IELTS applies to local students ?

Hi Gretta,

Thank you for your clarifying. I am studying in La Trobe (Melbourne). But I have worked in Sydney few years ago (Ernst & Young).

It is a pleasure to know you.

By the way, I am considering to relocate to Sydney after graduation since my sister and relatives are all there.

Cheers,

Hello, I am one of the many people applying for registration for the first time through AHPRA, and for us it seems that unless you studied and completed your secondary school certificate in english, in Australia, you will have to sit a language exam. Ridiculous I know, but they have the last say. Two of my friends who were born and raised in South Africa, and had in fact completed their secondary school certificate entirely in english, are being forced to sit a language exam. This is just one of the many flawed aspects of this poorly managed system.

I am an Australian Citizen with 3 degrees completed in Australia. I was born in Singapore to Irish parents and only speak English. English is my first and only language. When I was 2 years old I went back to the UK and did all my schooling and degrees there. I have done my secondary education in England sitting the Advanced Level Oxford and Cambridge exams and passing. APHRA are making me do the IELTS. English is my first and only language. I know English better than Australian graduates. I have a certificate in Teaching English as a foreign language. I have a degree in Civil Engineering from Surrey University and I have three degrees that I have done in Australia: Bachelor of Health Science; Bachelor of Computers; Bachelor of Nursing. AHPRA are insisting that I sit the IELTS. Doctors who are registering with AHPRA from the UK with similar A Levels are not required to sit the IELTS. The same logic applied to Doctors for registration should be applied to nurses. Is this illogical and discriminatory towards nurses trying to get registered. I have been standing in the front office of AHPRA in Brisbane and even the staff behind the front desk cannot explain logically why this is so??

What's worse when I tried to find some one who could think autonomously it seemed to be like finding a needle in a hay stack? They don't answer their phones or emails. They refuse to come out and speak to you when you go to the office. I got given the following name and adddress to speak to

Jim O'Dempsey

State Manger

AHPRA

GPO BOX 9958

Brisbane QLD 4000

Please feel free to write to this guy about your frustrations with the nursing side of this organisation. I don't know if he is able to judiciously apply commonsenes and logic - if not we can at least ask him whose next in the daisy chain of non logical contacts we need to speak to get some logical response?????

Why is such an organisation making rules unrelated to logic? Who voted for such illogical rules?

People educated in the land of England (the home of the English language) whose only language has been English their whole life have to sit an English test?

If their English is not good enough then why (logically) is the Australian English considered more acceptable than England's English. Everyone knows the Advanced level secondary education in England is of a higher standard than Australia year 12.

I have looked at the IELTS test and it seems more geared towards testing IQ than English. Speed reading is an advanced skill and it seems to be part of the test. Most native australians who have done year 12 would fail the test without practice in my opinion. I have come across studiy guides that have stated categorically the IELTS test does not really test English but is really about tricking people (who kown English just fine) out of passing. To many things to go into in this short thread. Unreasonable time restraints being the key feature to this trickery. Is this a revenue growing thing?

I checked out the test and it goes for a non stop gruelling 3-4 hours - and as I said the student taking the test is being "stressed" the whole time by unreasonable time restraints.
I am sitting this IELTS test on 14 August 2010 - I signed up for it three days ago. I have one week to prepare. My whole life hangs in the balance in passing this test.

These people are criminals in my mind!

P.S. Apolgies for any mispelt english I wrote this once off with a head full of fire and at a speed of lightning - its almost not worth my breath - cos the cause seems so pointless!

I sent AHPRA an e-mail enquiry to try clarify my position as to non completion of Australian yr 12 and IELTS. I received a form reply inviting me

"Please find your name listed on the Practioner register on the following webpage;

http://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Registers-of-Practitioners.aspx

Please check your registration number on the page against the number given to you from AHPRA. "

I'm guessing they were too lazy to even read my question to realise I was asking about my ability to register...not if I had been registered. Hmmmmm, one can only hope (and pray and cross fingers, toes and what ever else can be crossed) that they sort out these issues as soon as possible (well by end of next year for me in terms of course completion...but now would be nice for all the recent graduates who are dealing with hopeless bureaucracy)

Does anyone else find it amusing that the Nurses Union (in NSW at least) are running election ads about what the liberals did to nursing under Tony Abbot....HELLOOOO Nurses Union, you have graduates who are suffering the consequence of inaction on a far bigger issue here...it's fairly pointless sprouting how good labor are in terms of improving nursing education and turning out more graduates when these graduates cannot get registered and therefore cannot work! Do you think perhaps your efforts would be more appreciated and your money better spent on just a smidge of time to try sort out the mess created by rushing through a seemingly poorly planned national registation scheme?

Hey guys,

I have looked at the original act Health Practitioner Regulation
National Law Act 2009 and it does not mention anything about having to sit IELTS. It merely states broadly that it is up to the registration board to decide what is an appropriate standard of English. The nursing side of APHRA have as there standard "taught secondary school educaton in English and assessed in English". There is no mention of it having to be in Australia. It is only in their FAQ where they stipulate that there interpretation of their own standard excludes all except australian residents who have sat year 12. This is a "misinterpreation"!!!!!!!!

The Doctor side of APHRA in their standards for English languate competency clearly adds these exemptions:

Exemptions
1. The Board may grant an exemption from the
requirements where the applicant provides evidence
that:
a) they undertook and completed secondary
education that was taught and assessed in English
in one of the countries listed below where English
is the native or first language; and
b) the applicant’s tertiary qualifications in the relevant
professional discipline were taught and assessed
in English in one of the countries listed below,
where English is the native or first language:
• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• Republic of Ireland
• South Africa
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Obviously the Doctors side of AHPRA have applied logic and commonsense. The same logic should be presented as a precedent to the Nursing side who are misinterpretating their own standards!!!

Why are all these nurses blindly sitting IELTS tests when they don't need to. Where is the legal support to get the illogical and criminal behaviour of the Nursing side of Aphra addressed.

Who has decided that IELTS is a fair test. Where are the studies. Where are the statistics. I read someone where that 70% of nurses sitting the academic module fail to get the Band 7 first time! What is wrong with this picture?

There are many native English speakers from England who have two degrees from England and Advanced Level secondary education from England - some who have Advanced Level Education in English itself who have failed the IELTS reading test due to unreasonable time restraints!

What can be done about this? Why is such illogic and criminal behaviour allowed to exist?

While most, if not all other health boards provided in their Registration Standard that an exemption to IELTS could be granted, the Nursing and Midwifery Board did not. While in Victoria many international students have been assisted to gain registration, the real impact will be when the next group of Enrolled Nurses, as they seek registration, (if secondary education undertaken outside Australia) will almost certainly need to pass the IELTS 7, when previously there was no English language test to register at all! For these students its not IELTS 6.5 vs 7 - its no IELTS to IELTS 7.