That was a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a healthcare practitioner which I recently found myself responding to.

The interaction made me think that it would be a good opportunity to remind colleagues of the importance of paying – and especially the consequences of failing to pay – our yearly registration fees.

By now, we all would have received emails from the HPCSA notifying us that our annual registration fees are due and payable before 1 April 2024.

If you have not received the email, please check your junk/spam box and if it is not there, you should contact the HPCSA as soon as possible to ensure that your correct details are on their system (see our previous article on the importance of ensuring that your details are up to date with the HPCSA).

So what happens if we don’t pay? To answer that, we must turn to the law which governs our registration and practice – the Health Professions Act. The Act says that the professional board may authorise the registrar to suspend the registration of any person who has failed to pay their prescribed annual fee by the due date.

The notice of suspension must be issued by the registrar and forwarded to the practitioner by certified mail, fax or electronic transmission to the address in the register (again, highlighting the importance of keeping one’s details up to date with the HPCSA). As from the date of issue of this notice and receipt by the practitioner, that practitioner’s registration certificate is deemed suspended and the practitioner must immediately cease to practise, until the suspension is lifted.

If a practitioner fails to pay their annual fee within three months of the due date, the Act says that they may be removed from the register of practitioners. Notice of the removal must be given by the registrar by certified mail, and the registration certificate of the practitioner must be deemed to be cancelled and the practitioner may no longer practise until his or her name is restored to the register.

The suspension may be revoked by the payment of any annual fee which was not paid, payment of a restoration fee, and other penalties as may be prescribed. If the practitioner’s name was removed from the register, their name may be restored to the register after applying for restoration on a prescribed form, paying a prescribed fee and complying with other requirements as the relevant professional board may determine.

The consequences of failing to pay the prescribed fee may be severe. The Act says that registration is a prerequisite for practising a profession, and any person who contravenes this may find themselves liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment of up to a year, or both.

But, apart from the regulatory and legal implications of failing to pay, there is another important consideration: professional indemnity.

Your professional indemnity organisation or insurer will require that you have an active registration in place at the time of any incident in order for you to be eligible for indemnity or insurance relating to that incident.

Should an adverse incident occur during a period where you were suspended or worse, removed from the register, it is unlikely that you will be able to request assistance with that matter.

The consequences could be financially devastating and even career-ending.

It is therefore crucial that practitioners pay their annual fees on time. Failure to do so, whether in protest or otherwise, is ill-advised. If you have any concerns about fees, it would be prudent to address these with your professional association or union collectively, instead of taking matters into your own hands and risking your career in the process.