thank you for your enquiry about nursing in australia. i will outline the process for you. firstly, you will need to apply to the queensland nursing council for approval to undertake the competence assessment service exam. you must be a registered nurse in your home country (you must have already passed your board exams) and have a good ielts score. the ielts score required is an overall score of 7.) - with speaking and writing as a minimum of 7.0 and listening and reading at a minimum of 6.5 before you can proceed. you must also have a letter from a nursing employer to state that you are competent and fit to practice. please review the requirements for qnc approval on the following webpage:
after you have an approval from the qnc - you can undertake part a examination (multiple choice - similar to nclex but not exactly the same) and then depending on your result you may be eligible to undertake part b assessment (one day clinical assessment in australia) or you may be directed to complete some educational modules - that you can do by distance education in the philippines. you would still have to come to australia at some stage to undertake either the part b assessment or the four week clinical placement component of the educational modules. if you do need to come to australia for four weeks we would try very hard to find you a clinical placement close to where you have relative or friends, or in a town where there is a large filipino community who can help you with accommodation and transport or at a hospital where there is accommodation on site to help you to reduce your costs. you would be able to come to australia on a tourist visa ($75) to do either the part b test or the 4 week clinical placement but you must declare that you will be doing a placement in a hospital and you would need a medical check and x-ray screening for tb.
if you decide to commit to this process it may take you a year to complete but you will then be eligible for temporary residency in australia and onto permanent residency after two years. some employers are happy to employ overseas nurses on training visas which enable you work as an assistant in nursing while you do your cas educational modules. the wages for ain are not as high but you can still manage ok for a year until you get your registration. if you need further help with this option please let me know.
there are many many nursing jobs available in this country - the work is quite busy but the pay is very good. a new graduate could expect to earn au$50,000 per year (which requires working a 10 day fortnight including shiftwork and weekends) and most nurses in this country live a very comfortable life with a house and car and some money left over. australia is very beautiful and quite peaceful. you would be very safe here.
i have included some information for you about the part a test and the education modules. i would also suggest that you have a look at the cas website www.cas.cqu.edu.au
