Nursing students protest in Melbourne - 11th August 2010

About 200 students, mainly from Deakin ,Ballarat and Australian Catholic universities, gathered in front of the Victorian Parliament yesterday seeking a compromise on registration criteria.

These nursing students have been left stranded out of the Australian workforce because of recent changes to registration standards. National standards implemented by the newly formed 'Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia' (NMBA) were introduced on July 1, 2010, require the students to achieve level 7.0 in the English language test (IELTS) in each module of IELTS, in a single sitting, despite having completed their nursing degree in Australia, alongside Australian students.

Many effected students believed that the Australian Health Professionals Registration Authority (AHPRA) had led students to believe that they would not be adversely affected by the move to the uniform system, which was implemented on July 1, 2010.

Many students who have finished or are about to finish their nursing degree in Victorian universities have been offered jobs, will no longer able to gain registration as a 'Registered Nurse (RN)'with the newly appointed NMBA because of the new English requirements being implemented. The effected students requested the AHPRA and NMBA to provide a 'transition period' for the students who have completed or are in the process of completing their degrees.

For more details see:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/nursing-students-protest-20100811-11zt3.html