ausvisa

Hello there
I am a doctor working in the UK. I have been offered a post in Australia and employers are asking me to apply for e457 visa. I have done PLAB exam and according to the Australian Medical council (AMC)I do not need to redo IELTS exam since they consider PLAB as an equivalent to IELTS. The AMC is quite happy to grant me registration to allow me to work as a doctor.
But unfortunately Australian Immigration seem to be quite obsessed with the IELTS and they are wanting me to have 7 points for each category to prove my English proficiency. According to them there is no ALTERNATIVE exam to prove proficiency in English on EARTH!!!.

I am not intending to work for the Immigration department but for the National Health. They have a national policy regarding English proficiency. Please read the following extract. I simply cant understand why National policies are not respected by the Immigration department and why there are so many disagreements between Immigration and AMC. The system in Australia seems to be quite confusing and there is no agreed principles or standards across the country.

I really appreciate if someone can clarify this issue.

National Policy Number
NatPol-001-2005

NATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT
FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES

3.0 Requirements
Applicants need to submit evidence to the relevant registration authority of competency in speaking and communicating in English, as demonstrated by having completed the IELTS examination (Academic module) to the following standard:
1 The boards require the applicant to have achieved a minimum score of 7 in each of the four components.
2 Alternative English proficiency tests that will be accepted are:
a) Completed and obtained an overall pass in the Occupational English Test (OET) administered by the Centre for Adult Education with grades A or B only in each of the four components; or
b) A pass in the Professional Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) in the United Kingdom; or
c) A pass in the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX) in New Zealand.
3 Results must have been obtained within 2 years prior to applying for registration.
4 An IELTS (or approved equivalent) Test Report Form more than two years old will be accepted as evidence of present level of ability if accompanied by proof that a candidate has actively maintained employment as a medical practitioner in a country where English is the native or first Language. Test results must comply with the current requirements of this policy.
5 Results from any of the abovementioned English language examinations must be obtained in one sitting.
This policy takes effect from 1 July 2005.
This policy was amended on 4 April 2007 and is effective from 1 July 2007.

dolliedimples

I think the concept..flawed as it maybe, is brilliant...why UK not thought of it before? Would have saved the country being swamped with immigrants speaking minimal English with non English speaking spouses.

charlie-k

Hi Oz Rascal,
how did you get on with your ielts test?
I don't know if we all sat the same papers throughout the country but we had TWO papers on the true, false, not given, they were quite ambiguous. Approximately 50 people sat the test, 10 of which were British and they all said it was the worst part of the morning.
Hope yours was ok.

Oz Rascal

Hi Charlie,

There were probably about 100 people down in Hendon!! I think about 70 of them were doing the General Test. We had about 4 sections within the reading test - and yes, I agree some of my questions were quite ambiguous.

Interestingly, out of the 100 students, I only met 1 English person - also headed for Australia.

All in all, I'm happy with how it went. I did find it tiring though just because some of it was so boring - you need to listen all the way through. Now we've just got to wait for the results...oh well, two weeks eh, not long!

Glad yours went well.

Oz Rascal

AndrewAussie

As a person who passed IELTS 2 times I would say that exam does not have any relation to checking someone's ability of knowing the English language. TOEFL really checks your English, IELTS checks some other issues which are not relevant to English, i.e. how quick you are, how you can listen and read at the same time (listening section). Also, sometimes, especially in redaing, you can understand everything but can not answer the question because your logic contradicts with the logic of that person who wrote the test. Personally I think that to have such an exam for migrants whose English is a second language is inappropriate. Also, native speakers should be really careful with that exam...

m4t_lee

Got the results for my ielts yesterday which i sat at nottingham uni on the 20th, passed, woohoo!!

Thanks Duncan Richardson for sharing his test papers with me.

O also bought a usefull book off amazon which helped by Barrons if anyone is interested?

Cheers and good luck for anyone who is about to sit it or waiting for results,

Mat

charlie-k

Well done Mat, another hurdle over!

charlie-k

Glad you're happy with it.
Yes I aggree, the listening was boring, I think that I lost concentration for a couple of questions so had to make up the answers!
I can collect my results in person because the test centre was only about 40 mins. from where we live - collecting 16th November. Will keep you posted.
Regards.

Oz Rascal

Charlie,

Good luck mate, the 16th seems so far away. Can you imagine how we'll feel when we're waiting for the application to be processed

I'll keep in touch and let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

Oz Rascal

Oz Rascal

I also have one of the Barrons text books - very good - if only to put your mind at rest. Let me know if anyone out there is interested in having it.

charlie-k

Yes, I can imagine!!
My Agent was supposed to lodge my application online LAST MONDAY - it still hasn't been done due to a technical error?! I have emailed both Australia House in London and DIAC Australia but no joy. It can't be helped but is certainly frustrating.
Regards

Oz Rascal

Hey Charlie,

Have you had your results yet?

Mine have just arrived and I got a 9.0!! Wahoo...visa application here we come!!!

Good luck with your results mate, let me know how you get on.

Oz Rascal

charlie-k

Well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe I only got 7.5?! Considering I'm university educated, I must be really thick!!
Is it the overall score that is taken into consideration?
Results were;
Listening - 8
Reading - 6.5 !!
Writing - 7.5
Speaking - 8.5
Not the best score in the world. I am very dissapointed with it.

Oz Rascal

Hi mate,

I think it is the over all score they use but I would check it out having one at 6.5.

Good luck and I hope it is the answer you're looking for.

What visa are you applying for?

Oz Rascal

charlie-k

Applying for PR Visa.
Have been looking at other threads on this site and it seems that you have to get minimum of 7 on each category.
When is your visa being submitted?