Reasons to work in Australia

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Good morning everyone! I've been a pediatric RN in the US for 2 years now, and have recently been playing with the idea of being a nurse in Australia for a couple of years. I was hoping to get any advice that anybody has to offer. Specifically, I've heard a lot about the differences in US versus Australian healthcare world...any thoughts? Pros? Cons? Also, could anyone offer up suggestions for larger all-pediatric facilities to look into? Where does everyone work now if you are in pediatrics? How do you feel US nurses are received by staff? I would appreciate any advice!! Thank you very much.

Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/HH/Radiology-Now Retired.

Queensland's good for a holiday! ;)

I'll say no more! :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.

please say more! lol I know it's a touchy subject but I'd like to get as many opinions as possible so I don't regret my decisions. I keep hearing all this chatter about not going to queensland, but I'd like someone to give me a straight answer as to why they think I should go somewhere else.

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Hi Jess! Sydney is more expensive,their board exam is a lot headache coz it's 7k! Anyway, you're an RN in the states and you can immediately settle in Australia. Just log on to Australian Nursing Midwifery Council for the details of your migration,you only need to register your license and can do it online. Rent is $1200/month (you pay every 2wks) that is in Pymble suburb North shore Area. Try to browse the website of seventh day adventist hospital they offer good salary but still depends how many years of experience you have. Every June you have tax refund, some got $6k.

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Hi Jess

I haven't worked in Queensland so I can't comment on the working environment, however wages are less for RNs, than NSW.

Now as a visitor to Brisbane and the surrounding suburbs in October, I formed this opinion. It is humid, the city itself has no heart and no real 'vibe' to it, the public transport system is not very effective if you live outside the city. The Gold Coast is commercialised although the beaches are nice enough.

I had 3 job interviews there and all three mucked me around and took weeks to get my paperwork in order and offer me a position (8 weeks). I turned them all down because for me, I just could not see myself living in a city like Brisbane.

Sydney on the other hand, is vibrant and interesting with a lot of historic places and a beautiful harbour. The shops are fantastic, restaurants plentiful and culture abounding with the Opera House hosting wonderful theatre productions and operatic/symphonic events.

Please bear in mind I am from New Zealand so I have no patriotic honour in Australia. My comments are purely my own opinion based on my experience of living and working here.

I think wherever you choose you will have a great experience.

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Specializes in Community, Renal, OR.
please say more! lol I know it's a touchy subject but I'd like to get as many opinions as possible so I don't regret my decisions. I keep hearing all this chatter about not going to queensland, but I'd like someone to give me a straight answer as to why they think I should go somewhere else.

Don't take too much notice of us bagging each other's states; it's a national tradition!:nurse:

There is a saying: "Go to Queensland for the sun, Sydney for fun, and Melbourne to study" :wink2:

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Specializes in Medical.
There is a saying: "Go to Queensland for the sun, Sydney for fun, and Melbourne to study" :wink2:
Go to Tassie to hike, and only go to Canberra if you really want to appreciate wherever you live!

Also, apparently Australia = the east coast,so to those of you in SA, WA and the NT, sorry! ;)

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Awww I love Queensland!! Although I have not worked in the health industry yet....

I grew up in Sydney and left there when I was about 12 then we moved to Brisbane. So, in my limited opinion:twocents:, Brisbane is layed back, people don't really want to travel anywhere especially if it takes a bit longer to get there. In Sydney I feel really out of place, perhaps inferior even... it is very multicultural. Brisbane's multicultural aspect is well spread out.

I feel safe in Brisbane, not in Sydney. :uhoh21: That could be due to circumstance, we left Sydney after the third break and enter... we have never been broken into up here in the 18 years of living up here.

The rates of pay are higher down there, but so is the cost of living. My hubby gets people move up here wanting a job and laugh at what is offered paywise.:lol2:

It must be hard trying to plan a move to a foreign country, but what is good for one may not be good for another.

Best of luck!!

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I've heard that Sidney is a very expensive place to live. Could you give estimates how much you pay for housing, transportation, food (especially fruits and vegetables)?

What is a nurse to patient ratio? Do you have nursing assistants?

I think that the little things all add up to make one place more expensive to live than another. Tolls, petrol, car registration, insurance, groceries etc. I am no expert in costs of things, but just going from family that live in Sydney, Brisbane is cheaper.

Nurse patient ratio all depends on where you work. I have heard (and again I have not worked yet as an RN, only a student here) that private hospitals have a higher staff patient ratio, say one nurse to 6-8 pts (please correct me if I am wrong!) where as public ratios where I was doing my prac was 1 nurse to 4 pts.

There was an Assistant In Nursing (AIN) where I was at, she didn't do any pt care just cleaning, made empty beds (as we did beds that were occupied) stock control etc.

if that helps any.

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Ok, so I did a quick insurance estimate on exactly the same details of my car where I live (Bris) and my Uncles house (Syd) and the difference was................ $440 per year just in car insurance......Bris is $450 Syd. is $890.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.

Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the advice! I realize the ultimate decision is up to me, and others opinions can be biased, but it is nice to hear different sides, so thank you!

I'm having a tough time deciding between Sydney and Brisbane...I'd be fine with either hospital that I'm looking into. I love the city life that it sounds like Sydney has to offer, but my heart and soul long for the beautiful beach and I'm being told Brisbane is the place for that. Plus it's cheaper lol I didn't expect it to be this hard!

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Specializes in Medical.

Vicctoria's the only state in Australia (and one of only two in the world) that has legally mandated ratios. This is not to say that other states don't have a staffing system, but the way these are calculated, though at least theoretically dependency based, tend to be less transparent.

That said, the ratios haven't changed the patient load where I work (medical ward of a tertiary metropolitan public hospital). But in smaller hospitals, and those less responsive to the needs of patients and staff, the ratios have made significant differences to the work load nurses are expected to manage. They also make is considerably easier to refuse patients when the ward's stretched, to close beds, and to demand more staff.

We have a ward clerk 8 - 8 Mon - Fri and Sat mornings, and ward supports (cleaning, specimen courier, bed making etc) 8 - 8, woth orderlies carrying out these tasks out of hours.

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Oh I forgot....

The Mater hospital (tertiary hospital) in Brisbane is expanding... it will be the site of the Queensland Children's Hospital. It will be HUGE. All pediatric specialist services will be in the one place, where at the moment say the best cancer services is at the Royal, best Cardiac is at The Prince Charles etc. they will all be moving into south Brisbane's Mater. It is being planned now.... The Mater is not a publicly funded hospital, but the new Mothers and this Childrens hospy is partially government funded, however anyone can go there....

And..... I am up here:yeah: :saint::chuckle

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