OET 2023 (Occupational English Test): Exam Dates, Fees, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, Results

The OET exam is an exclusive English language test that has been designed for health care professionals. Since 2013, the OET test has been conducted by CBLA or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment which is a venture between Cambridge English and Boxhill Institute. OET exam has been specifically designed for 12 healthcare professions including Occupational Therapy, Dentistry, Nursing, Radiography, Veterinary Science, Medicine, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Podiatry, Pharmacy, and Optometry. Healthcare professionals who are looking to work or study in the healthcare sector in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are required to apply for the OET test to be able to prove their level of English proficiency to be competent to deliver superior healthcare. Candidates looking to appear for the OET exam would be required to pay an OET exam fee of $587 AUD per registration. 

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Who conducts the OET exam?

Designed by Professor Tim McNamara in the late 1980s, the OET exam was first conducted under the guidance of the Australian National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). Over the years, under the University of Melbourne’s Language Testing Research Centre and Cambridge Assessment English, the OET exam or Occupational English Testing has gone through several research and developments to keep pace with the current trends and since 2013, OET has been conducted and owned by Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Trust (CBLA), a venture between Cambridge Assessment English and Box Hill Institute.

Who accepts the OET exam?

Healthcare professionals who are looking to study or work in the healthcare sector in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are required to take the OET exam. As these are the countries that largely recognize the OET test.

Why choose the OET exam?

Healthcare professionals who are required to prove their English proficiency to be able to work or study in the healthcare sector in  Australia, Canada, Ireland, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are required to appear for the OET test.

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The conducting body of the OET exam had launched Home OET (OET at Home) during the pandemic. This is the identical OET exam that is conducted at a designated OET test centre. However, the OET at Home would be an OET computer-based test that would be conducted from the safety of the home of the candidate. The Home OET is currently available in select destinations and is limited to Medicine and Nursing subjects. More subjects are being added to the facility. The initiative has been done to make the OET exam more inclusive for healthcare professionals who are planning to go abroad to work or study and need OET scores as part of their application process. Candidates looking to appear for their OET exam can book their OET exam date on the OET official website. The OET Exam Pattern is the same for the OET at the Test Centre and Home OET. 

The initiative has been done to make the OET test more inclusive of healthcare professionals who are planning to go abroad to work or study and need OET scores as part of their application process. Candidates who are planning to book their OET at Home test are required to check the mandatory system requirements needed for the OET exam. Candidates would also require to have a test conducive environment during the entire duration of the OET exam.

OET is conducted in three modes:

• Paper-based at a test centre
• Computer-based at a test centre
• Home-based OET

This section would cover any latest developments revolving around any latest updates revolving around the OET Exam for the benefit of students who are planning to appear for the OET test.

• Test takers can appear for the OET exam (computer-based, paper-based, home-based) on Wednesdays and Thursdays as well apart from the already existing days, i.e., Friday and Saturday. This new change has been implemented in order to allow the candidates have greater flexibility when it comes to select a date that matches their schedule. 
• OET on computer results will now be available earlier than before. Candidates will be able to obtain their results in only 10 days. This will assist them in moving forward with their professional plans faster.

OET Eligibility: Candidates looking to appear for the OET exam are required to closely follow the OET eligibility guidelines mentioned below. Candidates can check out our OET eligibility page to understand the eligibility guidelines that have been determined by the conducting body of the OET exam in detail. 

OET Eligibility: Age Limit for OET Exam

CBLA the conducting body of the OET exam has not mentioned any age limit for the OET exam. There are no age criteria for candidates wanting to appear for the OET exam. 

OET Eligible Countries

Healthcare professionals who are looking to work or study in the healthcare sector in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are required to apply for the OET test

OET Eligibility: Education Qualification

CBLA has not laid down any specific educational qualifications required by the candidate to appear for the OET Exam. Hence, as long as the student is looking to work in the healthcare sector he is eligible to apply for the OET exam. 

OET Exam Registration: Candidates looking to appear for their OET exam are required to register for the OET Exam on the OET official website mentioned above. Candidates would be required to register via online mode only through the OET official site. Candidates would have to log in to my OET register on the official OET official website by creating an OET Login to proceed with their OET online registration.

Important points to remember

• Registrants are required to make use of their present email ID in order to register for the OET exam. Make sure it is not an office or educational email address.
• Go through all the OET Privay Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Collection Notice and accept the same. Your registration for the test will be considered complete once you click on 'I Agree' on the registration page.
• Remember that that ID which you use for booking the OET exam will also have to be shown on the test day in order to appear for the exam at the test venue.

OET Slot Booking

OET exam slot booking: Candidates looking to book their OET exam slot are required to register for the OET exam by selecting the required mode of exam, selecting the OET exam centre and the preferred OET exam date. Candidates are also required to pay the OET exam fee as part of the OET slot booking exercise. 

OET Exam Fees

OET Fees: Candidates who want to register for their OET exam would be required to pay OET exam fees. The OET exam costs $587 AUD and includes an array of services. The OET exam fee in Indian rupees is INR 33,632 (1AUD = 56.83INR)

OET Exam Dates 2023: Available in over 120 locations across 40 countries, OET is held multiple times every year. Similarly, in India, OET is held 24 times in a given year or twice a month and is available in popular cities across India. Though OET test dates are available every month, however, candidates can only register for the OET exam for the next three test dates at a time.

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OET Paper-Based Exam Dates 2023 

OET Computer-Based Test Exam Dates 2023

OET Exam centre: The OET exam is held multiple times every year across 120 locations in 40 countries. In India, the OET test is held across major cities such as Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram. Check out a list of OET exam centres near you, on our website. 

OET Exam Pattern/OET Syllabus: Occupational English Test or more commonly referred to as OET covers all four language skills with special attention to communication in the healthcare environment. Candidates who are looking to appear for the OET exam will be required to appear in the following OET exam format.

OET Exam for Nurses: As informed earlier OET scores are recognised by countries for nurses looking to enter the healthcare sector. There is a certain ambiguity revolving around the OET exam for nurses. Well, nursing is very much part of the OET exams that have been developed specifically for healthcare professionals. Nurses who are looking to enter the healthcare sector are required to score a B in the OET Listening, Reading and Speaking sub-tests and a C+ in Writing. The nurses are required to obtain a minimum score of 350 out of 500 to become accredited nurses in a foreign country. However, nurses looking for exact OET score requirements are required to check the qualification criteria on the official website and then obtain the score in the OET exam. Aspirants wanting to know about the best OET books for nurses and OET writing samples for nurses can visit the official OET official website. 

OET Eligibility for Nurses

There is a certain ambiguity revolving around OET eligibility for nurses. Well, nursing is very much part of the OET exams that have been developed specifically for healthcare professionals. Nurses who are looking to enter the healthcare sector are required to score a B in the OET Listening, Reading and Speaking sub-tests and a C+ in Writing. The nurses are required to obtain a minimum score of 350 out of 500 to become accredited nurses in a foreign country. However, nurses looking for exact OET score requirements are required to check the qualification criteria on the official website and then obtain the score in the OET exam. 

OET Results: Candidates who have successfully appeared for their OET can expect their OET Scores to be generated approximately 16 working days from the day of each test. Students who appear for their OET would be graded on a scale of 0-500 in ten points increments. The numerical score would be further mapped to a separate letter grade for each subtest with (alphabet A) denoting highest to (alphabet E) denoting lowest. OET applicants should note that the OET result time is 16 days from the day of appearing for your IET test. There is no overall OET grade. Still, got more doubts? Check out our exhaustive OET FAQs to help you with your OET result queries. 

Also, Read

• OET to IELTS Score Conversion
• OET vs IELTS: Which is better?
• Exam day tips for OET

Some of the major organisations worldwide known to recognise OET results are listed below:

OET Preparation Tips: Candidates are advised to use resources available online and the best OET Study Material available in the market and the official store to be able to perform well in their OET Exam. For the best preparation material, aspirants can check here. 

Best OET Exam Books

OET Books: As informed earlier, the OET exam has been specifically designed for 12 healthcare professions including Occupational Therapy, Dentistry, Nursing, Radiography, Veterinary Science, Medicine, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Podiatry, Pharmacy, and Optometry. In this section, we are going to be talking about the best OET exam books for candidates looking to appear for the OET test.  OET Pulse at (AUD) $14.41, Official OET Ready – Online Course for Medicine at (AUD) $39.99, The Official Guide to OET (2nd edition) | Kindle Edition: INR 982.80 and Paperback: INR1,640.00 are some of the best OET exam books for aspirants. Candidates looking for the availability of these OET exam books can visit the OET official website. Read: OET 4-week preparation plan 

OET Books for Nurses

Official OET Ready – Online Course for Nursing at (AUD) $39.99 and OET Preparation Nursing at US $52.00 are top OET books for nurses. Candidates looking for the availability of these OET exam books can visit the OET official website.  

OET mock test: Aspirants who want to pursue OET are advised to solve as many OET sample tests as possible. Solving OET mock tests would provide candidates with an extra edge to be able to perform well in their OET examination. Candidates are advised to use the OET material available on the OET official website to be able to better their performance in the OET exam.

Still, have doubts? Check out our OET frequently asked questions to ease the process of applying for your OET exam.