Chinese friend wants to know Aussie nursing environment

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Greetings,

I am an English teacher in China and I have come here because I am trying to help one of my students, who has become a dear friend to me, find out information about nursing in Australia. She has been a nurse here for about 4 or 5 years and speaks English very well, but she is ready for a change in her life and is planning to take the OET and move to Australia if possible.

With that in mind, could anyone please post some information on the nursing environment in Australia? Any and all information would be welcomed, as she and I both know nothing of nursing in Australia. She is especially interested in common duties, salary information, sanitation, etc.

Thank you for your help,

Shawn

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If you have specific questions on immigration and licensure, we do ask that you post them on the International Forum.

Hopefully, someone will be around soon to answer your questions that you have posted above.

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Here are some additional questions that she would like to ask:

1. What is the best possible way for her to find a job once she passes the OET?

2. Are the 3 month training courses necessary to get a job in Australia for foreigners?

3. What benefits are provided to nurses by the state or individual hospitals?

4. What is the average rate of pay raises in Australian hospitals?

5. What promotion opportunities are available, if any, if I work there for a long time?

6. Are their courses to improve my nursing rank as I work? Such as from a LPN to RN?

Thanks.

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She is going to need to be the equivalent of the RN in most cases to be able to go to Australia to work as an nurse. Does she actually have that training already?

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

please remember we are not experts. she really should be contacting authorities.

1. what is the best possible way for her to find a job once she passes the oet?

she really needs to check with the immigration dept, the hospital that she wants to work at, the nurses board in that state, and find a university that may help her convert

2. are the 3 month training courses necessary to get a job in australia for foreigners?

are you talking of those oncap programmes run through hospital? i think she would really have to check again with the above resources

3. what benefits are provided to nurses by the state or individual hospitals?

nothing really. free uniforms in govt hospitals. penalties in govt hospitals. in some hospitals, single person accommodation, though this is becoming really rare in the cities

4. what is the average rate of pay raises in australian hospitals?

difficult question as it differs from state to state. the private system and aged care usually pays less

5. what promotion opportunities are available, if any, if i work there for a long time?depends on the hospital, your qualifications, your skills

6. are their courses to improve my nursing rank as i work? such as from a lpn to rn?

we do not have lpns here. we do have enrolled nurses/registered nurses level 2. it is currently a diploma course. as suzanne 4 says, only rns are able to apply, unless your friend chooses to do the en course. to upgrade to an rn you have to do another 2 years i think...depends on the university. most courses are through university and are for specialties such as renal or cancer nursing. and they will not improve your seniority, just make you accredited for that area.

government nurses do have increments whereby every year where the respective nurse's pay goes up. but that does not give you seniority generally

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Specializes in General Nursing.
here are some additional questions that she would like to ask:

4. what is the average rate of pay raises in australian hospitals?

i agree with nyapa

you could check out the australian nursing state award to find out - google it.

my friend has been nursing in ireland before she came to oz last year and in terms of award...she receives 'thereafter' rate as she had been nursing for more than 10 years.

not sure for nurses coming from china tho...i reckon she has to go through some form of training to understand how australia do their own things. you mentioned that she is a nurse, do u mean a registered nurse?

cheers :wink2:

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