vivek105

Gwenith 1. What are the salary / wage structure for AIN's? 2. What is the ovetime etc? 3. Do you have the name / website of the assocation of aged care facilities in Australia? 4. What is your estimate of the shortage of AIN's? Happy 2008 Vivek

Write directly to the Board of the State you want to work in and they will give you the exact advise. They formulate rules and then change them from time to time!! Remember to post your experiences here!! Vivek

Hi Bella I agree with Gwenith. To add to what she says: 1. If you want to migrate to Australia - you need 3 things a. A Job b. A visa to stay in the country and work there. c. Registration with the Nurse council which will let you work there. a. Job: You will get a job only after registration. So you need to tackle this first. b. The work visa comes easily - if you have a job offer. Nurses are in short supply and visas are available easily - unlike the US which has a long and complicated visa process. There are many visas - but the most relevant one is the "457" visa - which lets you work for upto 4 years in Australia. You can apply for Permanent Residency after 2 years of working. There is another visa which is a direct application for permanent residency - but this takes a long time (2 years) to process. So first - do Registration, then get a job and then apply for the 457 visa; if you like Australia - then after 2 years of working - you can go in for a permanent residency application. The Hospital which offers you a job could help you with the visa process, or you can do it on your own and avoid an expensive lawyer. Apparently - it is a simple process. c. Registration: So now you have to get registration done. There are 7 Nurse & Midwife Boards (NMB's) in Australia. One in each State. You have to apply to one of the 7 for registration. The names and websites of each of the councils is given in the "sticky" in the begining of this section (the Australia section - posted by Gwenith). Each State has rules which may DIFFER from each other - a bit. For example - the rule from NSW may be different from Queensland - by a bit. And the rules also MAY Change over time. So just read the NMB webiste regularly to keep yourself upto date on the current rules in force. So you should now go to the website of the State that you plan to work in and register there and complete the process they have in place. Which is essentially a lot of documentation. Also in Australia - if you register in one State - you can easily migrate to another state or even to New Zealand. Generally: For nurses registered in US, UK, Singapore, EU nurses - it is simple to get a direct registration in Australia. They may ask you to do a 2 day test to test your knowledge. (The "Challenge Test" in Queensland). If you are from Germany - you will probably have to give IELTS as well and get a score of 7 - as Germany is NOT an English speaking country. If you submit all the required documents and satisfy the NMB of your competency in nursing - then you will get a registration. Then you need to hunt around for a job. Once you get the job offer - then complete the visa process. And viola - your are in Australia!! For nurses from other countries: They need an IELTS of 7 and they also need to do a course (also known as the Bridge course) - from an institute approved by the State Board (each State has different institutes approved). Only if they clear this course and complete the documentation - then they are registered. So now you need to get to the webiste of the State you plan to work in and figure out how to register. Submit all the documents and comply with what they ask for. Good luck in your career. God Bless Vivek PS: Do remember to post your experiences! And think of us when you swim in the Great Barrier reef.

Will a Nurse from New Zealand answer this. As I have not done any study of NZ yet.

1. I have read on this site - some posts which said that some Boards prefer to register foreign nurses with experience of 6 months to one year. 2. Suggest that you directly write to the Board or Call them on the phone and get this point cleared directly from the source. 3. For nurses from Philippines - you will have to do a bridging course. This takes 3 to 6 months and costs at least 7-8000 $ as course fee + cost of life + cost of travel. You will need a student visa for doing this course. 4. After you have finished your bridge course with a "pass" and also gotten over 7 in IELTS will a Board Register you as a nurse. 5. After Registration - do a job hunt and then get a work visa issued. 6. I estimate the cost of going to Australia, doing the course, job hunt and registration and stay etc. to range from Aus $ 12,000 to 15,000. So that should be your Budget. 7. As far as I can make out - no Agency funds any nurses for the Bridge course. You will have to do this with your own sources. Best wishes & Good luck in your career. "May the force be with you" Vivek

Gwenith You are BRILLIANT!! I LOVE your posts. :), Keep up the Good Work!! Vivek

Sure Best wishes in your search!! :)

------------------------- I have been doing a bit of research on working in Australia and my understanding is if you are from the Philippines or from India then: 1. You need to have an IELTS score of 7.00 minimum. 2. You have to register with one of the 7 states Nursing & Midwife Board (NMB) in Australia. 3. Each one will insist that you give a bridge course which can range from 3 to 6 months. Cost of a bridge course is AT LEAST Aus 7000 $ + travel + cost of life. You need a student visa to go to Australia to do this course. 4. As far as I can make out - no agency funds a bridge course. You have to fund it your self or via a bank loan or a combination of both. 5. If you do pass the Bridge course - then you get a registration in Australia as a Nurse with a State Board. Once this is done - you can get a job and then apply for a visa with the job offer. 6. A visa is easily issued once you have a registration and a job offer. 7. Jobs are available in Hospitals and old age homes etc. Do your research before accepting a job. In Australia - the large Govt Hospitals are good. The smaller private sector jobs may not be as good. Work conditions are apparently much better in the Govt sector than the private sector. 8. There is an apparent shortage of nurses in the old age homes as well. But do your research on the job and the company esp. the private companies before accepting. It is YOUR career!! 9. It is not recommended for a new nurse to australia to accept a rural or a remote posting. This means that you can be on a sheep farm in the middle of nowhere. Do your research before you accept your job. While a Bridge course is expensive. It is worth the investment. An annual salary for a nurse in Australia is about 50,000 $ + overtime. So you can pick up between 60-70,000 per annum if you work hard. Well worth the investment!! I estimate that you need to budget about 12,000 $ in all for the bridge course, travel to australia, job hunt, food and stay, visa applications etc. Best of luck and God Bless Vivek

Hope you make it !!

Hello Silverdragon First I was researching the US - but there are visa issues. Hence am trying to understand Australia. H1C seems to be a quick route to the US - but the expiry is soon (2009?) and the number is only 500 visas a year. However - would like a list of the H1C (if available) - am doing a lot of reading!! Will search the site. Thanks Vivek

Try New Mexico. See the thread on New Mexico and search. There is PLENTY of information on it. It takes about 4-5 months from the date of application to get it processed. After that you have to register with parson vue and they will give you a date within 90 days. Best of luck!!

Suzanne Go you have the list of the 15 facilities offering H1-C? Can you post it here or email it to me with any more information on the H1C route. Thanks Vivek

Hello - so did you get to Australia and do a bridge course? How much did it cost and how long did it take? Where are you working now? Was getting a job easy?? Write in and share your experience!!!

Hi Lavalin Refer your input that "Sorry but NO they dont hire fresh licensed graduates without experience especially if your from the Philippines". 1. Can you advise us on How many years of work experience in Philippines or in India would be needed by the average nurse in order to get hired in Oz. 2. Do all nurses from Asia HAVE to undergo the Bridiging course? Or do they have a cut off. For example: If you have 1-3 years of work exp. then you HAVE to do the bridging course. And if you have more than 3 year - then it is waived? 3. Cost and details of the Bridiging course. Thanks Vivek

Read the stickies in the begining of this forum. All the website of the Immigration dept and each board is given there. Get a registration done in a state. You may have to do a courses for the state to register you. The state Board will advise you about this. Cost could be in the range of Aus $ 7-8000 + travel + stay etc. After registration you can get a job and a working visa. Best wishes & good luck Vivek

Thanks Chellie I have corrected it

Remember that your IELTS is valid only for two years from the date that you give it. So process everything in two year - else you will have to give IELTS again

A clarification on courses needed in Australia for a nurse with a license from Asia. a. Do you have to do a bridge course - what is the cost and time frame? Some have reported 7-8 weeks and 7000 $. Some are writing that it takes 6 months. So what is the reality? 8 weeks or 6 months? or are these 2 different degrees? b. Generally - if you have more than 3 years of work experience after your Nursing degree then do you still have to do a bridge course? c. If you have less than one year of experience after nursing degree - are you allowed to sit for the bridge course or not?

How much do bridging courses cost and how long do they take. Some posts have said 7000 $ and 7 weeks. Some have said 6 months Any ideas?

Great post Andrea. Tall - and veryHelpful!! :)

\\hi grace - not that long. i could read lots more this is really informative!! feel free to add. i am sure all the users will agree warm regards vivek

Hello Mishi What happened to your Oz plan. Are you studying there - where - what course? And what is your experience? I can give you a bit of advise for IELTS - coz. you may need it even after a course in oz. The rule is that you need to be in oz for 12 months in a course and they MAY waive the IELTS requirement at registration. On the other hand - they man not waive it either. To prepare for IELTS. a. Review your English Grammar - Wren and Martin is a good basic book. b. Read a good English book - aloud. As if you were preparing for elecution. c. Watch only English TV and Movies - no Tagalog. d. Ask your friends to converse with you in English. e. Join a good IELTS review center AFTER doing a to d for 4 to 5 months. A coaching center will only impove on your base. If your base is weak - they will fail. So practise - English is very easy - but it takes a few months or even a year or two to assimilate. If you are in Australia - doing a nursing course - well and good - post or mail me the details. If you are in Phil - then try to get a job - and have some work exp. else the nursing board will ask you to do a bridge course - which will cost in excess of 7000 $. Best of luck in your career. Vivek

Wow - this is an informative post. A scam agency with no bookings - keeping nurses locked in - with promises of a higher pay. Never mind that the nurse gets cancelled and no pay!!

Hi.... very informative post - could you post your experiences of agencies and work - so that the rest of us can understand the do's and don't of working with agencies and which firms to go for and which ones to avoid. Contract tips... etc. Thanks

Hello Tiwi So are you living your Australian dream of traveling in a tralier with no husband or cats or dogs?? :) Keep ticking