In October 2018, it was announced that AHPRA would be changing in 2019. The first half of 2019 would focus on reducing the Qualification criteria from 8 to 3. These have now been published on the AHPRA website.
Qualification Criteria: Eight becomes Three
Your Nursing / Midwifery Qualifications will be assessed against the following three criteria:
Criterion 1:
Your Qualification was recognised by a Statutory registration or licensing body for registration as RN / RM in the country you studied, and that you have met all pre-registration examination requirements.
Criterion 2:
Your education institution was subject to quality assurance, and accredited by an external body based on published accreditation standards. For a full list of what accreditation standards include go to Qualification Criteria. The revised criteria only requests that the applicant must provide an academic transcript and evidence that their qualification lead to registration (COGS/CORS).
Criterion 3:
Your qualification must be comparable to an Australian Bachelor Degree at level 7 of the Australia Qualifications Framework.
Ireland and UK Qualifications still ‘likely to meet accreditation requirements’
AHPRA has conducted research into nursing and midwifery qualifications awarded by education institutions, and consider Ireland and the UK as likely to meet the requirements for criteria 2.
Referral to a Bridging Programme
Application outcomes continue to remain the same. Therefore, if you do not meet the requirements for Criterion 2 you may be refused registration and referred to a bridging programme. AHPRA announced at the start of February 2019, that they do not decide on the number of places available for bridging programmes. This decision is made by the approved Education Institutes offering the bridging programme. AHPRA advise that if you are unable to secure a place in a bridging programme within the 12 month deadline, contact your registration officer for individual advice. More details can be found here.
Streamlined Process and quicker decisions
It is hoped that these changes will have the impact of shortening AHPRA decisions, and lead to a more streamlined application process. This means you will need to start thinking about the next steps in terms of visas and Job opportunities before you travel. This is something ICE Group can help you with.
Job Opportunities in Australia – Now
ICE Group are actively recruiting for Nurses and Midwives to work in Australia. For more details on our current opportunities contact Elizabeth on nurse@icegroup.ie or 00353 87 1251531.
