Moving to Australia to work can be a daunting prospect and one that requires a fair bit of planning to materialize.
I was an FY2 on a somewhat grueling but enjoyable respiratory term in the dead of winter when I decided to make the move to Australia for what was initially supposed to be one or two years.
A few key things to remember before you start looking:
Their academic year runs Feb – Feb not August to August so keep that in mind, but there are always places that will need new blood year round.
Registrar does not mean the same as in England.
UK – FY1, FY2, CT1, CT2, registrar
Australia – Intern, resident (RMO), Registrar (SHO equivelant), Advanced Trainee.
There are some stipulations to this but this is the general progression pathway. A good one to be aware of is SRMO, senior resident medical officer, a sort of stepping stone between registrar and resident.
The roles you will be applying for will largely be unaccredited roles as you need one year of provisional training to demonstrate you are competent before getting the all important general registration. With general registration you can apply for programs and pick up locum work.
Be aware – if you do get onto a training program as a foreign graduate you will not be able to work in metropolitan private practice for 10 years from the date you start working in Australia, this may seem a million miles away now but I assure you it is not. Plan well.
I have found the training and learning in Sydney to be of a very high standard with a mirrored curriculum to the UK, if you are thinking of sitting the physicians exam in Australia (equivalent of MRCP) beware it is much more involved than any MRCP preparations you will do. Once yearly exams and if you fail some hospitals will consider not rehiring you subsequently.
So you’ve seen a few of the pitfalls, what next?
Choosing a place
For me it was deciding where to live. I chose Sydney, my partner works in finance, the outdoor lifestyle there is fantastic with great food, beautiful hikes and beaches and a really diverse culture. Many people tend to have an idea in their heads about what they want but don’t discount the lesser known places if you don’t mind a slower pace of life and really want to get stuck into nature, surfing and also fancy a bit more of a hands on approach at work.
Choosing a hospital
I sat down at the computer, opened up google maps and read about every hospital in Sydney, I had also been told about regional hospitals in other areas and given contact details. I would take a very “Yes Man!” approach to this next stage and be very proactive and positive in messaging hospitals personally. If you have a contact that’s great! I’ve found Australia to have a less centralized approach than the UK with regards to these things, however for each state you want to work in you will need to create a job application account on:
https://nswjmo.erecruit.com.au/
Have a good browse around to see what is available and also collect contact details for people in relevant departments in hospitals that you want to work in. I always favor an approach of personal contact for applications often with a CV as it sets you apart slightly from a nameless faceless entity on an application website.
Once you find a job you like take the application seriously and work towards that skype interview! For my interview I tried to make sure my laptop was piled up high enough on textbooks (Thank you Kumar and Clark!) so I avoided having several chins. I wore a shirt and tie at 1am in my kitchen, better to be overdressed than under dressed. I would caution against wearing nothing on the bottom half even if it is a skype interview, you never know when you might need to stand up!
You’ve secured a provisional job offer! Now what?!
This is where it gets really long winded. Australia has very strict immigration laws and it is in your best interest to get everything right the first time, some of it may seem frustrating, some of it may not make the most sense at the time but it is non-negotiable and must be done.
Curriculum Vitae
Hopefully you’ve got a good CV organized by this stage in your career, it’s always great to keep it updated every year and add new things, it also reminds me to keep doing things to add to it!
If you need a guide on presenting it there is a helpful one from your future health governing body AHPRA!
https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Registration-Process/Standard-Format-for-Curriculum-Vitae.aspx
Of course there’s plenty of ways to make the CV more appealing and don’t forget to personalize it to make yourself stand out.
AHPRA Forms
Make sure you are provided with the most recent AHPRA form as it changes often, it takes you through pretty step by step but you need a fair bit of information
- Various pieces of ID
- Evidence of medical qualifications and any other degrees you hold (be aware for each document to be stamped there is a fee incurred, check if you really need that extra bachelors degree to be included!)
- Your completed Foundation Program certificate
- Generally as a British graduate you will go via the “competent authority pathyway” which removes the need for an extra exam, category B
- A PESCI will generally not be needed (Pre- employment structured clinical interview)
- International criminal record check
- GMC certificate
- $362
This list is not exhaustive but I have tried to capture the main elements for what you will need. Ideally you will be able to send this back to the hospital and they can help you file the paperwork. I was asked to send via post but see if you can scan and email as this will greatly expedite the situation
Visa
The visa I am currently on (457) no longer exists and was replaced by the 482 tempoary skill shortage. It costs around $1500 and requires a few things prior to submission also. It takes between 1-2 months to process/
· a copy of relevant qualification certificates (professional and educational)
· a copy of any required registration/licensing
· previous employment reference
· your curriculum vitae or resumé
· previous employment references
· CV
· References
· Australian police check
The website now has a smooth step by step process detailing what you will need. I’d always double check with your employer.
A lot of these documents need to be photocopied and officially signed which can be done by someone who is accredited in the community or at the Australian Embassy. If you live near the embassy it is worth a trip down as it’s in a pretty lovely part of London!
Many of the forms listed require a fair bit of cash so I would advise getting some extra shifts under your belt, locuming before applying or squirreling away savings as soon as you start thinking about moving. I would advise having £2000-£3000 available for the preparation phase.
Flights will cost about £600 with a decent airline but who knows what will happen once the borders open up.
Also don’t forget you will need a good amount of money saved up for when you arrive to get set up, your first paycheck won’t be for a few weeks and sometimes medical admin aren’t able to correctly process new employee’s payslips!
Be patient but be persistent
These forms take time to get processed and there are often significant waiting times and it won’t hurt to check in with emails and sometimes phonecalls to see the status of your application. I got extra skype credits so I could call in person to save my phonebill when calling AHPRA and the hospital.
Take home messages
-Save as much money as you can
-AHPRA First
-Visa second
-Flights third
-Minimise printing expenses by combining pages together
-Get documents checked by your contact in Australia
If you can navigate this with organisation and punctuality you’ll have no problems when you start working!
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