Registered Nurses: Every ANZSCO Code, the Assessment, and the Visa Routes

There are fourteen registered nurse occupations in the Australian occupation classification, and for migration purposes they behave almost identically. Every one of them sits on the same occupation lists, is assessed by the same authority, and opens the same six visas. So picking your code is rarely the hard part. Sequencing is, because ANMAC won't give most overseas nurses a skills assessment until they already hold Australian registration, and getting that registration is a separate multi-stage process run by a different body. Get that order wrong and you lose a year. This post sets out all fourteen codes, which assessment applies to you, and where each visa route leads.

The fourteen occupations, and why they all sit in the same place

We checked each code against each visa's own occupation list rather than assuming they travel together. They do, but that's unusual enough to be worth showing.

Nothing carries a caveat on any of those lists, which matters because caveats are what usually trip up an employer-sponsored nomination. "Registered Nurses nec" is the catch-all for a nursing role that does not fit one of the named specialisations, and it draws by far the most invitations of the fourteen.

Do you need registration first, or the skills assessment?

Two different bodies, two different jobs, and almost everyone gets the order wrong at least once.

ANMAC assesses your skills for migration. It says so plainly: it does not assess nurses or midwives for registration to practise in Australia. Registration is the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, through Ahpra. You'll need both to work here, and one of them usually has to come first.

Which one comes first depends entirely on where you are registered now:

• Registered in Australia or New Zealand already? You go straight to ANMAC for a Modified skills assessment.
• Registered as a nurse in Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom or the United States? You can go straight to ANMAC for a Full skills assessment, without Australian registration first.
• Registered anywhere else? ANMAC has no assessment open to you yet. You need Australian registration first, which means the internationally qualified nurse and midwife process, and only then the Modified assessment.

Picture two nurses with identical clinical experience. One trained and registered in Manchester. She applies to ANMAC directly, pays $595, and waits. The other trained and registered in Manila. Same ward, same years, same competence, and she can't apply to ANMAC at all until Ahpra has registered her. In our experience that sequencing, not the visa criteria, is where nursing cases lose the most time.

The registration pathway for internationally qualified nurses

If you fall into that third group, the process starts with a Self-check. It costs nothing to find out where you land, and the result puts you in one of three streams.

A fourth situation exists and it surprises people. If your qualification hasn't been assessed by Ahpra before, it won't appear in the Self-check list. You proceed anyway, pay the fee, do Orientation Part 1 and the Portfolio, and Ahpra assesses the qualification at that point. Only then are you told whether you are Stream A, Stream B, or facing an upgrade.

A Stream C outcome is a hard result to receive. Better to get it before you've built a migration plan around a timeline that was never available.

Which ANMAC assessment applies to you?

Three assessments exist. Only two of them matter to a registered nurse.

Other ANMAC charges: administration $60, outcome letter update $145, internal review $300, external appeal $300, and a GuideMe pre-assessment consultation at $95 with a $60 reschedule fee. ANMAC notes its assessment fees do not attract GST and may be adjusted each financial year.

Two traps in the Full assessment worth naming. That seven-country list is about where you're registered, not where you hold a passport, which catches people who trained in one country and registered in another. And if your qualification is not a Bachelor of Nursing from Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States, three further requirements stack on top: the qualification must have led to general nursing registration after 1 January 2017, you must have completed the relevant regulatory examination process, and you need at least 1,800 hours of paid registered nurse work since 1 January 2017 in that same country.

One more thing ANMAC says plainly, and it costs money if missed: if you apply for a Full skills assessment and later become registered in Australia or New Zealand, the Full process and its fee still apply. Getting registered part-way through won't move you onto the cheaper assessment.

What English scores does ANMAC accept?

These apply to the Full skills assessment. Results must be under two years old, from a single provider, and taken at an authorised testing centre. You can't mix results from different tests.

Each test also allows a two-sitting combination within a 12-month period, with its own floor on every component. If you're close but short in one skill, that's the provision to look at before rebooking the whole test.

Keep this separate from your visa English. ANMAC sets these scores for its own assessment. Home Affairs sets its English requirements for the visa, and those changed on 7 August 2025. Meeting one doesn't automatically meet the other.

Where each visa route leads

All fourteen codes open the same six subclasses, but those routes behave very differently.

Only the subclass 189 can be pursued without a sponsor or a state. You lodge an expression of interest and wait to be invited. For nursing that wait is real: "Registered Nurses nec" drew 1,561 invitations in the June 2026 data and 1,056 in July, with invitations issued from 75 points on the 189 and from 80 on the 190. Those counts exclude any cell the Department reported as fewer than 20, so treat them as floors rather than exact totals.

Both the 190 and the 491 need a state or territory to nominate you first, and the 491 is regional. Employer routes are the 482, the 186 and the 494, and the 494 is regional as well.

There is one piece of timing news in your favour. Under the Ministerial Directions that took effect in September 2026, healthcare is a priority processing sector, and every registered nurse code falls inside it. That affects the order your application is picked up, nothing else. It won't make a weak application succeed, and it won't shorten the registration process sitting in front of you.

State nomination

Nursing is widely nominated. On the state and territory lists we hold, all fourteen codes appear for the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Treat that as a starting point, not an answer. State lists change through the year, each state runs its own eligibility rules on top of the list, and several apply residence, job offer or sector conditions the list alone doesn't show. Check the relevant state or territory site for the current position before you build a plan around a particular nomination.

What is changing at ANMAC

ANMAC has announced a new skilled migration portal, along with renamed assessments and revised fees. Its own wording is that the changes are expected to take effect later this year, so everything in the table above is what applies today, and everything in the table below is what is coming.

Other announced fees move too: administration to $65, GuideMe to $90, outcome letter update to $155, and internal review and external appeal to $320 each.

We're not going to tell you which current assessment becomes which new one. ANMAC hasn't published a mapping between the two sets, and the definitions don't line up neatly enough to infer one safely. Essential and Modified are both $395, but Essential is described as Australian registration only while Modified covers New Zealand too, and Essential Plus appears to pick that up. Wait for ANMAC to say.

If you already have an application in progress, ANMAC says it'll transfer to the new system, you won't need to reapply or resubmit documents, and you won't pay a second assessment fee. Anyone who has already paid will not be charged the new fee.

Practical upshot is narrow but real. If you're close to applying and your assessment type is one whose fee is going up, applying under the current schedule is worth money. If you're months away from having documents ready, this changes nothing for you.

FAQ

Do I need Australian registration before ANMAC will assess me?

‍It depends where you are registered now. If you hold registration in Australia or New Zealand, you apply for the Modified assessment. If you are registered as a nurse in Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom or the United States, you can apply for the Full assessment without Australian registration. Registered anywhere else, you need Australian registration first.

Which visas can a registered nurse apply for?

‍All fourteen registered nurse codes are on the relevant occupation list for the subclass 189, 190, 491, 482, 186 and 494.

How much does an ANMAC skills assessment cost?

‍The Modified assessment is $395 and the Full assessment is $595. ANMAC has announced revised fees taking effect later this year.

Is the Direct care skills assessment an option for a registered nurse?

‍No. It covers Nursing Support Worker (423312) and Personal Care Assistant (423313) only.

What English score do I need for the Full skills assessment?

‍Overall 7 on IELTS Academic with 6.5 in writing, B on the OET with C+ in writing, 66 on PTE Academic with 56 in writing, 94 on TOEFL iBT, or 185 on Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency. Your visa English is assessed separately by the Department.

Does being in healthcare speed up my visa?

‍Healthcare is a priority processing sector under the Ministerial Directions in force from September 2026. That sets the order applications are considered. It does not change the criteria or make a grant more likely.

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Not sure whether you need registration first, or which assessment fits your country of registration? [Book a consultation] and we will map your sequence before you spend a fee on the wrong step.