PR Pathway for Nursing and Healthcare Graduates in Australia (2026)

Nursing and midwifery occupations sit on almost every skilled occupation list Home Affairs runs, which gives graduates in this field more open visa pathways than most other professions – but there’s an important distinction to get straight first: your AHPRA registration (the professional licence that lets you actually practise) and your ANMAC skills assessment (the migration eligibility check Home Affairs requires) are two separate processes, run by two different bodies, for two different purposes. This guide covers the migration side – occupation codes, which visas each nursing role qualifies for, and how healthcare fits into the points test and employer sponsorship – sourced directly from the Department of Home Affairs.

If you haven’t already registered to practise, our AHPRA registration guide for nursing graduates covers that process step by step. And if you haven’t already read our overview of PR pathways for international students, skills assessment and the skilled occupation list, state nomination visas (190 and 491), or employer-sponsored visas (482, 186 and 494), this article builds directly on all four.

TL;DR

• Every nursing and midwifery occupation is assessed by the same single body – the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) – regardless of your specialisation.
• Registered Nurse (across all specialisations), Midwife, Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Clinical Director sit on the MLTSSL and the CSOL, making them eligible for the 189 points-tested visa and the 485 Temporary Graduate visa. Enrolled Nurse, Nurse Educator and Nurse Researcher sit on the STSOL and CSOL only – eligible for state nomination and employer sponsorship, but not the 189 or 485.
• Healthcare occupations currently get priority processing for onshore 482 applicants under Ministerial Direction No. 119, alongside teaching occupations.
• AHPRA registration and the ANMAC skills assessment are separate processes – one lets you legally practise nursing in Australia, the other is what Home Affairs requires for most skilled visa applications. You’ll generally need both.
• Employer sponsorship via the 482 needs the Core Skills Income Threshold (AUD79,423 from 1 July 2026) for Core Skills stream nominations.

Your occupation code and who assesses it

Checked directly against the Home Affairs skilled occupation list tool for this guide, every nursing and midwifery occupation is assessed by the same body – ANMAC – which simplifies one part of the process considerably compared to fields like engineering or IT, where the assessing authority varies by occupation.

Every occupation in the table except Nurse Manager sits on the CSOL, which makes it eligible for the 482 Skills in Demand visa (Core Skills stream) and the 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (Direct Entry pathway), as well as state or territory nomination under the 190 or 491. Nurse Manager (254311) is the one exception – checked directly on Home Affairs, it currently sits on the STSOL only, without CSOL, so it isn’t eligible for the 482 or 186 at all, only for state nomination and regional pathways. The points-tested 189 and the Temporary Graduate 485 are stricter again: both specifically require an MLTSSL occupation, which rules out Enrolled Nurse, Nurse Educator, Nurse Researcher and Nurse Manager, even though the first three are still eligible for sponsorship via the CSOL.

ANMAC skills assessment vs. AHPRA registration

This is the point that trips up the most people, because both processes involve the same profession, similar-sounding paperwork, and can run in parallel – but they answer completely different questions:

• AHPRA/NMBA registration answers “can I legally practise nursing or midwifery in Australia?” It’s a professional licensing requirement administered by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia through Ahpra, and you need it to work as a nurse regardless of your visa status or migration plans. See our AHPRA registration guide for the full process, fees and timelines.
• ANMAC skills assessment answers “does my qualification and experience match the occupation I’m nominating for a skilled visa?” It’s a migration eligibility check Home Affairs requires for most points-tested and employer-sponsored nursing visas, separate from your right to actually practise.

In practice, most nursing graduates end up needing both – AHPRA/NMBA registration to work, and an ANMAC skills assessment to progress a points-tested or employer-sponsored visa toward permanent residency. Graduates of an Ahpra-approved Australian program can generally use their existing qualification for both processes, but the applications themselves, the fees, and the assessing bodies are entirely separate – budget time and money for each rather than assuming one covers the other.

Healthcare gets priority processing right now

Home Affairs prioritises Skills in Demand (subclass 482) applications in accordance with Ministerial Direction No. 119. Checked directly on the Skills in Demand visa page for this guide, Home Affairs is currently processing applications generally lodged in this order: law enforcement or defence interests, then healthcare and teaching occupations for onshore applicants, then construction occupations for onshore applicants, then all other applications. In practice, this means an onshore 482 application in a healthcare occupation is currently moving through the queue ahead of most other occupation categories – worth knowing if you’re weighing employer sponsorship against the points-tested route. Processing priorities are reviewed and can change, so check the current order on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before making decisions based on it.

Your visa options

The 485 Temporary Graduate visa’s Post-Higher-Education-Work stream doesn’t require your occupation to be on any particular list – it’s based on your qualification level, not your nominated occupation – so it remains a viable first step regardless of which specific nursing role you’re aiming for. From there, most nursing and midwifery graduates work toward either the 189 (if their occupation is MLTSSL-eligible and their points score clears the current threshold), state nomination via the 190 or 491, or employer sponsorship via the 482 or 186 – often with a public or private hospital as the sponsor, particularly in regional areas where healthcare staffing shortages are more acute.

Where to get real help

Occupation lists, income thresholds and processing priorities are all reviewed and changed regularly – the Core Skills Income Threshold alone has increased twice in the last two years, and Ministerial Direction No. 119’s priority order is periodically updated. Before you make decisions based on a specific occupation, employer, or visa stream, check the current position directly on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, and consider getting advice from a MARA-registered migration agent who can assess your specific circumstances. This article is general information only, not a substitute for that advice, and nothing here should be read as a promise or guarantee of any visa outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions