Information for nursing and midwifery applicants

Applicants to pre-registration nursing and midwifery courses must meet a specific level of English language proficiency.

Applicants can show English language proficiency in the following ways:

1. Declaring that English is your primary language

   You must have completed six years of schooling, including at least two years of secondary schooling, in English in one of these approved countries or territories before the course start date:

   • Australia
   • New Zealand
   • Northern Europe: United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Ireland
   • Southern Europe: Gibraltar, Malta
   • Northern America: Bermuda, Canada, United States of America
   • Central America: Belize
   • South America: Falkland Islands, Guyana
   • Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands
   • Western Africa: Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
   • British Indian Ocean Territory
      
2. Advising SATAC of your current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) 
   • If you are currently registered as a nurse or a midwife with the NMBA you have met the required English Language proficiency standard. SATAC can use your registration details to assess your eligibility.
      
3. Sitting an English language proficiency test before the course start date
   • If English is not your primary language, you must sit an acceptable English language test and meet the required minimum scores to meet the English language eligibility criteria. 

Your English language proficiency test must be dated within one year of the course start date and you must achieve at least the minimum required scores in one of the following approved tests: 

• IELTS (academic module) 

• OET 

• PTE Academic 

• TOEFL iBT  

• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2) 

• Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (C1) 

Tests must be taken at an official test centre. At-home versions of the tests are not acceptable. 
Test results must be achieved within one test sitting or two test sittings within a 12-month period. 

Different minimum overall and component scores apply for each test and depend on when you sat your test.
Please check the  AHPRA website for the latest guidelines on accepted English language tests before you book and sit a test.  

Minimum scores and test conditions are also detailed in the NMBA Registration Standard: English Language Skills. This document is available from the  NMBA website.