Physiotherapy

Many Canadians wish to fulfill their career goals after getting married, having kids, or both! We’ve had plenty of students who have taken their partner and/or children with them.

If you want to take your partner or family with you, you’ll need to add them as a secondary applicant or dependents to your student visa application. Even if you don’t plan on taking them with you, we suggest you add them to your application anyway because it can be complex, expensive, and time-consuming to add them afterwards. You’ll then need to provide additional documentation to support your claims of a relationship or your children’s dependency status.

In addition to looking after the visa, you’ll also need to ensure they’re included on your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), you have appropriate accommodation, and if you’re bringing children, you’ll need to enroll them in school.

Visit our Health Insurance page for more information.

We recommend you begin your OzTREKK application about a year before your program would start. Most programs in Australia start between January and March, so that means you would start your OzTREKK application between January and March the year prior.

Here’s how the typical “cycle” works if your program starts January – March:

March – May: You gather all required documents like passport photo page, transcripts, résumé, personal statement, and send them to our office. Don’t worry, we’ll tell you exactly what we need!

June – August: Interviews (if your program requires one)

September – December: Offer time! If you get an offer, we’ll walk you through the acceptance (or decline) process and give you all the help you need to get ready to go.

January – March: Time to head Down Under!

Yes, but you’ll require parental or guardian consent (signature). OzTREKK will provide the necessary documentation for this signature.

If you won’t be 18 when your program starts, you’ll be required to show that you’ll be living with an approved guardian until you turn 18. If you don’t have an approved guardian in Australia, you may need a family member to apply for a guardian visa to accompany you. This guardian visa should be obtained as part of the student visa application

Please visit our Eligibility page for past competitive scores.

Absolutely. We manage and submit your application(s) on your behalf and communicate any updates from the universities.

Applying to an  Australian or New Zealand university starts by filling out our OzTREKK application: You’ll tell us a bit about yourself, like your name, address, date of birth, education history, and what schools you want to apply to!

When you click “Submit,” the application with all your information only comes to us, so there’s no need to worry about making a mistake at this stage. We then create a file for you (based on your name, not a number!) and email you a list of documents required to complete your application—things like passport photo page, transcripts, résumé, personal statement—but it depends on the program, as some programs require more paperwork than others.

If you get an offer, we’ll help you with that part, too! Whether you want to accept or decline, we’ll help you figure out your next steps. If you accept your offer, we’ll even help you get ready to go. We’re here to be an advocate for you, and to walk you through the entire process from start to finish.

Should you have any questions along the way, just send us an email or book a chat. That’s why we’re here!

Scholarship options in Australia are usually limited for international students as they tend to be reserved for those undertaking postgraduate research degrees; however, we can advise you where to look and whether specific programs have a history of offering scholarships.

Occasionally, scholarships are granted to high achievers—those with very high marks. In previous years, we have seen $5000- to $10,000-scholarships given to OzTREKK students.

Check out OzTREKK’s Financing page to learn more about scholarships and paying for your degree.

Before sending us outlines, check to see if we’ve already got them. We can save you a lot of time and ensure we’re submitting good outlines on your behalf. Outlines must be within 2 years of the time you took the course (as listed on your transcript).

To meet the prerequisite subjects, you need to have been granted the credit (passed); the grade isn’t considered in the prerequisite assessment.

Rolling admissions means the university assesses applications as they are received, or on a “first come, first served” basis. As soon as they’ve met the quota and the program is filled, they close the applications. So, for a program that has rolling admissions, the earlier you apply the better!

The majority of Canadians applying to full-degree programs in Australia (i.e., not study abroad courses, which usually only last a semester or two) apply through OzTREKK. They’re studying medicine, dentistry, law, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, etc.

Since they’re using OzTREKK’s services, this gives us a good idea of the starting point of a competitive application each year, allowing us to help you determine which universities/programs are most likely to present you with a letter of offer!

You can get started on determining your chances by reviewing the admissions requirements on each program page. Then, visit our GPA Conversions and Eligibility pages for details and suggestions to help you get into the program of your dreams. Of course, OzTREKK is always here to help if you have questions.

Australia is world-renowned for its leading-edge physiotherapy research and practice. OzTREKK partners with 8 graduate-entry physiotherapy programs, all of which are highly sought after by Canadian university graduates with academic backgrounds in kinesiology, health sciences, and human kinetics. There really is no “best” physio program, only a “best” physio program for you!

Start by reviewing each physiotherapy program’s description. If you’re wondering if you’re eligible—and if you’re competitive—complete this pre-assessment form and upload a copy of your unofficial transcript. Together, we’ll figure out your best options.

Unlike in Canada, GPAs in Australia are simple. They are standardized, so they mean the same thing to everyone.

In Australia, a 5.0 / 7.0 would roughly translate to a 2.7 / 4.0 or approximately 70% – 72%, but keep in mind all universities assess slightly differently.

Learn more on our GPA Conversions page where we list the most common Canadian GPA scales to their corresponding Australian GPA grade.

Prerequisite courses vary by university and by program. We’ve listed university- and program-specific requirements on each program’s page under “Admissions Requirements.”

Calculations differ by university, but most use cumulative (all units within a program) or weighted GPA (typically last 2 or 3 years of study). See GPA Calculations for more information.

For a transcript to be considered “official,” it must be sent directly from your high school, college, and/or university (either via snail mail or by email). It can even come from you—as long as it arrives in the original, sealed envelope.

To assess your application, universities must see your official transcripts certified by OzTREKK—a requirement of Australian and New Zealand universities and a part of our agreement with them.

By email (preferred method): Your high school, college and/or university can email them to transcripts@oztrekk.com or they can use an official transcript service, like Parchment or MyCreds. When submitting a request for a digital transcript and a password is required, please use OZTREKK1 (all capitals, no spaces). If you have a character limit or need to set an access pin, please use 1234.

By mail (only if unable to send via email): Please order your transcripts to be sent directly to our office from all institutions where you have studied since high school, including any college studies, exchanges, transfer credits, and/or advanced placement (or IB) studies. Please note, some programs also require high school transcripts; if this is the case, your student advisor will let you know.

Send your documents via FedEx or Purolator, especially when you need your documents to arrive at our office ASAP. If you use Canada Post’s courier Xpresspost, please don’t request a signature, as this can add delays.

OzTREKK
301–1 Sherbrooke Street East
Perth, ON K7H 1A1 Canada

As soon as your transcript arrives, we’ll let you know!

The University of Melbourne’s Doctor of Physiotherapy prerequisites require you to have approved courses in human anatomy (1 semester) and human physiology (1 semester) to be eligible to apply.

1. Check Melbourne’s prerequisites
To see if your courses meet the prerequisites, please go to the University of Melbourne’s prerequisites page. Select the dropdown menu titled “List of assessed subjects” and click “International” to download the current list of subjects. This list is updated regularly.

2. Have your courses assessed if not pre-approved
If the anatomy and physiology courses that you’ve completed aren’t on this chart, you must have your courses assessed by submitting filling out Melbourne’s pre-assessment form and by submitting the required subject syllabus. Visit the prerequisites page and go to “How to apply,” where you’ll find the form under your program’s dropdown. You’re encouraged to submit this form well in advance of applying.

Many Australian graduate-entry physiotherapy programs require you to have completed specific undergraduate subjects.

1. Find out if you have the right combination of prerequisite courses
Contact us! We can help you find out which physiotherapy programs might work for your prereqs, and it helps us process your application(s) much faster!

2. Enroll in the missing prerequisite(s)
Most Australian universities will let students take non-award courses during the application season to make up the prerequisites they are missing. This means you can submit your application with your interim transcript and proof of enrollment into the prerequisite course. Before enrolling in any prerequisite course, we advise checking with either your admissions officer or the university to make sure the course will satisfy the prerequisite.

If you haven’t completed the prerequisite course by the time offers are issued, then universities may issue a conditional offer. Please note that not all universities will issue conditional offers and it may vary for each program. It’s always best to check with your admissions officer to see if you course of interest will give conditional offers.

#OzTREKKTip: With our years of experience working with physiotherapy programs, we have found students sometimes lack a qualifying anatomy prerequisite. The best anatomy courses to consider deal with musculoskeletal or gross human anatomy components. BIOL 3701 at Thompson Rivers University is a good online course to take. If you have specific questions about which courses to take, please email rehabsci@oztrekk.com.

Some graduate-entry Australian physiotherapy programs require applicants to have completed a bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as kinesiology, health sciences, or human kinetics. Ask us to find out which universities don’t require prerequisites (but they do expect you to have extensive previous knowledge of at least anatomy and physiology) or that will allow you to apply with non-award courses/credits to supplement your knowledge base and prerequisites.

Take an undergraduate physiotherapy program
If you haven’t completed an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, you may be eligible to apply to a 4-year Bachelor of Physiotherapy program. Have a look at our physiotherapy programs page for more information. If you have questions about this option, please email rehabsci@oztrekk.com.

The process can take up to two years as the timing of the exams can make the process very protracted; however, you are permitted to work under supervision between the written and clinical portions of the PCE exam. Get more information about the process on our Practicing physiotherapy in Canada page.

A course outline includes all the necessary information about a university course. It will include the course title, the year, the learning goals, the professor’s contact information, reading materials and most important, a weekly learning schedule. This will help the universities to see what you studied on a week-to-week basis and assess if you have covered the material they expect you to know.

• Year and semester date
• Faculty contact information
• Course description
• Hours of study
• Textbook information
• Detailed list of topics that are covered in the course; usually found in a detailed lecture schedule or list of chapter readings

Please note, one-paragraph course descriptions will not suffice. The university would like to see course outlines like those handed out at the beginning of the semester, which outline all topics covered within the course. If you do not have copies of these on hand, contact the faculty from which you undertook these courses, as they usually have copies on file.

These course outlines must be attached to the email in PDF (do not send PDF links) and labelled in the following manner:

CAPS 391 Human Anatomy I UBC F2015 (COURSE CODE)(Name of Course)(University)(Semester & Year)

When you do this, it helps us be more efficient and move your application(s) at lightning speed.