FAQs for skilled migration - Registered Nurse and Midwife

General

Yes. Registered Nurse is a nominated occupation included in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). As long as you fulfill the eligibility criteria, such as age, English language ability, health and character. You are able to apply for skilled migration. 

You may refer to skilled migration page for more details.  To assess your eligibility, please complete the free assessment online and our registered immigration professionals will contact you for your visa options.

The duration of the entire process, from registration to visa granted, typically lasts for around 9-18 months. It depends on various factors, such as the processing queue of the assessing bodies and  the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), visa type and the quality of the supporting documents provided.  Experience shows that most of the delay is due to the following reasons:

  • Submit the wrong documents
  • Insufficient documents
  • Pending for documents sent from third parties, such as police clearance and medical check.
  • Turnaround time for addressing the concern raised by the registration, assessment authorities and the DHA.

A case with all sufficient documents can be shortened the processing time as the respective authorities can decide right away.

This is the reason why intended migrants are strongly encouraged to engage a registered migration agent to assist and advise on the entire process. It can save you time, costs, and most importantly avoid the risks of being refused due to wrong information or documentation.

Along your migration application pathway, you have to deal with these three organisations quite often. In fact, they are three different bodies which perform different roles. 

NMBA refers to Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. It undertakes the following:

  • Registering nursing and midwifery practitioners and students
  • Developing standards, codes and guidelines for the nursing and midwifery profession
  • Handling notifications, complaints, investigations and disciplinary hearings
  • Assessing overseas trained practitioners who wish to practise in Australia
  • Approving accreditation standards and accredited courses of study

AHPRA stands for The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. AHPRA conducts the assessment for registration on behalf of the NMBA.

The full name of ANMAC is Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. They serve as:

  • independent accrediting authority for nursing and midwifery education under Australia’s National Regulation and Accreditation Scheme
  • skills assessing authority for nurses and midwives wishing to migrate under the Australia Government’s General Skilled Migration program.

For applicant from overseas, the following people are authorised to certify documents:

  • Justice of the Peace
  • Notary public
  • Australian Consular Officer or Australian Diplomatic Officer

For initial registration and skilled assessment purpose:

  • Results from any one of the English tests below.
  • The test/s must not be taken over 2 years
  • No allowed to combine results from two different tests
Minimum requirement/s Combined result accepted? Conditions
IELTS
(ACADEMIC paper only)		 Score 7 in listening, reading, writing and speaking Yes ·      Maximum two test sittings within six-month period;

·      Min overall 7 in each sitting; AND

·      no score in any component of the test is below 6.5
OET for nurses Score B in listening, reading, writing and speaking. Yes ·      Maximum of two test sittings within a six-month period :

·      tested in all four components in each sitting
AND

·      no score in any component of the test is below C
PTE (ACADEMIC only) Overall score of 65 AND Score of 65 in – listening, reading, writing and speaking. Yes ·      Maximum of two test sittings within a six-month period;

·       a minimum overall score of 65 in each sitting
AND

·      no score in any of the four communicative skills is below 58
TOEFL iBT Total score of 94 and min score of each section:

24 – listening
24 – reading
27- writing
23 – speaking

 Yes ·      maximum of two test sittings in a six-month period;

·      a minimum total score of 94 in each sitting; AND

·      no score in any of the sections is below:- 20 listening, 19 reading, 24 writing, 20 speaking

For Migration, point test 10 marks award to proficient English purpose:

  • Must take any one of the tests below, without any exemption
  • The test must be conducted in the 3 years immediately before the invitation date
  • Only OET results can use one or more tests, a single test is required for other tests. Score requirement is the same as the table listed above.
Registration 

No. You can apply for skilled migration visa without registration with the NMBA. However, you may not be able to work as a nurse in Australia until you register with NMBA.