Travel Nursing Austrailia

Columnist · Sep 15, 2014

Hello and welcome to the site. I moved your thread to the Travel Nursing forum where you should get more responses.

sweetgurly25 · Sep 16, 2014

Thats a good start I heard agencies won't look at you until you have that going. I think the work visa and employment with hospitals comes later after you apply for the license. it takes 6 months to get. good luck.

emb92250 · Sep 20, 2014

Tell me more about this travel nursing in Australia! I've heard of 6-12 month Saudi Arabia assignments. How different do you think the nursing practice is with new medication names and such? Are they 6-12 months too? What about pay? This sounds exciting! Can a person travel nurse to England?

sunshinerainbows · Sep 28, 2014

You should check out the forum under "World" and "Nursing in Australia/New Zealand." Lots of people with experience with AHPRA.

Smf098 · Nov 26, 2014

Thanks!!!!! so much help! I have sent my AHPRA application and they are in the process of reviewing!!!!

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2014

I've heard nursing pay in Australia is very low, US$30k annually on average, wondering if it's worth it.

suga_junkie, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2014

I've heard nursing pay in Australia is very low, US$30k annually on average, wondering if it's worth it.

Umm, no. I earned over $65000 AUD in my first year. Our pay goes by a level system too, so every year you go up a pay level for at least 9 years, then more if you become a clinical nurse etc. I also get extra pay, a qualification allowance, as I did a graduate certificate at university. Shift differentials also seem to be much better here than in the USA. I get an extra 15% per hour for pm shifts, 35% for nights, 50% for Saturdays, 75% for Sundays and double time for public holidays or double shifts.

The cost of living is much higher here than in most parts of the US however.

guest769224 · Nov 27, 2014

Our pay goes by a level system too, so every year you go up a pay level for at least 9 years, then more if you become a clinical nurse etc.

If an experienced US RN moved there would their years of experience count while working in Australia?

Or do they base it off Aus. RN experience only?

Could you also explain the difference between a regular nurse and a clinical nurse?

NedRN · Nov 27, 2014

Most other "first world" countries have employee unions. Base pay comes from years of experience, no choice. The same is true of union hospitals in the U.S. It doesn't matter where you got the experience (a non-union employer is free to insist that only experience at their hospital counts). I worked in England and my pay was based on years of nursing experience.

Inside union contracts, there are usually a number of ways to bump pay and the hospital can usually pay extra outside the contract as well. There might be a clinical ladder for example. You can get a bump in pay for good annual reviews, being a clinical resource, taking on extra duties. I'm working at a union hospital right now and "service" leaders get a 15% bump in pay (the OR has a number of specialties requiring extra coordination with surgeons, ordering supplies and so on). Charge nurses also get a 15% bump. Extra certifications and education often have extra pay. Clinical nurse specialists (a designation in California and Maryland to my knowledge and perhaps elsewhere) have extra skills and are allowed to do such things as pull chest tubes for example.

Generally there are ways to try to reward valuable employees and retain them. This applies anywhere in the world of course.