Stridr › Career programs › Nursing
Nursing registration pathwayBecome a registered nurse in Australia.
For internationally qualified registered nurses. Three programs cover everything AHPRA assesses, in the right order, with one adviser holding your timeline from the English test to your first Australian role.
Delivered by ECA College of Health Sciences. Salary and workforce figures are indicative and drawn from published Australian sources. Timelines depend on AHPRA processing and examination availability.
Why Australia
- Advertised RN salary
- AUD $90,000 to $95,000
- Projected shortfall
- Up to 80,000 nurses by 2035
- Typical time to register
- 12 to 24 months
- Registration body
- NMBA, via AHPRA
- Programs
- OET, NCLEX-RN, OSCE
- Full pathway
- AUD $3,350
- Intakes
- Monthly
How to complete an ANMAC skills assessment
The most expensive mistake in this pathway is confusing NMBA registration with an ANMAC skills assessment. Registration is your licence to practise. The skills assessment is a migration document. Different bodies, different purposes, different evidence.
Stridr does not prepare, review or lodge ANMAC skills assessments, and does not advise on visa selection, eligibility or strategy. That is migration advice, and it is lawfully given only by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner.
Before you lodge
- Confirm you actually need one. An ANMAC skills assessment is required for skilled migration, not for practising.
- Identify the correct assessment and occupation. Registered Nurse and Enrolled Nurse are separate occupations with separate ANZSCO codes.
- Obtain your registration outcome first where required. Most applicants need evidence of NMBA registration or eligibility for it.
- Check against the current checklist before you lodge. ANMAC publishes a document checklist for each assessment type and updates it.
What the fee does not cover
Course fees cover preparation only. AHPRA, NMBA, NCSBN, OET and ANMAC fees are set by those bodies and paid directly by you, as is travel to Adelaide or Melbourne for the OSCE.
Take one course, or the full pathway
OET for Nurses
Occupational English Test preparation across all four sub-tests, taught in nursing context. Online, 10 weeks, AUD $750.
NCLEX for RNs
NCLEX-RN examination preparation with practice questions, exam strategies and computer adaptive mock exams. Online, 12 weeks, AUD $600.
OSCE for RNs
On campus OSCE preparation across ten simulated stations, with lab practice until your examination date. Sydney, 2 weeks, AUD $2,000.
Nursing Registration Pathway
- OET for Nurses, NCLEX for RNs and OSCE for RNs
- Sequenced enrolment, so you are not paying for the OSCE before you can book it
Each program is a single-unit, non-award course with its own fixed fee. Bought separately the three courses total AUD $3,600. Enrol in all three together and you pay AUD $3,350, a saving of $250.
Seven steps to AHPRA registration, and where we prepare you
AHPRA and the NMBA own the assessment decisions. We own your preparation and your paperwork. Being clear about that division is how we keep our promises credible.
Complete the AHPRA Self-check
A free online check that determines whether your qualification is substantially equivalent to an Australian approved program, and therefore whether you sit the examinations at all.
AHPRA decidesSubmit your IQNM application and documents
You lodge this directly with AHPRA: identity, qualifications, transcripts, registration history and certificates of good standing from every jurisdiction.
You lodge this with AHPRAComplete the AHPRA orientation
An online orientation to the Australian health system, the NMBA standards and the codes of conduct that apply to your practice here.
AHPRA deliversMeet the English language requirement
Achieve the standard set by the NMBA. Most internationally qualified nurses choose the OET, because the vocabulary is clinical rather than academic.
Stridr prepares youPass the NCLEX-RN, OBA Part 1
The cognitive stage of the Outcomes-Based Assessment, delivered by the NCSBN through Pearson VUE test centres. You need an AHPRA referral before you can be scheduled.
Stridr prepares youPass the OSCE, OBA Part 2
The behavioural stage, ten timed clinical stations examined by AHPRA in Adelaide or Melbourne. You cannot book the OSCE until the NCLEX-RN is passed.
Stridr prepares youApply for registration with the NMBA
Lodge your registration application. The Board decides. Registration is your legal authority to practise as a nurse in Australia.
NMBA decidesSteps 5 and 6 apply to Stream B candidates only
If your Self-check finds your qualification substantially equivalent to an Australian approved program, you are Stream A and you do not sit the NCLEX-RN or the OSCE. You still meet the English standard. Do the Self-check before you enrol in anything, and we will price only what you need.
What you pay us, and what you pay third parties
Two separate things. You buy your preparation from us once, either as the package or course by course. Everything else is paid directly to the body that charges it.
| Paid to | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Stridr | Nursing Registration Pathway, full package | AUD $3,350 |
| Stridr | OET for Nurses, bought separately | AUD $750 |
| Stridr | NCLEX for RNs, bought separately | AUD $600 |
| Stridr | OSCE for RNs, bought separately | AUD $2,000 |
| Stridr | International student administration fee, where applicable | AUD $250 |
| AHPRA | IQNM application and assessment fee | Set by AHPRA |
| OET | Test fee, per sitting | Set by OET |
| NCSBN | NCLEX-RN registration and international scheduling | Approx. USD $350 |
| AHPRA | OSCE sitting fee, per attempt | AUD $4,000 |
| NMBA | Registration application and annual fee | Set by NMBA |
Amounts are indicative only and are paid by you directly. Confirm every figure on the AHPRA, NMBA, OET, NCSBN and ANMAC websites before making financial commitments.
Three steps to a confirmed place
Choose your program
Select the single course you need, or the full nursing registration pathway package.
Apply and pay online
Complete the Stridr application form and pay through the secure gateway to confirm your place.
Get ready to start
Receive your confirmation and orientation pack ahead of your intake, with an adviser assigned to your pathway.
Before you enrol
Which program do I need?
Complete the free AHPRA Self-check first. Stream A candidates need the English standard only. Stream B candidates need the English standard, the NCLEX-RN and the OSCE. We will not sell you an examination course you do not need.
Can I buy the programs separately?
Yes. Each is a single-unit, non-award course with its own fixed fee. The package groups all three, and sequences your enrolments.
Is the package cheaper than buying individually?
Yes, by AUD $250. Bought separately the three courses total AUD $3,600. Enrolled together they cost AUD $3,250. The saving applies only when all three are taken at the same time.
Where is the OSCE examination held?
AHPRA sits the registered nurse OSCE at Adelaide and Melbourne only. We deliver preparation in Sydney, and you travel to sit the examination.
Do I need to pass the NCLEX-RN before the OSCE?
Yes. You must pass the NCLEX-RN to become eligible for the OSCE. We sequence your enrolments so you do not pay for OSCE preparation before you can use it.
Do you guarantee registration or a job?
No. AHPRA, the NMBA and ANMAC make their own decisions, and employers make their own hiring decisions. We prepare you well and we tell you when we think you are not ready.
Bring us your Self-check result
Twenty minutes with an adviser, at no cost, and an honest answer about which programs you actually need. Sometimes that answer is that you do not need us yet.
Talk to an adviser