AHPRA and ANMAC

[LeeH]

Hi Everyone

I'm making a start on my application for a 190 State Sponsored PR visa as an ICU nurse. I'm 43 and have 4.5 years experience.

- As ANMAC will be taking online applications in a week or so, is it a good idea to apply simultaneously for both AHPRA nursing registration and the ANMAC skills assessment at the same time?

- I did a 2 year postgraduate nursing course in 2013 (which is above degree level 6) and was taught and assessed at postgraduate level 7. Has anyone else with this qualification gained visas? It's relatively new and I'm expecting a lot of "Your course is below degree level" responses when actually it's higher, and wondering how ANMAC will view it.

Thanks for any advice!

Lee

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by LeeH

[ali]

Nothing to stop you applying for both at the same time, however, if you think there is a chance there may be a problem with your qualification, I would perhaps just do ANMAC first.  

[LeeH]

Thanks I might do that! I should wait for the online applications become live I suppose..  I'm pretty confident I'll be okay as I do know of someone with my qualification who was able to get registered with AHPRA and go and work in Aus a few years ago. Hers was a working holiday visa I think though.

[DukeNinja]

32 minutes ago, LeeH said:

 

- I did a 2 year postgraduate nursing course in 2013 (which is above degree level 6) and was taught and assessed at postgraduate level 7. 

This doesn't have that much impact on your "skills assessment". Provided you're a Degree level nurse, and not a Dip(HE), and you have all the relevant experience backed up, your skills assessment should be a breeze.

[LeeH]

4 hours ago, DukeNinja said:

This doesn't have that much impact on your "skills assessment". Provided you're a Degree level nurse, and not a Dip(HE), and you have all the relevant experience backed up, your skills assessment should be a breeze.

That's good to know thanks! No, my course was not one the pre-degree diploma courses.

Do they basically want to see evidence of anything I claim to have done? I'm thinking of sending them:-

-Nursing degree certificate + course transcript (sent from uni)
-Mentorship course transcript
-Critical Care course transcript
-Statements of service from my NHS employer and the two agencies I've been working for that I'll tell them about.

 

[CeeJayKav]

I applied for both ANMAC and APHRA at the same time. 

For skills assessment just get the universities to post direct all the information about your coarse. 

Good luck

[Nemesis]

10 hours ago, CeeJayKav said:

I applied for both ANMAC and APHRA at the same time. 

For skills assessment just get the universities to post direct all the information about your coarse. 

Good luck

Be careful when applying for AHPRA these days. Once they give you registration approval in principle, you only have 3 months to front up at an office oi oz with your ID. 

[Richard Gregan]

Yes, unless you fancy an extra flight out to Australia purely to activate your registration. Many people leave their AHPRA until later, usually around the stage in their visas where they are being asked for police and medicals, assuming they are planning to go as soon as their visa is granted.

Regards,

Richard

 

[lhumphreys]

On 1/10/2018 at 07:59, LeeH said:

That's good to know thanks! No, my course was not one the pre-degree diploma courses.

Do they basically want to see evidence of anything I claim to have done? I'm thinking of sending them:-

-Nursing degree certificate + course transcript (sent from uni)
-Mentorship course transcript
-Critical Care course transcript
-Statements of service from my NHS employer and the two agencies I've been working for that I'll tell them about.

 

Hey Leeh!

    Welcome to the process! Yes, they will want to see proof for anything you are claiming. That being said though work experience only counts for skilled independent work (no training while in school counts- although you'll need the amount of school hours you did for the AHPRA registration eventually, but not for your ANMAC work experience). Hope this makes sense!

I registered for AHPRA prior to ANMAC due to my partner being Australian and wanting the flexibility to go when we were ready without going the partner visa route. As Richard mentioned, and I was unaware of, once approved I had 90 days to appear in person in Australia with a visa and connections to life in Australia (which was pretty difficult because at the time I was still living and working in the United States). Had I known that I may have waited on AHPRA until the visa phase, unless you're open to heading over to Oz possibly a few times between now and when you hope to move. 

[LeeH]

8 hours ago, lhumphreys said:

Had I known that I may have waited on AHPRA until the visa phase, unless you're open to heading over to Oz possibly a few times between now and when you hope to move. 

Thanks for that! Yes it's hard to see how the whole process is going to pan out at this point. I'm happy to go over to get the AHPRA reg in person as it gives me another chance to visit friends and look maybe go visit some hospitals etc. I'm expecting ANMAC to be fairly routine but think the visa wait will be long as I only have 60 points on the 190 PR. So I may do what you suggest and schedule ahpra for a bit further down the line..

[LeeH]

9 hours ago, Richard Gregan said:

Yes, unless you fancy an extra flight out to Australia purely to activate your registration. Many people leave their AHPRA until later, usually around the stage in their visas where they are being asked for police and medicals, assuming they are planning to go as soon as their visa is granted

Thanks for the advice Richard!

[LeeH]

So I've had my first contact from ANMAC today regarding my full skills assessment and they've attached a letter basically telling me that some nursing courses are no longer accepted by Australian authorities. Hoping they're referring to the old DipHE course and doesn't include the 2 yr postgraduate diploma I did. I have actually seen on the AHPRA website that they recognise 2yr Australian courses, out of interest.

They also asked me to send them a copy of my AHPRA letter of eligibility when I get it and then they can continue my assessment, so looks like it was a good idea to do both at the same time. Even if I have to make two trips.

Edited March 23, 2018 by LeeH

[Richard Gregan]

A two year post graduate course will be decided on a case by case basis - actually all courses are, but the point being there's no guarantee this will be accepted.

It will depend on whether the post grad contains the same nursing content as a Bachelor.

If you think of someone who has a three year degree in skateboarding technology, then does a one year post grad in nursing, you can understand why ANMAC may be sceptical that the applicant has the same academic nursing training as a nurse who did a three year bachelor.

That's an extreme example, but you get the idea. You have a two year course, so hopefully it covers the same ground.

Regards,

Richard

[LeeH]

1 hour ago, Richard Gregan said:

If you think of someone who has a three year degree in skateboarding technology, then does a one year post grad in nursing, you can understand why ANMAC may be sceptical that the applicant has the same academic nursing training as a nurse who did a three year bachelor.

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.

[Richard Gregan]

On ‎23‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 18:04, LeeH said:

We'll see what happens anyway and I'll keep people updated.

Thank you. It would be very useful for others if you could.

[Luciew]

once i have aphra back am i able to apply for jobs or not until i am in Australia to activate it ?

[ali]

10 hours ago, Luciew said:

once i have aphra back am i able to apply for jobs or not until i am in Australia to activate it ?

You don't need to be in Australia, but if you haven't got a valid visa then employers are unlikely to wait and may not offer you a position if you're up against a same ranking candidate who is available

[Harriet.Frances]

Hello All,

Just wondering if AHPRA will approved your registration when visiting on a tourist visit? They only state it has to be a valid visa, or boarding card...is this correct??

Only I fly over for a holiday on 27th April and I was hoping to be able to 'present myself in person' to gain full registration.

Thank you in advance!

 

[CeeJayKav]

4 hours ago, Harriet.Frances said:

Hello All,

Just wondering if AHPRA will approved your registration when visiting on a tourist visit? They only state it has to be a valid visa, or boarding card...is this correct??

Only I fly over for a holiday on 27th April and I was hoping to be able to 'present myself in person' to gain full registration.

Thank you in advance!

 

Hi Harriet

 

Thats what I did, I went on holiday with a holiday visa and presented to APHRA while I was there. U can use your boarding pass. However don’t forget they also want proof of address in Australia for example a bill or bank statement. This requirement is not really suitable for international applicants however when I called to verify this I was told I still had to have this. Advice I got from here was to open a bank account which u can do online. I opened with a bank called Nab. When you go to Australia u can complete your bank registration by going to the bank. The bank accept a temporary address so if you have a friend or relative who does not mind you using their address. I then got a letter printed to use as my proof of Australian address. APHRA is very fussy make sure that letter is also stamped even thou it’s on a letter head, I had to go back to have this done. Good luck. 

[Jenki75]

I did the same as CeeJayKav.....Make sure you take your boarding pass with you and a print out of the visa.  I read somewhere that someone used the AirBnB address. I just did mine in March.

[Harriet.Frances]

4 hours ago, CeeJayKav said:

Hi Harriet

 

Thats what I did, I went on holiday with a holiday visa and presented to APHRA while I was there. U can use your boarding pass. However don’t forget they also want proof of address in Australia for example a bill or bank statement. This requirement is not really suitable for international applicants however when I called to verify this I was told I still had to have this. Advice I got from here was to open a bank account which u can do online. I opened with a bank called Nab. When you go to Australia u can complete your bank registration by going to the bank. The bank accept a temporary address so if you have a friend or relative who does not mind you using their address. I then got a letter printed to use as my proof of Australian address. APHRA is very fussy make sure that letter is also stamped even thou it’s on a letter head, I had to go back to have this done. Good luck. 

Thank you so much for the reply!

Fortunately I already have a bank account in Aus. I lived there for 6 years on x 2 WHV’s, Student Visa and then Partner visa but when my marriage ended in Sept 2016 I just needed to be with my family ( and stupidly left Aus, cancelled my visa and burnt all bridges ??‍♀️- seems the right thing at the time!) I was 6 months off PR. 

Hence why now, I am back in a good frame off mind mentally, I know I want and need to get back to Aus. I am an Enrolled Nurse (trained in Aus) and cant use that qualification in the UK so I am applying for State Sponsorship, and while I’m waiting for an invitation I have decided to go to NZ to work as an EN over there.

Sorry for the long winded reply I am just excited, but anxious at the prospect I might be able to live back in the Country that I love!

I was up till 2am trawling through websites/forums finding out what I need and how to get the ball rolling!! 

X

 

 

[Harriet.Frances]

On 4/5/2018 at 06:01, CeeJayKav said:

Hi Harriet

 

Thats what I did, I went on holiday with a holiday visa and presented to APHRA while I was there. U can use your boarding pass. However don’t forget they also want proof of address in Australia for example a bill or bank statement. This requirement is not really suitable for international applicants however when I called to verify this I was told I still had to have this. Advice I got from here was to open a bank account which u can do online. I opened with a bank called Nab. When you go to Australia u can complete your bank registration by going to the bank. The bank accept a temporary address so if you have a friend or relative who does not mind you using their address. I then got a letter printed to use as my proof of Australian address. APHRA is very fussy make sure that letter is also stamped even thou it’s on a letter head, I had to go back to have this done. Good luck. 

Thank goodness...I was having a little worry that I would travel all that way and they would say I didn't have a valid visa!!

May I also ask how you went about getting the copies of your documents certified?

I have had to do this before over here in the UK for my Aus superannuation and the Notary charged me 30 pounds (stupidly I dont have a pound symbol on my latop as I bought it in Aus! Only a dollar sign lol!)  per document. I know when I worked at RBWH we had Justice of the Peace in the main lobby and they certified documents for free. Im thinking I could wait till I get to Aus to certify copies however I would like to have the application all ready to go...who did you use over here?

Long winded way to ask a short question sorry lol!

x

[CeeJayKav]

18 hours ago, Harriet.Frances said:

Thank goodness...I was having a little worry that I would travel all that way and they would say I didn't have a valid visa!!

May I also ask how you went about getting the copies of your documents certified?

I have had to do this before over here in the UK for my Aus superannuation and the Notary charged me 30 pounds (stupidly I dont have a pound symbol on my latop as I bought it in Aus! Only a dollar sign lol!)  per document. I know when I worked at RBWH we had Justice of the Peace in the main lobby and they certified documents for free. Im thinking I could wait till I get to Aus to certify copies however I would like to have the application all ready to go...who did you use over here?

Long winded way to ask a short question sorry lol!

x

Hi

 

I wanted everything ready before i travelled, was only there for 10 days did want any problems. When i rang APHRA they said you could have them certified at their office however it depends on if there is someone in at the time who is able to do so. I used a Notary in Liverpool. If u are near Liverpool can give u his details. 

[Harriet.Frances]

16 minutes ago, CeeJayKav said:

Hi

 

I wanted everything ready before i travelled, was only there for 10 days did want any problems. When i rang APHRA they said you could have them certified at their office however it depends on if there is someone in at the time who is able to do so. I used a Notary in Liverpool. If u are near Liverpool can give u his details. 

Thank you for the reply ? 

I would like to go with it all ready as well to be truthful, however I am so worried I will have filled something in wrong or forgotten to do something! 

Am I right in thinking we only need to have our Passport notorised to prove ID and your qualification certificate? 

I am in the Midlands but I do know of a Notary, I was just wondering if I was being ripped off price wise. ?

There just seems so many ways to get it all wrong - I am hoping to submit and EOI for State Sponsorship...as an EN (studied in Aus) my options are quite limited.

[Samson]

Hey Harriet, 

I thought I recognised your photo. You won't know me by this username but we met up way back in 2009/2010 (with all the other crew) and done the Meetup before our Gap Year in Oz in 2010. 

I thought I was the only one nearly 9 Years later still going through Australian Visa Process, I am in Perth.   It sucks you were so close to your PR before the personal issues you had. I hope you are feeling better now. 

Anyway, All the best ;-)