Skilled Migration to Australia

If you are intending to migrate to Australia under the General Skilled Migration programme you must apply to the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) for a Skills Assessment. Unless you are currently registered with one of the Australian state or territory optometrists registration boards, the Skills Assessment is by way of the Competency in Optometry Examination.

The Australian Government’s Skilled Migration programme is implemented through a partnership between government and industry. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations work with industry (represented by professional migration assessing authorities) to ensure that policies and procedures for assessing the skills of prospective migrants are appropriate, transparent and do not pose unreasonable barriers to migration.

The Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand (OCANZ) has been specified by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in accordance with the Migration Regulations 1994 as the assessing authority for the occupation Optometrist (ANZSCO Code: 251411) The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations supported this process through its role in approving migration assessing authorities. Approval is granted to professional bodies which meet established criteria, including a commitment to support of the objectives of the General Skilled Migration programme and the provision of an appropriate assessment service to prospective migrants.  If you wish to apply to migrate to Australia as an Optometrist under the General Skilled Migration visa categories, you will need to have your skills assessed by OCANZ. OCANZ will assess your skills as "suitable" or "not suitable" against the requirements it has established. Your skills assessment must be included with your visa application to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), and you must be prepared to show DIAC all the documentation you have relied upon when seeking a skills assessment. You should keep a certified copy of your skills assessment and all other relevant documentation for your own records. Successfully migrating to Australia as an Optometrist does not automatically confer a right to be registered with any of the optometrists registration boards in Australia or a right to employment in Australia as an optometrist. Requirements additional to those for migration may need to be met eg. evidence of registration/good character in your country of training.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship's Australian Skills Recognition website provides information about migrating to Australia www.immi.gov.au/asri.

OCANZ can only provide advice on applying for a Skills Assessment. All other questIons relating to migration should be directed to DIAC - visit www.immi.gov.au - or your nearest Australian Embassy, Consular Office or High Commission.