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English Requirements for Nurses, Midwives, Doctors, Medical staff and Allied Health Professionals in New Zealand

One of the requirements before you can work in the medical field in New Zealand is to be proficient in English. If your secondary schooling was not in English, you must have your English skills assessed by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). You will have to show proof of your proficiency in English. If you can not show proof of your English proficiency, you will need to sit the IELTS test. If you are not sure whether or not you will pass the IETLS, we recommend you to book yourself into a course.

English Requirements for Nurses in New Zealand

The Nursing Council of New Zealand will usually require overseas applicants to demonstrate their ability to communicate in and comprehend English. Applicants will be notified whether they must provide evidence of their ability to communicate in and comprehend English after their applications have been assessed.


The Council will accept any of the following as evidence:

  • an academic IELTS assessment with a minimum score of 7.0 for each band: reading, listening, writing and speaking, OR
  • the Occupational English Test (OET) with a B band in each section.

The Council had formerly accepted a pass in the Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), but this will not be accepted for assessments requested after 27 April 2006.

Source: http://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/reg.html#English

English Requirements for Midwives in New Zealand

If English is not your first language then you must sit the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test in the Academic Module, and achieve an overall pass rate of no less than 7.5, with no less than 7 in each band.


You can apply for an exemption from this requirement if you can show with certainty that you are an effective communicator in English. Application for exemption will be considered on a caseby- case basis.


Source: http://www.midwiferycouncil.org.nz/content/library/ Overseas_registration_pack_updated_Jan_2007.pdf

English Requirements for Doctors, Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals in New Zealand

Medical Professionals will be required to have achieved an overall band of 7.5 or above in the academic module of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Test, within the last:

  • two years for new applicants

A minimum band of 7 is required in each of the four individual components of the test (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Occupational English Test (OET) are not accepted by the Council as alternatives to IELTS.


IELTS is the only English test approved by the Medical Council of New Zealand.
Doctors can wave the IELTS test if they can show proof of three or more years of work experience in a country where English is the main language. For more information, please contact us our specialist consultant.