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Nursing diplomas no longer accepted by ANMAC

by | May 12, 2015

With immediate effect, ANMAC has issued a letter confirming that nursing diplomas are no longer accepted as suitable qualifications for Migration Skills Assessments. The move is designed to bring ANMAC’s assessment policy into line with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s and AHPRA’s policy on the acceptability of nursing diplomas.

Up until now, it has been possible to obtain a positive skills assessment from ANMAC with a nursing diploma, for the applicant only to find that they are unable to apply for nursing registration once they arrive in Australia, due to their qualifications being below the acceptable level.

While this new ruling aims to remove this discrepancy, the move will nevertheless be a shock to many diploma applicants who either have applications in process with ANMAC or are compiling applications. For those with applications currently in process with ANMAC, the assessing authority will hold applications for two years, which should give applicants enough time to upgrade their diplomas to degree level.

For applicants who have not yet lodged ANMAC applications, they are advised to upgrade their diploma to degree before lodging any application with ANMAC. — Full text of the ANMAC statement below: ‘ANMAC assesses internationally qualified nurses and midwives (IQNM) for skilled migration purposes as gazetted by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. This process is independent of the registration process undertaken by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Please note that to work in Australia as a nurse or midwife, applicants must be registered with the NMBA via AHPRA and meet the NMBA’s registration standards. Background In early 2014, the NMBA introduced a new model for assessing the qualifications of international applicants seeking registration in Australia.

The new assessment model was designed to be transparent, fair and nationally consistent, and to implement a policy position that supports the more accurate interpretation of the National Law. These changes mean that some international applicants who may previously have been eligible for registration may now not be eligible without undertaking further study.

If a nurse or midwife is not eligible for registration, and therefore is unable to work in Australia as a registered nurse, enrolled nurse or midwife, ANMAC is unable to issue a positive skills assessment. ANMAC has a statutory responsibility to set standards against which the skills of a person are assessed for the purposes of Skilled Migration.

One of those standards includes criteria to determine whether the Applicant holds a qualification(s) meeting current nursing and midwifery educational standards, as set by the NMBA.

Simply stated, if an Applicant is not eligible to register to work in Australia as a nurse or midwife because they do not hold a qualification(s) that satisfy the registration requirements of the NMBA, then ANMAC is entitled to conclude that the Applicant does not hold a qualification(s) that meets current Australian nursing and midwifery educational standards.

Important Information about your Application for Assessment for Skilled Migration In assessing applicants applying under the Australian General Skilled Migration program, ANMAC needs to be sure that applicants are eligible to work if found suitable to migrate.

Your application for skills assessment for migration has been put on hold for a period of two years from the date this notice is sent, pending advice from you on whether you are eligible for registration as a nurse or midwife with the NMBA via AHPRA.

Your options are:

1. Apply for registration with the NMBA via their website. a. If the outcome of your application is registration with the NMBA, please provide ANMAC with: A copy of the email sent to you by the NMBA/AHPRA informing you of the outcome of your application if your residential address is in Australia.

2 A copy of the letter of eligibility for registration you will receive from AHPRA if you are currently residing overseas. b. If your application for registration is refused, please contact ANMAC prior to the expiry date of your ANMAC application to discuss refund options. 2. Contact ANMAC within 14 days of receiving this advice for a full refund of your application fee.

You can reapply for a skills assessment from ANMAC if you decide to pursue registration to work in Australia with the NMBA in the future.

Further information on the assessment of IQNM can be found on the NMBA website. If you require further information regarding this notice, please contact Frances Rice, Acting Director International Services via email frances.rice@anmac.org.au

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