Update on Skills Assessment Requirements for Nurses and Accountants

By Mark Webster
12 April 2010

There will be a new Skilled Occupations List (SOL) from 1 July 2010. We should have more details on which occupations are on the list by the end of April

Nurses and accountants are likely to be on the new SOL. If you are not on the new SOL, you will NOT be able to apply for permanent residence through a skilled independent visa, or a skilled visa sponsored by family in Australia.

However, you will be able to apply for a:

From 1 July 2010, registration of nurses will be through a new national body called the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The NMBA has indicated that it supports the raising of the English language requirement for registration to either:
  • a minimum of 7 in all 4 bands of the Academic IELTS; or
  • B pass in the Occupational English Test.
Results must be from a single sitting of the test. However, if your secondary school studies were conducted in English, you may qualify for a waiver of this requirement. These proposals have not yet been finalised and we will keep you informed as to when these are confirmed.

It also seems likely that the skills assessment criteria for accountants will be changed in the near future, and we will let you know as soon as we have further information.

Feel free to contact us for a consultation if you want to discuss how the changes will affect you.

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