US-trained nurse looking to migrate to Australia or New Zealand

[BSNSN]

Hi,

I am looking to migrate to Australia and/or New Zealand. The Australian cities I had in mind are Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The New Zealand cities I had in mind are Wellington and Auckland.

I graduated this month with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a US university. I also have a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from another US university. I have several years of experience as a marketing analyst and as a nursing assistant. I also have 2 years experience as a nursing tutor/ educator assistant. I am scheduled to sit for the NCLEX-RN examination next month. I am enrolled in a Masters of Science Nursing program right now.

- What are some options for me in terms of visa?

- How do I go about applying for these options?

- Do I need to get registered with AHPRA there or will my registration in the US be sufficient?

- Are there any nursing hiring agencies you recommend I contact?

- Should I apply for the masters degree programs there? Which universities have the best nursing programs there?

I am very confused. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you very much.

[nephron19]

Thank you all so much for answering all my questions! I have another one though lol: do you have health insurance while you are there? It asks you on the visa application and I'm wondering if you got a plan for your travels?

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

Talk to your insurance company. When I first left Ireland they said they could insure me for 6 months overseas so I paid for that while getting myself sorted here. Be aware non resident health insurance is expensive here. Because all Aussie's are entitled to Medicare there is no way your employer will pay it. However you can get tax relief on it at the end of the financial year.

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

Just remembered after that ran out I got overseas visitors cover. It is quite expensive I paid over $2000 for a years cover but I claimed some it back in tax at the end of the financial year.

[guruns1]

Bama RN..i am also a us rn applying for ahpra reg...can u help me with the resume? Am really lost...thnx

[Leggings and Lattes]

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Standard Format for Curriculum Vitae

There's the format the require for your CV. Make sure it is exactly like that with the statement about it bring true and correct at the end. Must sign it in front of a notary, and it must be the original.

For the clinical skills, I listed everything I can do from taking blood pressures manually to giving meds , right down to the skills needed in my specialty area. It may be helpful to go to a nursing school website and look at their check offs, or a travel nursing site and look at their skills lists.

Hope this helps, and ignore any typos...on my stupid phone.

[guruns1]

Bama RN...thnx for taking time to reply...i was confused abt the internship and observership option....do we put our clinical senior synthesis from nursing school in that section? I would really appreciate your help...:))

[Leggings and Lattes]

Sorry it's taken me a bit to get back to you. Yes, I made sure to put all of my clinicals, and I even made sure to put them in my CV.

[guruns1]

Bama RN...thank you for replying...really appreciate your help :))

[ajoo]

how long does it take to get a nursing license in Australia these days? I have u.s. nursing license and trying to move to australia please help

[Mapleleaf33]

Hi

I am also planning on applying for registration in Australia. Do you know how much detail the nurses board wants when you send transcripts? Do they require that you send course outlines for each course completed? For clinical courses do they only want hours completed or details of skills used in clinical?

Hope you can help

I am a Canadian Registered Nurse with 2 years university from Australia and 2 years university from Canada

[nephron19]

I have a question about notarizing documents. Did you all notarize every sheet you sent in or just the pages that contain signatures? I have over 50 pages to send in and at $5/page thats quite expensive!

[Leggings and Lattes]

You have to certify everything that's a copy. See this link. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Certifying Documents

" Copies of documents provided in support of an application, or other purpose required by the National Law, must be certified as true copies of the original documents."

I don't know if you've checked around, but both of my banks provided notary service free for members.