What is a Discrepancy?

A PSV provider sends your documents to the issuer – the university, the council, the employer – and records what the issuer confirms. In practice, when the issuer answers but something differs from what you submitted, that document is reported as a Discrepancy. Common causes, for illustration:

  • Dates – a graduation, registration or employment date that differs from the issuer's record.
  • Titles – "Staff Nurse" on your letter, "Nursing Officer" in the hospital's HR system; a degree named differently from the university's official title.
  • Names – a spelling, a missing middle name, initials, or a married name that does not match the record. The name-mismatch guide covers the evidence that links names.
  • Status or scope – part-time employment submitted as full-time, a temporary registration submitted as permanent.

A Discrepancy is different from Unable to Verify, where the issuer did not confirm anything – the Unable to Verify guide covers that.

What is a negative result, and how serious is it?

Neither DHP's guidelines nor DataFlow's FAQ defines "Negative". It is generally taken to mean the issuer said the document or its details are not genuine – for example, that it has no such record. DHP's guidelines attach their most serious consequences to it:

  • its process maps send an applicant with an "Unable to verify/ Negative" result to an interview, which ends in approval, the "Re-verify within 14 days" branch, or the applicant being "rejected/blacklisted";
  • its guidelines say a temporary licence will be suspended "In case of negative verification reports and proven incidents of fraud", with the practitioner "banned from practicing immediately";
  • DHP's PSV page describes PSV as letting the department "warn other registration authorities of fraudulent applicants".

If a document you know to be genuine comes back negative, act at once: get written confirmation from the issuer that it issued the document, and ask the provider whether the result can be appealed – DataFlow's FAQ describes appeals for Discrepancy and Unable To Verify reports.

What happens at DHP?

DHP checks the PSV results before it approves an evaluation, and DataFlow shares the final report with the regulator itself. A Discrepancy is not a clean result. The process maps show only two outcomes – "Unable to verify/ Negative" and "Positive" – and do not mention a Discrepancy, so expect DHP to ask about it, and expect it to be assessed case by case ("A case-by-case assessment may be implemented", in both sets of guidelines). DHP's Guidelines for Nurses and Physicians set out no appeal route for a PSV result (the only appeal they mention is for clinical privileges): the correction happens at the provider, with the issuer. Resolve it before the evaluation application is submitted.

How do you get a genuine error corrected?

  1. Find out exactly what differs. Read the status and any remarks on the document in the report or tracker, and ask the provider's support team what the issuer confirmed.
  2. Decide whose error it is. If you typed the wrong date or title, the issuer's version is right: your appeal supplies the correct information. If the issuer's record is wrong – a misspelled name in the university's register, wrong dates in an HR system – the issuer has to correct its record.
  3. Ask the issuer for a correction in writing – a letter on letterhead, or a corrected certificate, stating the right details and confirming that it issued the document.
  4. Ask the issuer to answer the re-verification with the corrected details, and give it the provider's reference number.
  5. File the appeal with the supporting document (below).

How does the DataFlow appeal work?

DataFlow's FAQ describes an appeal as the route for an applicant who "disagrees with the outcome of the report (i.e., Discrepancy/Unable To Verify)":

  • Deadline: "within 180 days of completion of your Unable To Verify or Discrepancy report".
  • Cost: "a one-time re-verification of your document free of charge".
  • Where: dataflowstatus.com – enter your DataFlow case number and registered passport number, click File an Appeal, and upload the supporting document or add the information. DataFlow's DHP page limits that tracker to cases filed on or before 31 August 2024; for a later case, sign in to the DataFlow portal you applied through and look for the appeal option there, and if you cannot find one, submit a support request at support.dataflowgroup.com.
  • What it re-verifies: "the same documents that they submitted in their application" – it is not a way to swap in a different document.

If you are not eligible, the screen shows the reason; DataFlow's FAQ says to submit a support request if you are unsure. For QuadraBay and AVS, ask their support teams how a result is challenged before you pay for anything new.

What should you never do?

  • Never alter a document – a date, a name, a stamp – to make it match. The issuer's record is what the provider checks, and DHP's guidelines say the verification report is reviewed at evaluation and that "any misleading information provided will result in further investigations and may lead to a disciplinary action".
  • Never submit a "corrected" certificate the issuer did not issue. Ask the issuer to issue it.
  • Do not ignore the result. It stays on the report, DataFlow shares the report with the regulator, and the 180-day appeal window closes.

How do you prevent a Discrepancy?

  • Copy every date, title and qualification name from the certificate, not from your CV.
  • Use experience certificates with exact start and end dates, your job title as HR records it, and full-time or part-time status.
  • Enter your name exactly as in your passport and list every other version as an alternative name.
  • Check each upload against the form before you pay – the documents guide has the checklist.