How to become a nurse in Australia

 

In this article, I'm going to explain about how to become a nurse in Australia, especially nursing in Australia. So, if you're considering enrolling in a nursing degree, I want to have a general overview of how we go about nursing in Australia.

Let's first talk about the different types of nurses in Australia.

 

Types of nurses in Australia 

Let's first talk about the different types of nurses in Australia. There are two different types of nurses. 

1. Enrolled nurses

2. Registered nurses

Enrolled nurses have completed a diploma of nursing, a one-and-a-half-year course at either TAFE or private institutions. It's a combination of theory and practical. The course requires a minimum of 400 hours of clinical placement for clinical skills, accusation and registration. 

Registered nurses are nurses who have completed a three-year bachelor of nursing degree at the university level.

 

During the study, there is a workplace-based component where you are sent as a student to different hospital settings, mental health facilities, and HQ settings to gain some experience as a student. 

 

So basically, enrolled nurses are the nurses who work under the direct supervision of registered nurses. They can't act independently. 

 

On the other hand, registered nurses have more responsibilities because they've done a three-year degree course instead of a one-and-a-half-year degree course. 

 

What are the requirements for an international student to get into nursing in Australia?

 

So, you must have passed your year 12 examinations and completed your senior secondary education. If you are getting involved in nursing as an undergraduate in Australia, another essential requirement for you as an international student to get into nursing in Australia is that you should be able to speak and write English well, which is very fair.

So basically, how they test that is you need to sit an English exam IELTS. The requirement says you need seven bands in IELTS for you to be able to register it with our product. 

 

But there are two things to remember regarding these IELTS scores. You don't have to sit IELTS. You can sit other examinations called OET, which is the Occupational English test, or you can sit the PTE Pearson test of English, which is relatively more straightforward. Some students, well, many students, find it somewhat easier than IELTS.

 

Another thing you need to remember when it comes to English tests is that you need seven each at the end of your degree to get registered with The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). Still, you don't need seven each to start your study because many universities in Australia accept International students to enrol in the course of study without having seven each, which means maybe some universities will allow you to study at six in one of the components of the test. So, yes, you can get seven each and all the components for the test. Great. But if you can't, don't worry about it. Just do your research before you apply to any university. 

 

Where to Study in Australia

Well, nursing is a top-rated course. So many universities across Australia provide this course to domestic and international students. Still, there are a few things you need to consider as an international student before you enroll yourself into nursing in Australia.

First thing - the big cities like Melbourne and Sydney are eye-catching to international students for obvious reasons. But if you get involved in a university in, let's, say, Sydney or Melbourne, it's costly to live as an international student in these cities when you don't have any support.

However, there are certainly more job opportunities in these cities for students to work in. I'm not saying about the jobs you will work as nurses when you graduate. I'm talking about the jobs you will be performing as students. So indeed, there are more job opportunities here in the big cities, but it all depends on the individual circumstances you are in. So if you have a lot of money to spend, you may as well go to the big cities and enjoy life there. 

Another very crucial point for you to consider is if you get yourself enrolled into one of the universities in Australia, which falls under a regional. That means you will be getting five extra points towards your permanent residency application when you apply for it at the end. So, keep all these points in mind. When you do your research on which university you're going to be applying to study in Australia. 

 

How much does it cost to be a nurse in Australia?

• Diploma of nursing - $8000 per semester (06 months) for 03 semester
• Bachelor of nursing - $13000 per semester (06 months) for 06 semester

Well, it depends. It depends on which course you're going for. If you're going for the diploma of nursing, which is only a one-and-a-half-year course, it costs about $8,000 per semester and a semester is usually for six months. So, it would account for $24,000 for the whole period without including your living and travelling. Whereas if you go for a bachelor of nursing degree, it is a three-year degree full-time, costing about $13,000 per semester. And it accounts for $78,000 in the end. 

 

However, it depends on which university you go to. Because different universities have different tuition fees, do your research before applying.

 

Cost of applying as a registered nurse in Australia 

Once you've completed all the required components of your course, you can use the nursing and midwifery board of Australia to register as an enrolled nurse to practice here in Australia. Now the registration costs about 180 Australian dollars (180AUD), and you have to renew it.

 

Other Options

Another prevalent thing people do these days is doing a diploma in nursing first. And while they're working as an enrolled nurse, they progress towards their registered nursing degree, which is a good thing to do because it's cheaper but not quicker. While working as an enrolled nurse, you can study part-time or full-time to be registered. So now comes the million-dollar question. Well, not a million-dollar question, just a $78,000 question. 

 

Is it worth studying nursing in Australia? 

 

Consider if you are genuinely entrusted and you see yourself working in a healthcare facility. Nursing is a great profession. It's very well respected and not to mention you do get paid a decent amount of money. Nurses are always in high demand. If you work as a nurse in Australia and you would never go out of your job. Now coming from an immigration point of view, nursing has always been in demand in Australia and is still on the skilled occupational list, which means you can eventually progress towards your permanent residency if you want to live in Australia for good.

 

At last, Australia is a great country to live in. It has good work. Life balance has excellent healthcare for all its citizens.