HSPBA: 2025 Professional Fees Reimbursement

Your union negotiated for a $14.6 million fund to help members pay for the fees required by regulatory bodies and professional associations as part of the 2022-2025 collective agreement for health science professionals.
 
In 2023 and 2024, HSA members accessed this fund through over 17,000 applications to cover the cost of the fees they paid in those years. This has drawn down the fund considerably, but enough remains to provide members with some support in 2025 – sufficient for 60% of the cost of the fees members are expected to pay in the coming year.
 
Applications for reimbursement of fees paid by members in 2025 will be accepted starting at 12 noon (Pacific time) on Wednesday, May 21. See below for information on the application process.

The future of professional fees reimbursement
 
Funding for the reimbursement of professional fees and professional development is something your union fights for at the negotiating table; ultimately this funding depends on the willingness of government to invest in strong contracts. Little or no funding was made available by the governments of BC prior to 2017, but since then the current provincial government has recognized the importance of the health science professional workforce by investing $31.6 million dollars to support these programs over the last seven years.

Negotiations for the next HSPBA collective agreement are already underway, and your union hopes to achieve funding for ongoing reimbursement of professional and regulatory fees in 2026 and beyond, but given the unpredictable political and economic landscape, support in the future may be limited.

The problem of increasing professional and regulatory fees
 
Everything seems to be getting more expensive, and professional fees are no exception. HSA is aware that several professional associations have hiked their fees significantly, and more are expected to do the same. 

2025 professional fees reimbursement

The professional fees fund negotiated as part of the 2022-2025 HSPBA collective agreement were part of a finite one-time fund. Predictably, the fund was very popular the first year and has became even more popular over the time it has been open, which has drawn down the amount of funds available.

The popularity of the fund, combined with significant fee increases for some professions, means that while your union was able to reimburse members at 100% for their 2023 and 2024 professional fees, there are not sufficient funds remaining to do so for the 2025 year. In 2025 the reimbursement will be at 60% of the submitted receipt per member.

How to apply for reimbursement of fees paid in 2025
 
You may submit a receipt for reimbursement to cover 60% of the fees related to one professional body of your choice. We encourage you to apply for the most expensive fee you will pay in 2025. 
 
The application process is exclusively online and will not open until noon on Wednesday, May 21. The application will remain open until the end of the year.

To apply for reimbursement, HSA requires you to have an email on file with the union. To update your contact information, use this form. And please complete the entire application, as incomplete applications will sadly be rejected.
 
Before you access the application, please make sure that you have the following information on hand:

• A completed digital copy of HSA’s electronic banking information form (a link to a downloadable and form fillable link is provided in the application process). This allows us to reimburse you by direct deposit.
• A digital copy (picture or scan) of a void cheque or blank PAD (pre-authorized debit) form in your name from your financial institution. We ask that you submit a new copy even if you submitted one last year, as we want to be certain that your reimbursement is sent to the correct bank or credit union account.
• A digital copy (picture or scan) of the receipt for which you are applying to claim reimbursement (receipts must be dated between January 1 – December 31, 2025).

All three documents will need to be uploaded to complete the applications. Your application will be rejected if any of these are missing, or if you apply for reimbursement for multiple fees (as only one fee may be claimed for reimbursement).
 
As you complete the application process, you will be required to select your profession and the professional body for which you are claiming reimbursement for payment of fees. You may only choose one professional body fee for reimbursement, and are encouraged to apply for the one that has the highest dollar value.
 
As you know, health care is ever-changing, professions evolve and develop, and some professions’ names change, so if you do not see your profession on the drop-down list, there is an option to enter your profession manually. You may also manually enter the name of the professional body.
 
Once your application is submitted, you will receive an auto-generated email confirming receipt. This is not the end of the process; union staff need to manually check each application to ensure that everyone receives the correct reimbursement, and that the reimbursement is sent to the correct bank account. This means that reimbursement is not immediate. Rather, as we expect to receive thousands of applications in only a few days, reimbursements will take several weeks to process.
 
As staff will be very busy reviewing applications, we will not be able to respond to emails or phone calls requesting updates on the status of reimbursement processing. Please know that if you completed the full application and uploaded the required documents, your application is in the queue for review. In order to reimburse members as quickly as possible, once reviewed your reimbursement will be automatically deposited. Please keep an eye on your bank or credit union account as your reimbursement will simply appear.