Moving to Australia from India, the Philippines or elsewhere: the longer route for OTs, speech pathologists and physios

Written by Callum Trevorrow. Last checked 29 October 2026 against official sources.

Trained overseas? We recruit OTs, speech pathologists and physios into roles in Australia. See how we can help.Start your move to Australia

If you trained outside the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and South Africa, your route to working in Australia is longer and dearer, and it’s different for each profession: OTs usually start with the OT Board’s A$688 portfolio assessment, speech pathologists go through Speech Pathology Australia’s four-stage OSQCA (A$2,000), and most physios take the Australian Physiotherapy Council’s APEP (A$8,321). That’s according to the OT Board, SPA and the Physiotherapy Council, checked in late October 2026. Physios from Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden have shorter Council routes.

This page is for you if you qualified in India, the Philippines or any other country outside those six. Parts of it also apply to some clinicians from inside them: speech pathologists from South Africa (no mutual recognition agreement) and Canada (SPA isn’t currently accepting applications through Canada’s), OTs from a Canadian, South African or US program that isn’t on the OT Board’s list, and US physios who didn’t qualify in Texas, Massachusetts or California. Every figure comes from the body that sets it, checked on 27, 28 or 29 October 2026. How we check.

Why your country changes the route

Each assessing body keeps its own short list of countries or programs it treats as close to Australian training. If yours isn’t on it, you go through an individual assessment instead:

So if you trained in India or the Philippines, for example, you’re in the right-hand column in every profession. These short routes depend on where you qualified: for the OT comparable regulator route, the speech pathology agreement and Express FLYR or FLYR, the qualification itself has to come from the listed country or program, so later registration or membership in the UK, for instance, doesn’t on its own move you across.

OTs: the portfolio assessment

Everyone outside the comparable regulator and recognised program lists goes through the Qualification Assessment Pathway: the Board’s A$688 portfolio assessment on form PNAQ-96. One of the things the Board looks at is external quality assurance, including World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) approval, so that’s the first thing to check for a degree from outside the lists. The Board aims to reply within 21 days of receiving your application, but it can take longer and can’t be sped up.

The outcome decides what comes next:

• Substantially equivalent: general registration (A$250 application plus A$138 registration, A$130 in NSW), with a required one-on-one orientation to the Australian health system.
• Relevant: limited registration, then 6 months of supervised practice and a competence assessment facilitated by the Occupational Therapy Council, then general registration. You find the job, and a supervisor willing to supervise and assess you, yourself.
• Neither: the qualification doesn’t meet the minimum criteria.

If your visa needs a skills assessment, the Occupational Therapy Council does it separately (A$800), and it requires your qualification to have been WFOT-approved at the time you completed it.

That’s A$1,076 in Board fees for a substantially equivalent outcome (our arithmetic: A$688 + A$250 + A$138), plus A$800 if you need the OTC assessment. The portfolio guide has the criteria and outcomes in full, the OT route, costs and timeline has every fee, and OTC skills assessment vs Ahpra explains the two assessments.

Speech pathologists: SPA’s OSQCA

Speech pathologists aren’t registered by Ahpra. Speech Pathology Australia assesses you, and what you’re aiming for is eligibility for Certified Practising membership, which SPA says most Australian workplaces need. Without a mutual recognition agreement, that means the OSQCA: four stages (documents and English, learning tasks, a case-study portfolio and a recorded online interview), A$2,000 if every stage passes first time, no written exam, and 3 years from your first submission to finish. The OSQCA guide takes you through each stage, its fee and SPA’s time.

Two things to check before you start, both of which matter more if you trained outside the agreement countries:

• Your qualification: it needs to be comparable to an Australian bachelor’s degree (AQF 7), specific to speech pathology, and include supervised clinical experience.
• Dysphagia: SPA says some applicants, depending on their year of qualification or country of education, must give extra evidence of dysphagia competency. It doesn’t publish which countries or years, so ask SPA early.

SPA strongly recommends applying from your home country, and strongly discourages travelling to Australia to work before your assessment is complete. SPA is also the assessing authority for speech pathologists in skilled migration, so one assessment does both jobs; Home Affairs still decides the visa. The speech pathology route, costs and timeline adds membership fees.

Physios: APEP, unless you trained in one of four places

APEP has five stages in order: eligibility assessment, cultural safety training, a written assessment, a capability assessment (a 1.5-hour oral exam online, with three short clinical cases and one long case) and a one-day clinical workshop in person in Melbourne. The workshop is the only stage you travel for. The Council says APEP “takes approximately 9 months to complete” if you progress as quickly as possible, so plan for longer, and resits of the written assessment, capability assessment and workshop are charged again.

After the Council, you apply to the Physiotherapy Board of Australia through Ahpra (A$452 application plus A$220 registration, A$200 in NSW). That makes A$8,993 on APEP, A$4,162 on FLYR and A$2,414 on Express FLYR (our arithmetic, Council and Board fees together), before travel to Melbourne and any skills assessment your visa needs. The Express FLYR, FLYR or APEP guide itemises every stage fee, and the physio route, costs and timeline adds the skills assessment and timings.

English: plan on a test

• OTs and physios (Ahpra): education taught and assessed in English in a recognised country is one way to meet Ahpra’s English standard, but the recognised countries are the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, NZ, Malta and some Caribbean and Atlantic territories. If you trained elsewhere, expect to need a test: for tests from 23 April 2026, for example, IELTS Academic 7 overall with 7 in listening, reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing. The Occupational Therapy Council asks for the same scores.
• Speech pathologists (SPA): SPA’s English exemption only covers a speech pathology degree taught in English at a university in the UK, Canada, NZ, the USA or Ireland, so you’ll need OET or IELTS. SPA’s bar is higher than Ahpra’s, but its current OSQCA page doesn’t list the scores and its older pages give two different versions. Confirm the scores with SPA before you book.
• Cost: a full OET test costs AU$587.

The English tests guide has the OET, PTE and TOEFL scores and both versions of SPA’s. Your visa has its own English rule on top. For the Skills in Demand (482) visa, only passport holders from Canada, NZ, Ireland, the UK and the USA are exempt by nationality; other exemptions exist, such as at least 5 years’ full-time study at a secondary or higher education institution taught in English. Check with Home Affairs.

Paperwork that catches people out

• Documents not in English (OT and physio, for Ahpra): you need a full English translation, not extracts. Outside Australia, the translator must be approved by the authorities in the country where it’s done; in Australia, NAATI-accredited. Translations by relatives, friends or volunteer agencies aren’t accepted. Send the certified copy of the original, the translation and the translator’s signed statement.
• International criminal history check (OT and physio, for Ahpra): needed if you’ve lived outside Australia for 6 consecutive months or more as an adult. You arrange and pay for it through an Ahpra-approved supplier, and the result is valid for 3 months.
• Certificate of registration status (OT and physio, for Ahpra): ask your home regulator to send it straight to Ahpra close to when you lodge, because it’s valid for 3 months.

The document checklist lists the rest.

Visas: general information only

Registration or assessment lets you work in your profession; it doesn’t give you a visa. A registered migration agent should advise on your situation, and the official rules are on Home Affairs. In general, an employer-sponsored Skills in Demand (482) visa needs a sponsor and at least 12 months’ full-time work experience (or equivalent) in your occupation or a related field within the last 5 years, and points-tested visas such as the Skilled Work Regional (491) need a suitable skills assessment, which for these professions comes from the OTC, SPA or the Physiotherapy Council. The skills assessments compared guide sets the three side by side.

The honest downsides

• It takes longer. A portfolio, four OSQCA stages or five APEP stages, each with its own wait, and none of them can be rushed.
• It costs more, and resits are charged again. APEP alone is A$8,321 before registration.
• OTs with a “relevant” outcome need a job before they can finish: 6 months of supervised practice under limited registration, in a role and with a supervisor you find.
• APEP means a trip to Melbourne for the clinical workshop.
• An English test is very likely, even if you studied in English.

Where I come in

I’m a physio with experience across public, private and community settings, across the lifespan. I’ve led a hospital, and I now lead a multi-site allied health company that employs overseas staff. We’d rather help you make the right move than a fast one.

Your next step

• OTs: check whether your qualification was WFOT-approved when you completed it, and gather your transcripts and course detail for the portfolio. Read the OT page for the wider picture.
• Speech pathologists: check your degree is specific to speech pathology with supervised clinical placements, ask SPA about its English scores and any extra dysphagia evidence, then book OET or IELTS for stage 1. Read the speech pathology page.
• Physios: check whether you trained in Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore or Sweden and have held unrestricted registration there in the past 5 years. If not, it’s APEP. Read the physiotherapy page.

The pathway check asks those questions in about two minutes, shows which route you’re on and what to sort first, and whether an info session is the right next step.