About Osteopathy

Overseas-trained Osteopaths

To practise in Australia, you need to apply for and be successfully registered with the Osteopathy Board of Australia.

You may also need to apply for a visa issued by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Osteopathy is on the Skilled Occupation List, which is used for 457 (Temporary Work Skilled Visa), 189 (Skilled Independent Visa), 489 (Skilled Regional Provisional Visa) and 485 (Graduate Temporary Visa) visa applications. These two application processes are entirely separate and success in one does not automatically guarantee success in the other.

New Zealand Osteopaths

If you are a New Zealand osteopath who holds current registration and an Annual practising certificate, you can apply for registration as an osteopath in Australia under the Commonwealth Trans-Tasman mutual recognition act 1997 (TTMR).

Check the Osteopathy Board of Australia site for more details or use the Application for trans-Tasman mutual recognition as an osteopath - ATMR-56 form

You may find it helpful to read Information on the practice of Osteopathy in Australia - A guide for graduates trained overseas. This is found on the Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council website.

Other Overseas Osteopaths

All other overseas trained osteopaths will need to undergo an assessment of their skills and qualifications. The assessment is conducted by the Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council (AOAC).

AOAC conducts initial desktop assessments and advises candidates whether they are eligible to be assessed by the Osteopathy Board of Australia via one of two pathways: the 'standard pathway' and the 'competent authority pathway'.

Please read the AOAC guide for Qualifications & Skills Assessments.

Depending on your eligible pathway, your steps may include:

• Written paperwork assessment

• Written exam

• Portfolio assessment

• Practical clinical exam

• Open book exam

• Assessment (open-book) on Information on the practice of Osteopathy in Australia - A guide for graduates trained overseas

• Supervised practice under provisional registration for a minimum of six months

• Apply for general registration to practice as an osteopath in Australia

Read more about the pathways and application process on the Osteopathy Board of Australia's page on overseas-trained osteopaths.

Further Information

• Osteopathy Board of Australia - the regulating body for osteopaths in Australia.

• Australasian Osteopathic Accrediatation Council - an independent organisation to assess and accredit osteopathic education programs leading to eligibility for registration as an osteopath in Australia, as well as assessing the suitability of overseas qualified osteopaths to practice in Australia.

• Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection - the Department that governs visa applications, including skills assessments and assessing authorities.