Tribunal upholds Board's decision to refuse registration

13 Nov 2018

A tribunal has upheld the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's (NMBA) decision to refuse an application for registration as an enrolled nurse (EN), after the applicant appealed the decision.

Ms Dilpreet Kaur appealed the NMBA’s decision to refuse her application for EN registration to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal).

Ms Kaur holds an Indian nursing qualification and had completed some subjects of an Australian Bachelor of Nursing.

In confirming the NMBA’s decision to refuse to register Ms Kaur as an EN, the tribunal (among other things):

• determined that Ms Kaur’s Indian qualification is not substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to an NMBA-approved EN qualification
• accepted the NMBA’s expert evidence that enrolled nursing and registered nursing are distinct streams of nursing and that an enrolled nursing is not a subset of registered nursing
• agreed that the Ms Kaur's completed Australian Bachelor of Nursing subjects are not able to be considered because they do not comprise a completed qualification, and
• agreed with the NMBA’s submissions that there is no bridging course or registration conditions that would remedy the deficiencies in Ms Kaur’s Indian qualification.

The tribunal confirmed the NMBA’s decision of 15 March 2015 to refuse Ms Kaur’s application for registration as an EN under the National Law¹.

The decision is published on the tribunal website. For further information relevant to internationally qualified nurses and midwives, please visit the NMBA website.