US RN looking into working in Australia in 2013

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Hello....Im from NY and am looking to find work in Australia. I have been doing some research on this idea for a bit. Ive come across a couple of issues and wanted to know if anyone from the US has ever moved to work in Australia. I spoke to a recruitment agency in Australia and they said the pay goes by how many years of experience you have. So if i worked for 3 years as an RN then i would be making $60,000 annually. Now to my understanding...i hear the cost of living is much higher in Australia than NY. How does one survive if they make so much less than what they make now. I was wondering if their is such a RN travel agency that sends u there and pays u more....or pays for ur housing or gives u some sort of stipend. Or a RN travel agency in Australia that do what we do here and give u something ...anything lol I really would like to work in Australia but i just don't see how i'd make it there with a lot less money than what i make here. It just seems very risky. The recruitment agency only helps u have a smooth transition. They tell u how to get ur papers going and then when ur ready to apply they send out ur resume to a bunch of hospitals. But according to them....the hospital will be paying me and they have nothing to do with that. idk. Anyone have any pointers at all on this matter....id truly appreciate it. Thanku.

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Maybe a thought should be given to the nurses that are educated and work there, having to pay for their education and housing, food, everything on such poor wages and high cost of living.

Should all overseas nurses that go there be paid better with lots of perks?

Someone must be surviving, or there would be chronic nursing shortage - which I heard does not exist.

and the people in Australia have one of the highest health outcomes coming from hospital care.

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Specializes in OB.

I think like with all places, the cost of living will depend on the location.

"Now to my understanding...i hear the cost of living is much higher in Australia than NY. How does one survive if they make so much less than what they make now.'

Have you actually reseached the costs of living in the area where you plan on living? You may be surprised that its not as bad as you think.

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Actually I had my relatives who just visited from australia here in ny.... they told me the cost of living is higher there. Also the recruiting agency I spoke to in Australia told me the same thing. I'm hoping someone can direct me to the rt people or agencies. Preferably an RN who has experienced moving to Australia ..... or even one that is from Australia.. Any info is better than no info ;)

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Now let me understand what you are saying......how do you make more money than the local nurses.....are there agencies that supply perks. Above what the hospital will pay. None that I know of.........do you have qualifications that are in short supply, such as a NP in renal, theatre, with loads of experience that a hospital would consider your skills rather special that a local has not been found and believe you are worth giving free acommodation/car to help persuade you take the job?

We survive, possibly better than anywhere else, seems like it with the influx of overseas nurses wanting work. If you have no debts you should survive as well just like an Aussie nurse.

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Actually I have loans.... but I'm wondering if that's true for the RN pay in Australia... Is it really standard ??? And how much of that is taxes if I make 60,000 / yr .... How much is that cash per week.... And how much is it to rent an apt in Sydney..... I don't care if I make less bc I'm more interested in the experience.... I just want to know I can survive financially .....for min of 6 months.

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hey agathi24

As someone mentioned earlier... the cost of living depends on the location. I know for sure that Melbourne is cheaper than Sydney. In fact within Melbourne as well the cost would vary significantly depending on the area you live in (suburbs would be cheaper than living in and around the CBD).

I am aware that agency nursing is much preferred option for a lot of the migrant nurses (especially those with experience) as an option to start with as it gives them the opportunity to pick up work straight away on arrival. One of my friends who recently moved to Melbourne from Ireland signed up with an agency (Colbrow Healthcare) and is loving it.

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Yeah I am from the US and was wondering with tax cuts and all how much money do you have in savings left over? Curious if I made the transition over there. We have a lot of tax cuts over here, federal, state, city, social security tax.

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