Relocation guide Last reviewed 24 August 2026

Moving from the UK to Australia as a healthcare worker

Thinking about swapping the NHS for Australia? Here is how the move actually works — registration, visas, documents, costs and timings — written for nurses, doctors, allied health professionals and care workers.

Facts checked to 24 August 2026. Visa fees, occupation lists and registration standards change — always confirm the live requirements with the Department of Home Affairs and Ahpra before applying. General information, not individual migration, tax or financial advice.

Moving to Australia is not one application — it is a handful of processes running side by side: professional registration, a skills assessment where your route needs one, finding a job, the visa itself, police and health checks, and the practical move out of the UK.

For most UK healthcare professionals, the simplest strategy is to secure an Australian employer first and let them sponsor the visa. Healthcare is a national shortage area, so sponsorship is common — and many employers cover a large share of the costs.

Which visa route fits you

Australian skilled visas fall into three broad families. Employer-sponsored visas are tied to a job offer: the employer nominates you for a specific role. The temporary version generally runs one to four years, asks for about a year of relevant experience and has no standard upper age limit; permanent versions exist for experienced clinicians, including a transition route after roughly two years with the same sponsor.

Points-based visas need no employer. You lodge an expression of interest, get scored on age, experience, English and qualifications, and wait to be invited — either independently or nominated by a state or territory. The minimum score is 65, but meeting it guarantees nothing, and you generally have to be under 45. Regional routes — with an employer or a state — trade a few years in regional Australia for an easier path to permanent residence.

Two more planning facts. Sponsored roles must pay a genuine market salary — at least AUD 79,423 under the 2026–27 income threshold. And healthcare is a processing-priority group, though applications lodged from inside Australia rank ahead of offshore ones — treat “priority” as a tailwind, not a promise.

The main routes at a glance (subclass numbers only as reference — you will meet them on official sites):

Route	Subclass	In short
Employer-sponsored, temporary	482	One to four years with a sponsoring employer. The usual starting point, and the route with no standard age cap.
Employer-sponsored, permanent	186	Permanent residence directly for experienced clinicians, or after about two years on the temporary visa. Usually under 45.
Skilled independent	189	Points-based permanent residence with no employer or state — attractive but highly competitive.
State-nominated	190 / 491	Points-based with a state or territory nomination; the regional version is provisional and converts to permanent residence later.
Regional employer-sponsored	494	Five provisional years with a regional employer, with a permanent pathway at the end.
Aged-care labour agreement	—	Lets approved aged-care employers sponsor care workers — nursing support workers and personal care assistants.

If you are a care worker rather than a registered nurse, do not copy a nurse’s pathway: the occupations, assessments and sponsorship rules differ. Find your Australian occupation first, then work backwards from it.

AHPRA registration and skills assessments

Three things get mixed up constantly: professional registration (your licence to practise, through Ahpra and its National Boards), the migration skills assessment (a separate check some visas require), and the visa itself. A visa does not register you; registration does not let you migrate. Depending on your route, you may need all three.

Nurses and midwives

The big news for UK nurses is the streamlined pathway introduced in 2025: the UK counts as an approved comparable jurisdiction, so an experienced UK-registered nurse — the benchmark is at least 1,800 hours of post-registration practice — faces a materially simpler registration process than before. It is not automatic (identity, history, English and conduct checks still apply), but check this route before assuming you need exams.

If your visa route needs a migration skills assessment, that is a separate application to the nursing accreditation council ANMAC — currently AUD 595, with a wait of six to eight weeks before assessment starts.

Doctors

Doctors first identify their Medical Board pathway. GMC-registered doctors often qualify for the Competent Authority route, which avoids the standard exams; those who do not will generally sit a multiple-choice exam plus a clinical or workplace-based assessment through the Australian Medical Council. Specialists have their own recognition routes through the colleges.

GMC registration is strong evidence, but it is never converted automatically — an Australian pathway and a registration decision are always required.

Allied health professionals

Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists and other regulated professions each have their own assessing council and registration board, and the processes differ. Before paying any fee, confirm two things for your exact profession: who assesses you for migration, and who registers you to practise.

English requirements — yes, even for Brits

Ahpra has its own English standard (updated in April 2026, with several accepted tests), and a test is not always required — your education history can satisfy it. Immigration English is a separate system again, and a UK passport usually covers the visa side. Check both before booking IELTS or OET.

One timing trap: certificates of good standing from the NMC, GMC or HCPC are typically valid for only three months. Order them when Australia actually asks for them, not six months early.

The paperwork

Build one master evidence file and keep every date consistent across your CV, registration and visa forms — mismatches and expired documents cause most avoidable delays. Australia also expects real proof of employment: references with dates and hours, backed by payslips or tax records.

Gather early

Passport (name matching every other document), birth certificate and any name-change papers
Degree certificates and academic transcripts
Registration evidence and registration numbers (NMC, GMC or HCPC)
A detailed CV with dates consistent to the month
Employer references stating role, dates and hours — plus payslips or tax records as backup

Order late — they expire

Certificates of good standing (valid about three months)
Police certificates for immigration — for the UK, an ACRO certificate
Ahpra’s separate international criminal-history check, which runs through an approved supplier and is not the same as your ACRO certificate
The immigration health examination (results valid about 12 months) — wait for instructions rather than booking private tests

What it costs — and who pays

Totals vary hugely by profession — a doctor needing credential verification spends far more than a nurse on the streamlined pathway. The useful split is government charges, professional fees and relocation costs, and above all who pays for what:

Cost	Who usually pays
Sponsorship and nomination charges	The employer — by law these cannot be passed on to you.
Visa application charge (from about AUD 4,015; regional routes cost more)	You, unless the employer covers it — frequently negotiable.
Registration fees	You — often reimbursed in international recruitment packages.
Migration skills assessment (about AUD 595 for nursing)	You — sometimes covered.
English test	You — do not book one until you know it is required.
Police checks and health examination	You — reimbursement varies.
Migration agent	Often provided and paid by the employer.
Flights, temporary accommodation, shipping	Commonly part of the relocation package, usually capped.

Whatever is promised, get it in writing. “Visa sponsorship available” does not automatically mean the employer pays every visa, registration, family, flight and shipping expense.

How long it takes

For a straightforward employer-sponsored move, four to eight months from starting the paperwork to landing is a realistic planning range. Ahpra recommends applying at least three months before your start date, and recent median visa processing for sponsored workers has been around three and a half months. The trick is to overlap the steps:

Pin down your Australian occupation, regulator and likely visa route — this stops you paying for the wrong assessment.
Start registration straight away; it is usually the critical path.
Job-hunt in parallel, telling employers where you are in the registration process.
Complete a migration skills assessment if your route requires one.
Agree the offer — salary, visa, registration help and relocation package, in writing. Nomination and visa can often be processed together.
Do the time-limited documents last: good-standing certificates, police checks, medicals.
Resign only once the offer is unconditional, serve your notice, and book the move.

Points-based applicants should add buffer for the invitation wait, and doctors facing exams or specialist recognition should plan for longer.

Leaving the NHS well

A few UK-side details are easy to get wrong and painful to fix from Sydney:

Your notice period is whatever your contract says — there is no universal NHS answer, and doctors are on different terms from Agenda for Change staff.
Before your NHS accounts close, download contracts, payslips, P60s, references, training records and proof of hours — they are much harder to get afterwards.
Keep your UK registration during the transition. It simplifies good-standing checks and keeps the door open should you return.
Tell HMRC you are leaving (form P85). UK rental income stays taxable in the UK, and a double-tax agreement stops the same income being taxed twice.
Your NHS pension does not vanish — accrued rights can stay in the scheme. Transfers abroad have serious tax consequences; take regulated advice first.
Compare offers properly: Australian employers add 12% superannuation on top of salary, but some temporary visas require private health insurance — check the conditions on your grant.
Australia’s biosecurity rules are strict: expect forms and possible inspection for shipped household goods, and clean anything that has seen soil — boots, bikes, camping gear.

How Scrubin helps

The hard part of this move is rarely one form — it is coordinating an employer, a regulator, a migration process and a house move at the same time. Scrubin connects healthcare professionals with international employers, including Australian ones, and most employers recruiting through Scrubin offer help with the visa and registration process; many cover the associated agreed costs, from sponsorship and visa fees to migration-agent support and relocation allowances.

To be clear about the limits: no recruiter can grant a visa or approve registration — those decisions sit with the Department of Home Affairs and the professional regulator. What good support removes is the fragmentation. Before accepting any offer, ask for the package in writing:

Exactly which visa is being sponsored?
Are visa and registration fees paid upfront or reimbursed?
Are partner and children’s visas, flights and medicals included?
Is the migration agent chosen and paid by the employer?
What does the relocation allowance cover, and for how many weeks?
Is there a repayment clause if you leave early?
Will the employer sponsor permanent residence later?

Frequently asked questions

Can a UK nurse move to Australia and work straight away?

Not on NMC registration alone — you need Australian registration and work rights. But the streamlined pathway for nurses from comparable jurisdictions has made the process materially simpler for experienced UK nurses.

How long does AHPRA registration take?

There is no single answer — it depends on profession and pathway. Ahpra suggests applying at least three months before your intended start date and accepts applications up to six months ahead.

Do British nurses and doctors have to sit IELTS or OET?

Not automatically. Ahpra’s English standard has several evidence routes, and your education history may already satisfy it. Check your route — and the separate immigration requirement — before paying for a test.

Can a UK doctor avoid the Australian medical exams?

Often, yes. GMC-registered doctors frequently qualify for the Competent Authority pathway, which does not use the standard exam route. Doctors outside it sit a multiple-choice exam plus a clinical or workplace-based assessment.

Can I get permanent residence if I start on a temporary visa?

Yes, that is a well-trodden path: after roughly two years of sponsored full-time work, your employer can nominate you for the permanent employer-sponsored visa, subject to its other requirements.

Is there an age limit?

Points-based and permanent routes generally require you to be under 45 at invitation, with some exemptions. The temporary employer-sponsored route has no standard upper age limit.

Can care workers get sponsored, or only nurses?

Care workers can be sponsored too — through a dedicated aged-care labour agreement covering roles like nursing support worker and personal care assistant — but the assessments and rules differ from registered nursing.

Do I really need two police checks?

Very likely. Immigration wants police certificates based on where you have lived; Ahpra runs its own criminal-history check through approved suppliers. One does not replace the other.

Will Scrubin employers pay my visa and registration costs?

Most employers recruiting through Scrubin offer visa and registration assistance, and many cover the agreed costs — but packages differ, so confirm the exact financial package in writing for your vacancy before accepting.

Official sources

Rules change. Confirm the live requirement with the official body before paying a fee or lodging an application: