Occupational English Test (OET)

The Occupational English Test (OET) is an internationally recognized English language proficiency test specifically designed for healthcare professionals. It evaluates the English language communication skills of individuals who wish to register and practice in English-speaking countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Dubai.

Unlike general English tests, OET focuses on real healthcare scenarios, ensuring that candidates are assessed in contexts relevant to their profession. The test is available for 12 healthcare professions: dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, speech pathology, and veterinary science.

OET was first developed in the late 1980s by Professor Tim McNamara, under the supervision of the Australian National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). Since then, it has been continually updated and refined by experts in the field, primarily through the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, and more recently, in partnership with Cambridge English Language Assessment.