English language skills

All 16 professions have a registration standard for English language skills. These standards apply to all applicants for initial registration, regardless of whether they qualified in Australia or overseas.

The standards are:

• a common standard for 10 professions: Chinese medicine, chiropractic, medical radiation, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology. (Note this standard will expire when the new standard comes into effect in 2025)
• a standard for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners
• a standard for dental practitioners (Note this standard will expire when the new standard comes into effect in 2025) 
• a standard for nursing and midwifery (Note this standard will expire when the new standard comes into effect in 2025), and 
• a standard for paramedicine (Note this standard will expire when the new standard comes into effect in 2025). 

All of the profession specific standards share many elements with the common standard.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board introduced a revised standard that took effect on 1 December 2019.

All other professions, except Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice and Paramedicine, introduced revised standards in 2015. The revised standards were developed after a review of the previous standards, which included a public consultation. The consultation report provides a summary of responses, rationale for any changes and sets out the proposed way forward, including areas where further work is planned.

The revised standards introduced additional pathways for applicants to demonstrate evidence of their English language skills. Diagrams of how these work are included under ‘additional resources’.

Additional resources

Information specific to nurses and midwives

To view the English language skills registration standard and supporting documents for nurses and midwives, please visit the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia website.