Occupational therapy jobs abroad: Australia compared with New Zealand, Canada and the UK

Written by Callum Trevorrow. Last checked 28 October 2026 against official sources.

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For an occupational therapist with a recognised degree, Australia’s registration costs A$388 (A$250 plus A$138 to the OT Board, from 1 October 2026), against about A$1,500 in New Zealand and about A$2,000 in the UK (our conversions), and Queensland Health’s HP3 grade pays A$83,824 to A$120,740. Canada has the longest published pathway: an equivalency assessment the Ontario regulator says generally takes about a year, before the national exam.

A disclosure before the table: my business places OTs in Australia, not in the other three countries. To keep that from tilting the comparison, every cell is from the regulator or employer that publishes it, and old or missing figures are flagged.

The comparison

The A$ conversions are ours, using RBA rates on 27 October 2026 (NZ$1.2335, C$0.9841 and £0.5264 per A$1). The figures are gross pay only: tax, pension or super, and cost of living differ by country. Full pay tables are in the OT salary guide.

What the table doesn’t say

New Zealand’s fee may be out of date. The OTBNZ page states NZ$1,265 and NZ$588, but the fee schedule it links is titled 2018. Check the Board’s site before you pay. The Health NZ range is from a live advert; Health NZ’s allied health agreement added 2.5% from December 2025 and a further 2% is due in December 2026, and I can’t confirm whether that advert reflects the first rise.

Canada’s cost is unclear, and its pathway is long. I couldn’t open ACOTRO’s own fee page, so I’ve left the SEAS fee out rather than use an older figure from a secondary report. The Ontario college says NOTCE candidates get a maximum of three attempts, after which they’re no longer eligible to sit it. Provincial college fees come on top.

The UK’s processing time is open-ended. HCPC gives no timescale, and its scrutiny fee page hasn’t been updated since November 2023, so check it before you pay.

Australia’s shortcut depends on an exact match. The 30 listed programs must match your institution, degree title and year of award exactly; the degree list has every one. If you’re not on it, the A$688 portfolio assessment comes first, and a “relevant” result means limited registration and 6 months’ supervised practice, which in practice usually means an employer who can arrange that supervision (our reading).

Visas: Australia only

This is general information, not visa advice; confirm your options with a registered migration agent. Occupational therapist (252411) is on Australia’s Core Skills Occupation List, and a Skills in Demand (482) sponsor must pay at least A$79,423 a year (from 1 July 2026). For the rules, see Home Affairs. For New Zealand, Canada or the UK, each government’s immigration site has its own rules, which this page doesn’t cover.

Why Australia, honestly

On public pay in A$, Queensland Health’s HP3 starts above the top of Health NZ’s advertised OT range and above the top of NHS Band 5. Canada’s Job Bank median is quoted hourly, so it isn’t directly comparable with an annual grade. The downside is the exact-match rule: if your degree isn’t listed and you’re not UK- or Ireland-trained, Australia’s pathway has its own wait and possible supervision.

I’ve worked in community, paediatrics, inpatients and ICU, in government roles and in rural hospitals, and today I run a multi-site paediatric allied health practice in South East Queensland where several of our clinicians came from overseas. The OT jobs guide covers what the work looks like here.

Your next step

For OTs: check whether your degree is on the OT Board’s list or covered by the HCPC or CORU rule, because that sets your Australian pathway before anything else. The pathway check asks that first and tells you what to do next, including whether an info session is the right first step. For costs, see the move cost checklist. Physio? See physio jobs abroad. Speech? See speech therapist jobs abroad.