Working as a Sonographer in Australia

 

 

Are you planning to work as a Sonographer in Australia? Then, you need to know what are the pre-requisites to become a registered Sonographer.

 

If you intend to work as a Sonographer in Australia and/or apply for migration to Australia as a Sonographer, you must apply for registration with the Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry (ASAR). As a pre-requisite to ASAR application, all Sonographers with qualifications and experience obtained outside Australia must secure accreditation through an assessment conducted by the Australian Institute of Radiography  (AIR). The assessment is being required to ensure that overseas qualifications are equivalent to the minimum requirement to practice as a registered Sonographer in Australia.  
 
The AIR Overseas Qualification Assessment Panel (OQAP) is the government appointed assessing body responsible for evaluating skills and qualifications gained outside Australia. To make an application to OQAP, you must have the relevant qualifications at undergraduate academic level plus the associated clinical levels.
Ultrasound qualifications will only be considered at a postgraduate level with an appropriate undergraduate qualification in an associated Health Science, e.g. Radiography, Biomedical Science, Nursing, etc. 
 
In addition to passing the OQAP assessment, you will need to demonstrate your English fluency by providing IELTS 7 in Academic on each of the 4 components or OET at level B on each of the elements. A passport holder from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, United States of America (USA) or the Republic of Ireland will be exempted from providing evidence of fluency in English.
 
The assessment period may take up to 16 weeks, and the fees payable to AIR is currently at AUD $756 if applying from overseas. The assessment and fee for direct onshore applications will be different. The requirements for AIR skills assessment can be found from the link: http://www.air.asn.au/overhowto.php 
 
Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), the usual main duties of a Sonographer involve “the operation of ultrasound equipment to acquire, interpret and selectively record anatomical images, physical data and real-time physiological information for medical diagnostic purposes, in conjunction with Medical Practitioners”. The ANZSCO code for Sonographer is 251214 and the alternative title is Ultrasonographer. 
 
Applicants in this occupation may be eligible for skilled migration under the following programs: Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), Points Based Skilled Migration visa, TSS (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa and Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Subclass 457). In most cases, TSS visa/457 approved employer-sponsors shoulder the cost of the visa process for principal applicants.  
 
If the TSS visa/457 visa applicant is successful in the AIR assessment, application for ASAR accreditation is usually a simple matter of sending the AIR statement to the ASAR Secretariat, together with the completed ASAR application form and the prescribed fee.
 
Given the increasing demand for Sonographers, however, most hiring companies nowadays are requiring job applicants to present current ASAR registration and at least 2 years relevant post-graduate experience and skills across general, cardiac obstetric, renal and small parts ultrasound as a minimum, before they can be considered for any job interviews. Those with experience in MSK and Vascular are highly regarded, as well as working knowledge of Toshiba, GE Logiq9, and the latest Philips iU22 ultrasound system.
 
The private healthcare sector accounts for more than half of the total job requirements for Sonographers in the country, and most sponsored jobs are available in Cairns, regional Victoria, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide. Among the most in-demand Sonographers’ specialties are musculoskeletal, vascular, cardiac, OB/GYN, and abdomen/small parts. Depending on the level of expertise, experience, and the demands of the job, hourly pay rate ranges from AUD$50 to $80.
 
Interested in working as a Sonographer? Send us your resume.
 
 
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Date published
Date modified
07/03/2024