Nurse banned after posing as AHPRA skills assessor

Alexis Alvarez netted thousands of dollars from overseas-trained nurses seeking Australian registration, finds Victorian tribunal

A nurse has been banned for two years after duping several overseas-trained colleagues out of a total of nearly $42,000 by falsely claiming he could expedite their Australian registration.

Alexis Alvarez solicited money from three Filipino nurses in 2013-14, after falsely claiming that he could arrange the skills assessment needed to speed up AHPRA registration and permanent visa approvals.

Each nurse paid between $4860 and $6230 for the assistance which was never delivered, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard.

Mr Alvarez was a course co-ordinator for a pre-registration bridging course for international nursing graduates run through Victoria University, and the nurses were his students.