AMRC/Aust-Asia Health currently places nurses in all states of Australia. In order to work in Australia, all nurses and midwives are required to be registered and maintain a current practicing license .

An annual practicing license is a document issued by the nurse regulatory authority after payment of renewal of registration fee, this could be annually or every 3 years depending on the state/territory. A practicing license is generally a credit card sized document.

In Australia, registration is granted by each individual state and territory nurse regulatory authority. To register you will need to contact the nurse regulatory authority in the state/territory where you wish to practice.

A registration certificate is issued by the nurse regulatory authority when a nurse first applies and gains registration in Australia or New Zealand. A registration certificate is generally the size of a sheet of paper.

Application forms for registration are available on the individual nurse regulatory authority websites:

You can hold registration in more than one state or territory at any given time by applying for Mutual Recognition. Once you have registered in a state or territory, the Mutual Recognition legislation makes it very easy to gain registration in an additional state or territory.

Nurses and midwives, who wish to work in Australia, will need to work to the National Competency Standards for the Registered Nurse. The Australasian Nurse Registering Authorities (ANRAC) initiated the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. The Code outlines the minimum requirements of the profession to provide responsible, safe and accountable nursing care for the individual, group and community.

The National Competency Standards for the Registered Nurse establishes a national benchmark for registered nurses and reinforces responsibility and accountability in delivering quality nursing care through safe and effective work practice.

A national standard has been endorsed by the Australian nurse regulatory authorities in order to work in Australia as a registered nurse or midwife. You are required to have your qualifications assessed by the Nurses Board in the state/territory you wish to live and work in and also prove English language proficiency by taking either the Occupational English Test (OET) for Nurses in which a B pass or higher must be achieved in all four sections, or the International English Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test in which nurses and midwives must achieve a minimum of 6.5 for reading and listening, 7.0 for speaking and writing and a minimum of 7.0 overall.

Competency standards must also be demonstrated to be eligible for registration with a state or territory nurse regulatory authority. These standards include:

The ANMC has developed a comprehensive book on Competency Based Assessment Programs for Overseas nurses and midwives. This book has been prepared to assist overseas nurses and midwives who have their qualifications assessed by the ANMC and are required to undertake a competency program before being eligible for migration.

Some nursing and midwifery qualifications may meet the requirements for migration. This means that these nurses will not need to complete a Competency Based Assessment Program.

The Competency Based Assessment Program may be waived for:

For a list of countries that are currently member states of the European Union, view the ANMC website.

Documentation accompanying application forms to the ANMC and other Nursing Boards will need to be certified unless the original can be supplied.

Listed below are the only people who can certify documents submitted:

It is suggested that the person who certifies your application form is the same person who certifies all of your documents.

Verification of Registration will also be required. Verification of Registration is a letter confirming registration and good standing of a nurse or midwife. It is provided by the organization responsible for the registration of nurses and midwives in your country.

Verifications must be sent directly to the ANMC or other Nursing Boards. Verifications sent by you will not be accepted. A verification letter can be sent at any time. You do not need to have a file number before requesting a verification letter. Once received, a verification letter will be kept on file and attached to the application when it is processed.

Some institutions prefer to send the transcript or syllabus directly to the ANMC instead of giving it to you. This can be done before the application is sent in. Once received, the transcript or syllabus will be kept on file and attached to the application when it is processed.

A transcript of the syllabus will also need to be submitted. If you are unable to obtain a transcript then a syllabus from either that period of training or a syllabus that directly relates to that training at a later time will be accepted. This syllabus must come directly from the training institution to the ANMC or other Nursing Boards. A syllabus sent by you will not be accepted.

If you are unable to obtain a transcript or syllabus due to the training institution's closure, then you can apply to the nurse regulatory authority in the country where the training was conducted for a letter of confirmation.

All Nursing Boards comply with the ANMC however as they all work independently of each other their requests of documents and how they are to be submitted vary slightly and each applicant must meet the demands made on the application form they are submitting to the relevant Nursing Board. More detailed information can be found on the individual Nurses Boards websites listed previously.