SPA's OSQCA explained: the four stages, fees and documents for overseas-qualified speech pathologists

The Overseas Qualification Competency Assessment (OSQCA) is how Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) assesses speech pathologists who can’t use the Mutual Recognition Agreement: four stages, A$2,000 in total if each stage passes first time, and no written exam. SPA’s stated maximum processing times add up to 20 weeks across the four stages, not counting the time you spend preparing each one. You have three years from your first submission to finish.

Who needs the OSQCA?

Anyone who wants to work as a speech pathologist in Australia and isn’t eligible for the MRA. In practice that includes:

• South African speech therapists (South Africa isn’t an MRA country)
• Canadian S-LPs, while SPA isn’t accepting MRA applications from SAC members (update dated 2 April 2025)
• Anyone who trained outside the UK, Ireland, the USA, NZ and Canada
• Anyone who trained in an MRA country but isn’t, and won’t become, a current full member of its association
• New Zealand graduates from before 1993, who can’t use the MRA even as full NZSTA members

If you’re working towards full membership (a UK NQP, an IASLT new graduate or a US clinical fellow), the OSQCA usually isn’t your route. Finishing your certification and then using the MRA costs A$825 instead of A$2,000, and you’ll need 1,000 hours of practice either way. The new graduate timeline shows when you’re likely to be eligible.

Not sure which route you’re on? The MRA rules by country set it out.

Before stage 1: the three gates

1. Your qualification. SPA’s application guide says it must be comparable to an Australian bachelor degree (AQF 7), specific to speech pathology, and include supervised clinical experience. The guide may predate the current four-stage process, so check SPA’s current page too.
2. Recency. 1,000 hours of speech pathology practice in the past five years, as for any SPA skills assessment.
3. English. You’re exempt only if your entry-level speech pathology qualification was taught in English at a university in the UK, Canada, NZ, the USA or Ireland. Everyone else must provide OET or IELTS results. SPA’s current OSQCA page refers to “required scores” without listing them, so confirm the scores with SPA before you book a test.

The four stages

The rules around the stages:

• Up to three submissions per stage, and you pay the stage fee each time. A resubmitted stage 3 costs another A$1,050, so it pays to get the portfolio right first time.
• SPA won’t speed it up for anyone.
• Three years from your first submission to finish all four stages.
• The outcome letter is valid for two years, so time your job search and visa around it.
• There’s no written exam. It’s documents, learning tasks, a case-study portfolio and a recorded interview.

Stage 1: SPA’s document rules

SPA asks for:

• the application form
• identity documents: your passport, and photo ID showing both main pages
• English evidence (or the basis for your exemption)
• your speech pathology qualification details
• evidence of your practice and association membership

The format rules are strict, and they’re easy to trip on:

• full-colour JPEG or PNG photos, with every edge of the document visible
• file names of 50 characters or fewer
• sent by email as a Dropbox link; SPA doesn’t accept Google Drive

Stage 3: the portfolio

Five to eight case studies, each mapped to SPA’s OSQCA criteria. This is the stage with the biggest fee. A few practical points:

• Read the criteria before you choose cases. Check the OSQCA criteria for what each case must show, then pick cases that meet them.
• Dysphagia. SPA says some applicants must give extra evidence of dysphagia competency, depending on their year of qualification or country of education, without naming the countries. If swallowing hasn’t been a regular part of your work, ask SPA early what evidence it would want.
• Do it from home. SPA strongly recommends applying from your home country, where your caseload and records are to hand.

What the outcome gets you

SPA’s outcome does two jobs. It shows you’re eligible for SPA’s Certified Practising membership, which SPA says you need to work in most Australian organisations, and it’s your skills assessment for a skilled visa, because SPA is the assessing authority for speech pathologists (ANZSCO 252712). It doesn’t decide your visa (Home Affairs does) or find you a job, and SPA strongly discourages travelling to Australia to work before your assessment is complete. What Certified Practising means once you’re here.

How I’d plan it

I’m a physio, not a speech pathologist, but I stood up a hospital avoidance service, and today I run a multi-site paediatric allied health practice in South East Queensland where several of our clinicians came from overseas. I’d treat the OSQCA as a project: sort English first (it can hold up stage 1), draft your case studies while you’re still seeing those clients, and only then talk to employers about start dates. Country detail: Canada, South Africa.

Your next step

Check three things before you pay for stage 1: whether you’re exempt from the English test, whether you have 1,000 hours of practice in the past five years, and whether you can assemble five to eight strong case studies. The pathway check asks those questions and tells you what to do next, including whether an info session is your best first step.