The ANMC is a peak body established in 1992 to facilitate a national approach to nursing and midwifery regulation. The ANMC works with state and territory nursing and midwifery regulatory authorities (NMRA) in evolving standards for statutory nursing and midwifery regulation. These standards are flexible, effective and responsive to the health care requirements of the Australian population.
There are two levels of nurse in Australia: registered and enrolled nurses. Registered nurses are educated in degree level courses at universities. Enrolled nurses are primarily educated through advanced certificate or diploma level courses in colleges of technical and further education.
There are six states and two territories in Australia. Each have a nurse regulatory authority which maintains its own register of qualified nurses.
To work as a Registered Nurse in Australia, you need to be registered in the State or Territory you wish to work.
Before you begin to seek work with Nursing Australia it is necessary to register for the states you wish to work with appropriate Nurses Registration Board/Council. You must hold a current registration before you begin to practice as a nurse. Once you have registration within a state/territory within Australia it becomes easier to register for work throughout Australia, making your working holiday more flexible and exciting.
Working as an agency nurse gives you the flexibility to choose when and where you want to work. There is also the added bonus of competitive rates in comparison to that of a permanent employee at a hospital.
Nursing in Australia is similar in many ways to the UK. The public health system faces waiting lists and budget constraints, similar shift patterns and drug names, and not forgetting that a nurses' unique sense of humour and self-preservation skills are easily transferable to Australia.
The Australian Nursing Council (ANCI) has developed national Competency Standards for the registered and enrolled nurse, the ANCI Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia and the ANCI code of Professional Conduct. All nurses have to be registered within the State or Territory in which they work unlike the UK where nurses are registered with the NMC and can practice anywhere in the country.
The Specific Requirements
Each Australian State has differing laws, regulations and governing bodies, this means that Nursing in Australia is actually a unique experience in each Australian state. In turn, the requirements and the processes differ from state to state. For this reason, each candidate is given a specifically personalised process, i.e. a candidate for New South Wales will have a somewhat different process compared with a South Australian candidate.
Nurses trained in non-EU countries are required to have at least 24 months post-registration work experience from a hospital in the UK or Ireland before applying for employment or registration. Please note, due to recent registration policy changes nurses holding a diploma in nursing or midwifery might be requested to show evidence of post-graduation courses they have undertaken.
Language Competency Requirements
In Australia, English is the first language spoken. It is therefore essential that nurses and midwives from countries where English is not the first language, have a level of proficiency in English which enables them to communicate competently and safely with patients and their families, with colleagues and with other health professionals.
Nurses and midwives from countries where English is not the first language are required to pass either the:
