If you are a physiotherapist interested in migrating to Australia, reading this first will be highly beneficial to you.
Yes physiotherapy is on the Australia immigration skilled occupation list, but my observation is that there are still very few going through their skill select process.
The Australian skill select process (where Canada got the inspiration for Express entry) is supposed to be a stress free process. It’s simply a DIY (do it yourself) kind of thing; fill in your information, upload your English scores and you skills assessment and submit your application for immigration.
Twice every month there are selection rounds and successful applicants are invited to apply for a skilled migration visa.
But this is not actually the case for physiotherapists because you need a skills assessment.
Here are the requirements for applying for a skills assessment:
· A qualification that is included in theApproved Programs of Study list
· A Certificate of Substantial Equivalence by the Australian Physiotherapy Council
· A Final Certificate issued by the Australian Physiotherapy Council
· Current General Registration without conditions issued by the Physiotherapy Board of Australia
· Current and unconditional Annual Practising Certificate issued by the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand
Remember if you don’t have your skills assessed you can’t submit your application for a skilled migration visa.
Let’s look at the first option:
Your qualification should be in their approved programs list.
If you have a B.Sc physiotherapy from any of these Universities then you qualify:
Australian Catholic University
Central Queensland University
Charles Sturt University
Curtin university
James Cook University
La Trobe University
Monash university
University of Canberra
University of Newcastle
University of Notre Dame
University of Queensland
University of South Australia
University of Sydney
A Masters in Physiotherapy degree from
Bond University
Curtin University
Flinders University
Griffith University
La Trobe University
University of Canberra
University of Queensland
University of South Australia
University of Sydney
University of Technology Sydney
Western Sydney University
A Doctor of Physiotherapy from
Macquarie University
University of Melbourne
In other words, if you have a Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate degree from these Australian universities then you can qualify for a skills assessment for immigration.
The second option:
You should have a certificate of substantial equivalence
still issued by the Australian physiotherapy council. This assessment costs AUD 2,200.
If you think your university’s program is equivalent to an Australian accredited program then you can go for this option.
It is important to note that this is an extremely detailed and thorough assessment.
The minimum requirements are that the qualification completed must be a
• Bachelor program four years in length, or
• Master program two years in length, or
• Doctoral program three years in length.
If you do not consider that your qualification meets the requirements above, or if you cannot obtain documents required to meet the assessment criteria, you are encourage to apply undertake an assessment through the Standard pathway.
Some programs from schools in the United States, United kingdom, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Scotland, Portugal, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada and Brazil, have been found to be equivalent.
Here’s a screenshot of some of the programs:
The third option:
A final Certificate issued by the Australia Physiotherapy Council (APC).
This Final certificate is issued after you have completed the three phases of the general assessment for foreign trained physiotherapists.
Here’s a summary of the process:
1. The Eligibility Assessment
This is the first stage which you can complete while you are outside Australia. The main aim of this assessment is to determine if you are qualified to continue to the next two stages. Your transcript is one of the documents that would be required. When you scale through you will be given an Interim Certificate. This stage costs AUD 1100.
2. The Written Assessment
This is basically a written exam you take. There are also exam centres outside Australia. These exams are held four times a year.
Exams in overseas venues are held September and March.
Exams in Australia venues are held June and December
This exam costs AUD 1900
3. The Clinical Assessment
These as clinical exams that can only be taken in Australia.
This assessment consists of 3 practical tests – musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, neurology.
Once successfully passing this stage you will issued with a final certificate which then allows you to apply for full general registration with AHPRA.
This assessment costs AUD 4125
The final certificate is what you need to apply for a skills assessment.
The fourth option:
Current registration with Physiotherapy Board of Australia.
One of the requirements for registration with the board is to have a Final Certificate issued by the APC.
The fifth option:
Current practicing certificate from Physiotherapy board of New Zealand
Please read and go through the requirements, it is a lengthy process and costs NZD 1532.
You need to meet one of these requirements to be able to apply for a skills assessment for skilled migration.
If you have a different experience please share.
