Editing Registered nurse (section)

===Australia===
Nursing registration in Australia has been at a national level since 2010, since the inception of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), which forms part of the [[Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency]] (AHPRA). Prior to 2010, Nursing registration in Australia was administered individually by each state and territory.

The title 'Registered Nurse' (also known in the state of Victoria as a 'Division 1 Nurse') is granted to a nurse who has successfully completed a board-approved course in the field of nursing, as outlined by education and registration standards defined by the NMBA. Registered Nurses are also required to meet certain other standards to fulfil registration standards as outlined by the NMBA, and these can include continuing professional development, recency of practice, criminal history checks and competency in the English language.<ref>{{cite web|title=Registration and Endorsement|url=http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-and-Endorsement.aspx|website=Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia|publisher=Australian Health Practitioners Registration Authority|access-date=4 April 2014}}</ref> A nurse who is registered with the NMBA, and as such AHPRA, is free to practice in any state or territory in Australia, providing they meet the governing boards requirements and the individual state/territory legislative requirements, such as working with children checks and individual police checks for that state or territory.

Educational requirements for an entry-level Registered Nurse are at the level of bachelor's degree in Australia, and can range in two to four years in length with three years being the national average. Some universities offer a two-year 'fast track' bachelor's degree, whereby a students study three years worth of coursework compressed in a two-year period. This is made possible by reducing summer and winter semester breaks and utilising three semesters per year compared to two.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fast Track Nursing|url=http://www.fasttracknursing.com/|website=Fast Track Nursing|publisher=University of Tasmania|access-date=4 April 2014}}</ref> Some universities also offer combined degrees which allow the graduate to exit the program with a Masters in Nursing, e.g.: Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing, and these are generally offered over a four-year period.<ref>{{cite web|title=Master of Nursing|url=http://sydney.edu.au/nursing/study/masters/index.shtml|website=Master of Nursing|publisher=University of Sydney|access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref>

Postgraduate nursing education is widespread in Australia and is encouraged by employing bodies such as state health services (e.g. New South Wales Health). There are many varying courses and scholarships available which provide a bachelor-level Registered Nurse the opportunity to 'up-skill' and assume an extended scope of practice. Such courses are offered at all levels of the post graduate spectrum and range from graduate certificate to master's degree and provide a theoretical framework for a bachelor level Registered nurse to take up an advanced practice position such as Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) and Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Rural and Remote nursing is an important sub-speciality within Australia and Registered Nurses with advanced practice skills and of which have undertaken further training, such as Pharmacotherapeutics for Remote Area Nurses (RAN's), Immunisation Certificate, Remote Emergency Care / Remote Pre Hospital Trauma Certification and Midwifery Emergency Care Courses, permit a generalist Registered Nurse to undertake an advanced scope of practice to operate autonomously within certain clinical situations under the guidance of a 'standard treatment manual' such as the Central Australian Remote Practitioners Association (CARPA) manuals as opposed to the direct order of a medical practitioner whilst practising in a remote/isolated setting. A Registered Nurse at this level would be professionally referred to as a 'Remote Area Nurse' or 'Clinical Nurse Specialist - Speciality'.