Work Rights Before Day One: What IMGs Need Before Starting Work in Australia
Your right to work in Australia comes from your visa, not from AHPRA registration — so before your first shift you need a visa that has been granted (not just applied for) with work rights that cover the position, in addition to your registration. If you need an employer-sponsored visa such as the subclass 482, the sequence is: a position is confirmed, the employer's nomination is approved, your visa is granted, and only then does your start date arrive.
Visas are decided by the Department of Home Affairs ↗. This page explains how the pieces fit together; it is not immigration advice. For advice on your own situation, use a registered migration agent ↗ or an immigration lawyer, and always confirm the live requirement on the Home Affairs site.
Work rights checklist
Tick any box to keep this list in your free personal checklist — it opens at the Employment Arrangements step, the one you are reading, with the 3 items below and the documents each one needs.
Three stages that are easy to confuse
| Stage | What it means | Can you start work? |
|---|---|---|
| Nomination approved | Home Affairs has approved the employer's nomination of the position | No — the nomination is the employer's step, not your permission to work |
| Visa application lodged | Your visa application is with Home Affairs | Only if a visa you already hold gives you work rights for this position |
| Visa granted | Your visa is in effect, with the work rights and conditions it states | Yes, for work its conditions cover — once your registration is also in place |
The most common planning error is treating an approved nomination, or a lodged application, as permission to start. It is neither. Check the grant itself, and the conditions on it, against the position you are about to start.
Which visa situation are you in?
You need an employer-sponsored visa
Most doctors moving to Australia for a supervised position use the subclass 482 visa. The employing practice nominates the position; your visa application follows the nomination. How sponsorship, family members and the path to permanent residency work are covered in which visa do UK doctors need to work in Australia, and the official details are at Home Affairs — subclass 482 ↗.
Because the nomination is tied to the position, a change of practice or position generally needs a new nomination before you move. Ask a registered migration agent before you change employer, not after.
You already hold work rights
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or you hold a visa that already allows you to do this work — for example some partner visas — the work-rights layer may already be complete. Check the conditions of your current visa against the position before you accept it; a visa that allows work in general can still carry conditions that matter.
You are already in Australia on another visa
Being in Australia does not change which registration pathway you are on, and a visa that lets you live here does not necessarily let you work as a doctor. Read already in Australia? your registration options for the registration side, and get migration advice for the visa side.
Work rights run alongside registration and billing
Work rights are one of three separate layers that must all be in place on day one — registration, work rights and Medicare billing — each decided by a different authority. A granted visa does not give you registration, and registration does not give you a visa. You cannot start clinical work until your registration is granted, even with a visa in hand; see working while your AHPRA application is pending.
The practical advice is to run the layers in parallel from the moment a position is confirmed: the practice prepares its nomination and your supervision plan while you assemble your AHPRA documents and prepare your visa application. The full list, and who arranges each item, is in the supervised practice readiness checklist. For the registration layer, read supervision plans and levels explained; for billing, read how IMGs get a Medicare provider number.
Before your start date
- Confirm the grant, not the application. Have your visa grant notice and check its conditions against the position.
- Confirm your registration is granted — the public register, not a receipt of application.
- Keep the position the same as the one nominated and approved — the same practice and role that your nomination and supervision plan describe.
- Ask before you change anything. A new practice, role or hours can affect your visa and your supervision plan; get advice first.
See where work rights sit in the order of your own pathway in the pathway timeline.
Sources: Department of Home Affairs ↗ · Home Affairs — subclass 482 ↗ · Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority ↗ · Medical Board of Australia ↗