OET for nurses: the nursing tasks and the scores your regulator needs

Verified on 9 October 2026.

Nurses sit the Nursing version of OET: Writing and Speaking use nursing tasks, while Listening and Reading are the same for every profession. Your regulator then decides which scores, test modes and result dates it accepts. OET Test Handbook 2026.

By OETify editorial team.

Scores nurses need, by regulator

The scores look alike, but the rules around them differ: some regulators let you combine 2 sittings, and most refuse OET@Home. L/R/W/S below means Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. These rules were checked on 6 October 2026.

The NMC asks for the Nursing version and accepts OET on Paper, OET on Computer and OET@Home. For Ahpra, tests up to 22 April 2026 follow the older grades (B, with C+ in Writing). Most also limit how old your result can be. The score requirements guide covers combining floors, date windows and the less obvious cases, and your regulator has the final word.

A nursing Writing and Speaking example

Written by OETify for practice; the patient and their sister are made up, and none of this is treatment advice. It shows the kind of judgement both nursing tasks reward: keeping what the patient has agreed to separate from what others offer.

You are transferring a patient from a short-stay ward to a rehabilitation unit. Write to the receiving nurse about help with personal care and permission to contact family.

Letter excerpt

Please confirm this patient’s preferred support with personal care on transfer to your unit. They wash independently when supplies are within reach but need help fastening clothing and prefer privacy during dressing.

Their sister has offered help. The patient has not yet agreed to sharing care details with her. Please discuss permission with the patient before contacting the sister about care.

Why it works: N1 and N2 together show what the patient can do and where they need help. Writing “needs help washing and dressing” would wipe out that difference. N3 is an offer, not permission, and N4 tells the reader what to do about it. N5 does not help the receiving nurse, so it is left out. Those choices show the Writing criteria Purpose, Content, and Conciseness and Clarity at work. OET Writing criteria.

Role-play card for the same patient

You are the receiving nurse. A partner plays the patient after the transfer. Explain that you will ask about their preferred support before involving their sister, ask how they would like help with clothing while keeping their privacy, and find out whether, and what, they want you to discuss with their sister.

Cues for your partner:

• You welcome help with fastenings but want to wash by yourself.
• You worry that staff will assume your sister can manage every care task.
• If asked about sharing, agree to sharing clothing support only, and ask the nurse to check with you before sharing anything else.

Your partner should hold back the sharing preference until you ask about it. Afterwards, name the question that let the patient tell you. Drawing out a concern like this is what the Speaking criteria call understanding the patient’s perspective and information gathering. OET Speaking criteria.

Plan your preparation as a nurse

Start from your regulator: write down your target for each sub-test and the test mode you will sit. Then spend most of your time on the gap between where you are and that target. The OET Writing for nurses guide works through a full nursing letter, and OET’s own Nursing sample page has free test questions, answer keys and Speaking role cards.

OETify is built for nurses. Writing feedback marks your letter against OET’s six Writing criteria and gives priority corrections you can revise and compare. Speaking is a live role-play with an AI patient; you get feedback on your language and the clinical communication criteria, from a transcript; OETify does not assess pronunciation or accent. Start with the free baseline in Reading, Writing and Speaking; after it, you can subscribe to a Nursing plan in the app. Your baseline result is an estimate, not a predicted OET score.

OETify is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OET.