Start with the Nursing and Midwifery Board's internationally qualified nurse/midwife pathway. Identify your nursing category, qualification, original regulator and registration history before choosing an assessment route.
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Separate nursing registration from your migration skills assessment.
Internationally qualified nurses seeking to practise in Australia apply to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra. ANMAC handles migration skills assessments for visa pathways that require one. The registration decision and migration decision are related, but they are not interchangeable.
RN · enrolled nurse · midwifeNMBA / Ahpra + ANMACReviewed October 13, 2026Check your exact route before paying: the NMBA self-check and assessment route depend on your qualifications and registration history. ANMAC's full skills assessment is limited to defined eligibility categories; for example, its published full-assessment route for nurses names particular countries. Do not assume every overseas nursing qualification qualifies for that ANMAC route.
Registration first, then migration assessment if needed
Gather identity records, qualifications and transcripts, registration verification/good standing, practice history, English-language evidence and other documents listed by NMBA/Ahpra. Complete the required orientation to the Australian healthcare setting.
The Board/Ahpra determines the registration pathway. Depending on the self-check outcome and your background, further assessment or an outcomes-based assessment (OBA), including examinations, may be required before registration.
Home Affairs determines whether your chosen visa needs an ANMAC skills assessment. ANMAC has separate full, modified and other assessment categories with their own eligibility criteria; some require current Australian or New Zealand registration.
After you understand registration and assessment, verify the occupation code, current visa list, state/territory nomination rules and employer sponsorship conditions. An ANMAC outcome does not itself grant registration or a visa.
Keep these records together
- Primary nursing degree certificate, transcript and course/clinical information.
- Registration history and verification from every relevant nursing regulator.
- Employment statements showing dates, hours, setting, duties and nursing category.
- English results, identity documents, translations and name-change evidence.
- Proof of required orientation, bridging or assessment steps if applicable.
Possible extra step: the outcomes-based assessment may apply to some internationally qualified applicants. Eligibility and sequence are set by NMBA/Ahpra; check the current self-check decision before booking any exam.
Reviewed October 13, 2026. Registration standards, assessment categories and ANMAC eligibility can change; confirm the current criteria before applying.
NMBA · International nurse self-check and portfolio ↗NMBA · Apply for registration ↗NMBA · General registration for eligible IQRNs ↗NMBA/Ahpra · current registration and assessment fee schedule ↗ANMAC · Full skills assessment criteria ↗Home Affairs · Skilled occupation list ↗