioners, able to work confidently with patients from day one.

Sport is in Bond’s DNA – from the multi-million-dollar Sport and Aquatic Centres on campus to the High Performance Training Centre at the Bond Institute of Health and Sport. If you have a passion for health, fitness, sport and the science of human movement or kinesiology, this is the place to be. The Faculty offers two distinctly different undergraduate degrees: The Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science and the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Performance. Both programs are based at the world-class Bond Institute of Health and Sport where you will work with high-performance athletes using training and testing equipment that sets the benchmark for industry standards.

The main point of difference between the programs is that the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science program offers a Capstone subject in the final semester, where students bring their skills and knowledge into a workplace-based research project. Also, the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science is accredited with Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), however the Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Performance is not.

Successful completion of either of these degrees allows graduates a pathway into Bond’s postgraduate Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice, Master of Occupational Therapy and Doctor of Physiotherapy programs.

Bond’s Master of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice (MNDP) program has full accreditation with Dietitians Australia. Graduates have the opportunity to become full members of Dietitians Australia and can apply for Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) status, a credential which is recognised within Australia.

American students who study nutrition and dietetics at Bond University in Australia may be eligible for a 3-year post-work study visa, with immediate recognition to work as an Australian dietitian.

The Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) is the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the United States of America (USA) and are the agency that provide certification as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).  To be eligible for the RDN credential, applicants must satisfy three conditions:

1. Successful completion of both an Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited didactic program in dietetics* and an ACEND accredited dietetic internship in the USA.
2. Successful validation of elements in (a) above by CDR.
3. Pass the national registration examination for dietitians in the USA.

Most states require licencing to legally practice in the USA, and graduates must apply to the licencing authority in the State in which they wish to practice. Each State has its own licencing authority, and each authority has its own eligibility criteria for licencing.

*Bond University has been granted candidate status by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) as a Foreign Dietetic Education program to prepare Registered Dietitian Nutritionists from May 2021.   The program is currently accepting applications from prospective students. Graduates of a cohort designated as having candidate status have the same rights and privileges as graduates of an accredited program.

More information about the ACEND accreditation standards is available here.

Contact Assoc Professor Dianne Reidlinger for more information, email: [email protected]

Information for students planning to register to practice as an Occupational Therapist in the United States of America: 

Bond University’s entry-level Master of Occupational Therapy program has been granted Candidacy Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, USA. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is +1 (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. The program must have a preaccreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). In addition, all US states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure

Other information: 

If you did not earn your entry-level master’s/doctoral degree in occupational therapy from a U.S.-accredited college/university, you must apply for the Occupational Therapist Eligibility Determination (OTED®) process. The OTED process will determine if your completed education, including fieldwork, meets the eligibility requirements to apply for the OTR certification exam. Education and fieldwork must be deemed comparable to current U.S. entry-level educational standards.

To apply for OTED:

• Complete the online application
• Provide documentation demonstrating compliance with all eligibility criteria
• Pay the $850 (USD) fee.

Once you are approved through the OTED process, you are eligible to apply for the OTR certification exam (please review the exam retake policy, effective January 2020).

All OTED approvals are valid for 7 years from the date of approval.

Education Requirements To be eligible to apply for OTED, you must meet all fieldwork requirements AND have:

• An entry-level master's degree in occupational therapy, or
• A bachelor's degree in occupational therapy with a post-professional master's or doctoral degree in occupational therapy.

Additional coursework may be needed to satisfy requirements.

Please note: Earning a post-professional master's/doctoral degree in occupational therapy in the U.S. does NOT guarantee OTED approval. OTED approvals are based on the educational comparability review of your combined education.

Inquiries related to the OTED process should be directed to [email protected].

For more information, please visit nbcot.org

Bond’s Master of Occupational Therapy program is approved by the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia and is recognised by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Successful graduates are eligible to apply for registration with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.

*The Bond University Master of Occupational Therapy provides a minimum of 1,000 hours of field work within the program.

Please note: International students wishing to return and practise in their home country or graduates wishing to practise Occupational Therapy in countries other than Australia must contact the professional accrediting bodies / associations in that country to determine requirements for registration. Bond University is not responsible for organising any registration of international students upon their graduation.

Physical therapy is a regulated profession in the United States of America (USA). To become a licensed physical therapist in the USA, graduates must apply to the licensing authority in the State in which they want to practice. Each State has its own licensing authority, and each authority has its own eligibility criteria for licensing.

An essential part of the licensing process is successfully completing the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). To be eligible to take the NPTE, physical therapists trained outside of the USA must have their education credentialled by an approved agency. This is a process where your completed physiotherapy degree is compared to the physical therapy education you would have received in the USA.

To be credentialed as having an equivalent education, you must have completed a Doctor of Physiotherapy program. You must be able to demonstrate that you have met all the educational criteria for your General Education, which comes from your undergraduate degree, and your Professional Education, which comes from your physiotherapy program. The Bond Doctor of Physiotherapy offers a program that has met the Professional Education requirements of the current evaluation tool, Coursework Tool 6.

In summary:      

Step 1:  Submit your educational portfolio to the Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy at www.fccpt.org and receive a “Report of Evaluation of Educational Credentials. ”  Bond University DPT meets the criteria for equivalent education and will assist in this process.
Step 2:  Apply to sit the NPTE exam and pass the exam
Step 3:  Submit an application for professional licensure in the state of your preference.
Step 4:  Contact FSBPT to release your NPTE examination score report to the state you have applied for licensure. 
Step 5:  Once licensed in one state, you can apply for endorsement for licensure in other states.

Bond University has a dedicated staff member to work individually with students who are intending to practice in the USA and support them through the application process.   

You can find out more information about physical therapy licensure in the USA and the NPTE here.