Do you want to move to Australia to work as a doctor? As a doctor working in Australia, you’ll be well paid, have a work life balance, moreover, have an opportunity to use your skills in a wide range of medicine.
There are occupations related to medical services on the current skilled occupation list for GSM visa application purpose, including general practitioners and practitioners in other special areas of their expertise.
You will need to hold registration with AHPRA – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, entitling you to work in Australia as a doctor.
Australian trained medical practitioners will go through the following registration processes with AHPRA:
A full registration with AHPRA is received is considered as a positive skills assessment outcome for general practitioners.
For overseas trained medical practitioners, there are several assessment pathways for registration:
International trained doctors need to have a primary qualification in a medicine and surgery awarded by a training institution recognized by BOTH the Australian Medical Council (http://www.amc.org.au/assessment/pathways/self-check/list-of-medical-schools/) and the World Directory of Medical Schools (https://search.wdoms.org/)are also eligible to consider Competent pathway.
Applicants under this pathway would receive provisional registration with AHPRA and when they complete 12 months supervised practice satisfactorily.
AHPRA will assess the applicants’ overseas qualification and employment history before a provisional registration can be issued.
The overseas trained doctors are able to work in Australia under provisional registration, should they hold a valid visa, such as an employer sponsored visa on a temporary basis.
However, the overseas trained medical practitioners are not yet able to consider a general skilled visa, as provisional registration is not considered as full positive skills assessment.
A full registration status needs to be obtained before a general skilled visa can be considered.
Please note, for employer sponsored visa applications, general practitioner, resident medical officer and medical practitioners (nec) are required with a health workforce certificate before a nomination can be approved.
The workforce certificate can be requested by the nominator/business sponsor and issued by one of the following:
The Department understands that for medical doctors, evidence of full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) would enable a suitable skills assessment to be made; unless specifically required, the Department accepts evidence of full registration with AHPRA as positive skills assessment outcome for medical doctors for their skilled visa application purpose.
There are four pathways that you can use to demonstrate your English language competence. These are outlined in the English Language skills registration standard. The pathways are:
The IELTS, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT test can be taken by applicants from many professions.
For further information regarding English requirements for:
Whilst the migration points threshold has been set as 65 points, which would enable candidates to consider submitting an expression of interest, the latest invitation round information shows much higher cut-off points for candidates to receive an invitation under the independent skilled visa pathway subclass 189. Candidates can receive an invitation with at least 85 points under the s/c 189 visa pathway based on the 11th August 2019 invitation record. We expect the same level of competitiveness under the state nominated visa pathway, i.e. we expect candidates for s/c 190 visa would be able to reach 85 points with the additional 5 points form state nomination approval to receive an invitation.
Are you considering a career as a general practitioner in Australia but you are not sure if it is the right option? The article ‘What’s it like to be a General Practitioner?‘ may assist with your decision. It lists tasks and duties, average income, what are the job opportunities and more.
A detailed list of approved programs of study in Australia, please access the information through the link https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Education/Approved-Programs-of-Study.aspx
Please be reminded, the authorities in Australia may undertake reviews on a regular basis, please make sure you conduct necessary research before confirming enrolment with the education provider/s.
If you are dreaming of a life in Australia as a doctor, you may wish to speak with one of our registered migration agents about your visa eligibility and pathway.