LeeH

So yesterday I presented myself, passport, stat decs and visa etc to AHPRA. I thought they'd tell me there and then that finally, all was complete and that I was finally registered as a Nurse in Australia. But no! I now have to wait 'up to a week' for an email from my registration officer!! Is this normal!? It's taking forever to jump through their endless hoops!!!!

So just to confirm, you didn't have to provide any proof of your Aus address (like a utility bill etc) you just told it to them??

- I'm staying with a friend on the Central Coast, so will be using his address. - I'm arriving beginning of September and staying for the month! Might plan a few trips here and there to give my friend a break! - ANMAC is fine if you've got the letter in principle from AHPRA and you're referees provide you with references.

Your info is invaluable. Thank you so much x

Also, How did you go about getting the letter with your Australian address on it? I'm just trying to open a bank account online and it's accepting addresses outside Australia only..!

Yes my COGS and ICHC expired ages ago I think! As stated in their In Principle letter, they said I'll have to sign statutory declarations. I have printed these off (via the AHPRA website links they provided) with a view of signing them in front of them at their Sydney office, but do they get you to go and get more documents certified?!?! How come you can't just sign them in their presence in the office?? (And how much are certified docs in Sydney?)

Thanks for that! Did you get the online ETA visa and print that somehow?

Hello I have received my In Principle letter of approval from AHPRA and been asked to present in person in the next 3 months. My question is that they've asked me to provide evidence of residential address in Australia, but I don't have this! They've suggested Utility bills (gas, electricity) but I obviously don't have this either. I've heard of people in the past opening bank accounts, is this still accepted by AHPRA?

I had the same problem! They accepted what I resent though ? Booking flight this week probably.

Hi, yes it's in my signature at the bottom of my post.

Thanks Jen and good luck to you. It'll be good to hear from you when you get your news too. Have you had an email saying that your application has been passed on to management for approval? Mine came about 5 weeks after that.

Hi Guys Just wanted to post an update, as today I received my Registration In Principle letter from AHPRA! To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement. Not sure if there have been changes in requirements at AHPRA or they were just happy with all my credentials, but I'm stoked either way. Possibly they were happy with my PGDip course on it's own, or the extra degree level study I have completed (ICU nurse course and mentorship) helped as well. Now on to the ANMAC skills assessment..

Hi Guys Just wanted to post an update, as today I received my Registration In Principle letter from AHPRA! To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement. Not sure if there have been changes in requirements at AHPRA or they were just happy with all my credentials, but I'm stoked either way. Possibly they were happy with my PGDip course on it's own, or the extra degree level study I have completed (ICU nurse course and mentorship) helped as well. Now on to the ANMAC skills assessment..

Hi Guys Just wanted to post an update, as today I received my Registration In Principle letter from AHPRA! To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement. Not sure if there have been changes in requirements at AHPRA or they were just happy with all my credentials, but I'm stoked either way. Possibly they were happy with my PGDip course on it's own, or the extra degree level study I have completed (ICU nurse course and mentorship) helped as well. Now on to the ANMAC skills assessment..

Hi Jen yes, I had an email from the guy who's been dealing with my application. He said that my application has been 'deemed complete' (I think that means they're happy with all I've submitted) and has now been passed on to the managers for approval. He said it takes up to four weeks to process, so this is the crucial stage I think. Interestingly he also asked me to restate my course start and end dates, so I'm sure my PGDip course is under scrutiny. Good luck me..

Yeah they did mention that some applicants will have to do the bridging course. Sounds like we've all received the same letter! Since I graduated I've done the critical care nursing course at uni (degree level 6) so I'm hoping that may help sway things in my favour a little. Also the mentorship at degree level.

I should be hearing about my application in the next few weeks. I was hopeful because I knew of a friend with a PGDip who successfully registered with AHPRA 2 years ago ish. I'm now not so hopeful as I've just read this post https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/173366-nurse-registration-post-graduate-diploma/ on this forum from a few years back. I do have a degree level critical care nursing course and mentorship course which may swing things a bit in my favour but I can't help feeling that's clutching at straws! I thought I would update on this thread as I have recently received some news that has scuppered my immigration plans. I applied for my skills assessment with ANMAC and within a week, I received an email from them stating that they were freezing my application for two years unless in the meantime I could prove that I had obtained registration with AHPRA. This is all because my course is one of the fast-track 2 year postgraduate diplomas. I have since spoken to four different registered migration agents and have been advised that if I apply to AHPRA now, I might as well take my money and flush it down the toilet as I will get rejected, based on the fact my qualification will be considered 'insufficient'. Apparently it doesn't matter that on paper, I satisfy ALL of the criteria. One of the main prompts in my career change into nursing (I previously did marketing and PR) was the fact that this qualification could take me anywhere in the world (as I was told by my University). So I have completely changed my career, gone back to University for two years, done all 4,600 hours of work and now found out I won't be able to move with it. My only option is to return to University in the UK, do a degree top-up, which is about as stupid as it sounds because my current qualification is already higher than what I'd be topping up to. So just a word of warning for anyone doing the 2 year PGDip Adult Nursing course...you won't be able to register with this qualification and as of the past few months, ANMAC will now refuse to process your skills assessment until you provide evidence of AHPRA registration.

Hi, I'm in the same boat as you, with a DGDip Adult Nursing qualification. I've recently heard that you can go to NZ and then via the Trans Aus-NZ route, get AHPRA registration. Just thought I'd let you know in case you're still interested.

Good luck with your test! If I were taking the test again, I would practice with the TV on normal volume in the background every once in a while, as it will help you to focus when background noise is present. When I did my test, I had a guy next to me who was really loud and seemed to be competing with me which was soooooo distracting!! His accent and grammar was terrible too which really didn't help. You are only separated from the next person by a board basically, so you'll hear whatever noise is in the room. You could maybe always try asking the moderator to move you away from people if they put you all together in a line if there are clearly spaces available (like in my test).

Yep! Basically they've accepted you and considered your application complete, but you've only submitted ID by post (probably), So they want to see your lovely face in person in the flesh in one of their offices. Which is basically what it says on their webpage here:- Presenting in person In-principle approval may be granted to applicants who have applied from overseas and have provided only the minimum evidence of identity with their application. These applicants are required to come in person to any AHPRA office with their proof of identity documents for an ID check. If the Certificates of Registration Status (CORS) / Certificates of Good Standing (COGS) or International Criminal History Checks provided with the application have expired a statutory declaration may need to be completed.

It depends on your previous experience I would say, as a native speaker who works with nurses from other countries. They often talk about the IELTS at work and say it's hard, but that's the test they have the most experience with. If that's the case with you, it might be worth sticking with it and studying more and trying to get the level 7 you need as you already know the test style. I did the PTE-A and it's by no means easy - native English speakers fail it quite frequently. The reason is that it's quite an unusual PC based test that demands past experience of the questions just to get the pass if your a native speaker. I spent around a weekend watching Youtube videos just to see what it's like and how to go about the best way to answer the questions. So in your shoes if you were to try the PTE-A, you'd have to spend a while getting used to the test idiosyncrasies, before you even brush up on your current English level. Why don't you have a look at some of the questions on Youtube and see what you think? There are practice questions you can do alongside the lesson teacher. I think it's called E2language or something like that.

Not that I'm aware.

I've spent the last year working for agencies and also remained as bank staff at my old hospital. I've now accepted a job back with them and am stopping the agency work while I get everything processed. I just feel it's better to be in a permanent job for the application process (even though I've already sent my forms off!)

Yes I totally understand this. At my university they had a 'Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning' thing. It meant that even if you had a 3 year degree in something irrelevant to healthcare, you could only join the 2 year post grad course if you had a minimum of six months employed healthcare experience (like in my case as a healthcare assistant, for example). This six months minimum experience in healthcare was deemed equivalent to the clinical placement time you do in your first year on the 3 year degree course. We'll see what happens anyway and I'll keep people updated.

I've had this email this week too.. It was my first contact from ANMAC and had a letter attached stating that some uni courses aren't accepted and some applicants will need to do a bridging course. They also asked me to apply to AHPRA and send a copy of my letter of eligibility when I get it. If I get it! Sounds like they'll be happy if AHPRA are.. I've previously sent my AHPRA application and I sent my uni course details via courier this week and they've received them. Let's hope news from AHPRA is good...