Parliamentary Inquiry into the Occupational English Test for overseasqualified health professionals 2011 - Evidence submission

Sep 2, 2026

Personal evidence submission by an English language lecturer at TAFESA describing how the OET process has adversely affected overseas-qualified health professionals. The narrative presents multiple case studies, including an Iraqi dentist, a Polish/Australian nurse, an Indian doctor, and a Bangladeshi pharmacist, detailing repeated test failures, administrative issues, loss of self-esteem, depression, and withdrawal from the process. It argues the exam’s demands and related pathways create avoidable barriers, while many individuals could succeed if supported better and if higher requirements are justified.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Parliamentary Inquiry into the Occupational English Test for overseasqualified health professionals 2011

Case studies

Iraqi dentist

Polish/Australian nurse

An Indian doctor

A Bangladeshi pharmacist

A special case

Various nurses

Overall observations

| Supp.Submission No.95.1
(Overseas Trained Doctors)
Date:21/02/2011 | | --- | # Parliamentary Inquiry into the Occupational English Test for overseasqualified health professionals 2011 l am an English language lecturer at TAFESA and I have specialised in teaching OccupationalEnglish preparation classes for the last 10 years.I am writing this submission on my ownpersonal behalf,not as an official voice of TAFESA. I would like to add some further evidence to my first brief submission(email,5/2/11)in theform of several case studies of students I have taught in the last 10 years who appear tohave suffered unnecessarily as a result of the OET process.These people have expressedfrustration,anxiety and depression as they could not progress into the Australian healthsystem.These people are not simply those whose English levels were too low to pass theOET but those who should have passed and moved forward. ## Iraqi dentist I taught a dentist with 10 years'experience,who attended my OET classes with goodspeaking,reading and listening skills but displayed some weakness in writing.He eventuallypassed all of them after 8 sittings but was required to resit the first parts again as the 2 yearlimit had been reached.He related to me how he was refused entry into one OET exambecause the administrator,apparently,doubted that the picture in his passport was himbecause he had had a short haircut.He was refused entry to the OET on this basis andnot given a refund. ## Polish/Australian nurse I taught a Polish lady in her early 40's.She has lived in Australia for 28 years.Shedecided to study Nursing at Flinders University and graduated in 2007.When I mether,she had been working for a while in an Aged Care facility and had been offered aposition there as a Registered Nurse.She needed the OET to accept this job.She did the test several times unsuccessfully and experienced a severe loss of self-esteem requiringmedication for depression.She wrote impressive referral letters in English and spoke,moreor less,like a native speaker.After failing the test 4 times,she came to me.She improvedher score but not enough.The exam'freaked her out".She has given up.She would be avaluable asset in any hospital with a great work ethic,excellent medical,cultural andEnglish language knowledge and fluency in Polish,the language of a significant number ofmigrants. ## An Indian doctor This doctor came out here with his wife,a social worker and their 7 year old daughter.He very quickly passed the MCQ test with a very high score but was unable to pass thewriting part of the OET after 4 or 5 attempts.His wife got a job at one of the public hospitalsand his daughter attended a local school.He had 10 years'experience in his home country.They were members of a local Christian church who supported them morally.He studiedwith me for 1 term.He gave up the quest of the OET after 5 attempts(including the totalresit twice)and the whole family has returned to India.In my class,he was one of the bestwriters,easily at the level of the exam,but the stress of the exam totally overwhelmed him. A Bangladeshi pharmacist. This pharmacist from Bangladesh came out on a 457 visa.He has been required towork fulltime for a year to fulfil his visa requirement.He found a job at a chicken factory20 kilometres north of Adelaide where his shifts often begin at 6 am.This is demeaningwork for a health professional and he is too tired to study at night.He has no accessto a course to assist him with the OET.He is one of many 457 visa professionals whobeat a track to this chicken factory which has unlimited labour available-other 457 s-who willnever protest against conditions of work or pay.He needs a bit of help to understandthe OET requirements and I have helped him with those but he really needs to study muchmore to pass the OET.Although his English is good,his totally different pronunciation willmake it extremely difficult for him to pass the speaking test for a long time

FAQs

What is the purpose of this submission?

It provides additional evidence to a prior brief submission by presenting case studies showing unnecessary suffering attributed to the OET process.

What kinds of problems do the described students face in the OET process?

They report frustration, anxiety, depression, repeated failures (especially in writing and speaking), and administrative refusal issues that block progress.

How does the author view raising OET requirements compared with earlier standards?

The submission questions whether raising the bar prevents people from being excluded without purpose, noting that many professionals previously met lower requirements and integrated successfully.

Sep 2, 2026

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