NMBA Nursing and Midwfery Board of Australia
AHPRA-Phone
Is one of the ten national health boards that is regulated by AHPRA.
AHPRA and the 10 boards came into effect on the 1st July 2010.
Previously, each state in Australia had its own nursing and midwifery board that was responsible for registration of nurses and midwives. Now this function lies with AHPRA and NMBA Nursing and Midwfery Board of Australia.
This is a very big change for overseas nurses and midwives because that there are new rules, new procedures, new forms and a lack of detailed information (at the time of writing at least) leading to a lot of confusion and uncertainty.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that a national nursing and midwifery board is a good thing!
My only concern is that during this transition period there are a lot of unanswered questions. Getting a reliable and prompt response is almost impossible. We just have to put up with this situation untill NMBA staff ae familiar with the new processes to give us the clarity and information that we need.
Fortunately, some of the fundamentals for overseas nurse registration haven’t changed.
You still need your IELTS of 7.0 in each band, you still need to apply for assessment and most likely undertake a bridging course. These courses go by a few different names around the world but in Australia it is known as the Initial Registration for Overses Nurses program.
Some of the lesser appeal changes include higher fees. Previously in Victoria for instance, there was only a $145 application fee which included the assessment. Now you have to pay the application fee and a NEW assessment fee and for the registration fee all in one hit. That’s over $400 just to lodge in the inital application. Sure if you get part of it back if you are not accepted by the board for registration.
The problem with this as I see it is that it disadvantages overseas nurses because they have to pay in advance the registration fee. In some countries, the Philippines for instance, the monthly income may only bee $200 – $300. So the NMBA is now asking these nurses to pay almost a months wages in advance!!!
So if you are an overseas nurse, just make sure you save some more money before applying for registration.
And if you are confused about how to go about getting registration, just drop me a message at contact us
