Students in nursing and some midwifery courses must meet a specific level of English language proficiency.
Domestic applicants can show English language proficiency in the following ways:
1. Declaring that English is your primary language
This means that before the course start date you will have completed six years of schooling - including at least two years of secondary schooling - in English in one of the following countries or territories:
This means that before the course start date you will have completed six years of schooling - including at least two years of secondary schooling - in English in one of the following countries or territories:
- 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)
You will be registered with the NMBA to practice as an enrolled nurse or registered midwife.
3. Sitting an English language proficiency test before the course start date
The test must be accepted by the institution offering the course and you must meet the minimum result required.
The following institutions accept an English test sat within one year of the course start date:
The following institutions accept an English test sat within one year of the course start date:
- Adelaide University
- Charles Darwin University
- Flinders University
- TAFE SA
Minimum English language proficiency test results
If you are using an English language proficiency test, you must achieve at least the minimum required scores under one of the following approved tests, all of which must be taken at an official test centre.
Type of test | Minimum score required |
|---|---|
IELTS (academic module) | Listening 7 No score below 6.5 across 2 sittings |
OET (Nursing) | Listening B |
PTE Academic | Listening 66
|
TOEFL iBT | Listening 24 |
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2) | Listening 185 |
Please check the AHPRA website for the latest guidelines on accepted English language tests before you book and sit a test. SATAC does not currently accept at-home versions of the tests listed above.
Minimum scores and test conditions are in the NMBA Registration Standard: English Language Skills. This document is available from the NMBA website and on the institution’s course information pages.
The following institutions allow thresholds to be met using scores from two sittings of the English tests listed above, sat within twelve months of each other, provided that the minimum overall score is achieved in both sittings:
- Adelaide University
- Flinders University
- Charles Darwin University
- TAFE SA
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.
If English is not your primary language, you must sit an acceptable English language test and meet the required minimum score to meet the English language eligibility criteria.