Hello A Singaporean Son,
I have been poring through your blog and that of other Singaporeans who have migrated. Like you, I was a silent follower of the Singapore Serf blog many years ago and was very sad to hear of his passing.
I am now writing to you as we are making our first steps in the migration journey.
We have recently explored the idea of migrating to Australia and have researched the process. Our application will be through my wife as her career puts her on the SOL. We are now preparing for her to take her IELTS and gather documentation to proceed with her skills certification with ANMAC so we can do down the road with other required steps.
Having done a lot of reading, I am comfortable we can see this through on our own.
Do you have any friends or contacts working in healthcare we could ask some basic questions to? Or even a recruitment firm you might have heard of.
Here are some high level details on my wife's education and experience.
My wife has a Bachelors in Nursing, Post Grad Diploma in Nursing Education, Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Nursing.
1. She would like to understand what kind of career path in Nursing she can strive towards in Australia.
2. Salary and Hours
3. Will she get fast tracked processing for her Visa application?
4. Are hospitals in AU willing to sponsor and hire nurses before they get their PR? (I understand there is an additional step of being registered with the Nursing Board but just wondering if there is a scheme or process.)
5. My wife says some of her colleagues mentioned even local Aussie graduate nurses are not able to secure jobs but yet the occupation ceiling on the SOL for Nurses is about 13,000! Do you know if this is true?
These are some initial questions we have and will be grateful if you or or your contacts could help us with some pointers.
If you publish this on your blog, please leave out the details of my name and my wife's work experience.
Many thanks and I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
S
Do you have any friends or contacts working in healthcare we could ask some basic questions to?
Yes but I'll let them decide if they want to answer questions. To the Missies lurking, please drop a message in the comment box, email or PM me in Fartbook and I'll link you up with this gentleman.
1. She would like to understand what kind of career path in Nursing she can strive towards in Australia.
I can't answer this question because I am not in the industry. So my understanding about this is as good as yours, with Google as our best bets. I will like to invite nurses working in Australia to come forward to answer this.
2. Salary and Hours
I know a few nurses in Perth but I have not tried asking them about their salaries. Not sure if I should. From our conversations, I can make a guess. We have to understand that the working hours depends largely on their specialization. Take MissyJo for example, her working hours are standard due to her specialization (ask her directly, in case she isn't comfortable in revealing). So she will probably report at work in the early morning and knock off before the sun sets, doing some overtime (1.5x pay) as and when required.
Our family friend Grace is in cardiac and is required to work shifts (morning, afternoon, night) in her hospital. Each shift is 8 hours but salary fluctuates to night shift penalties and overtime rates. Refer to this [link] and do an estimate.
3. Will she get fast tracked processing for her Visa application?
Likely.
4. Are hospitals in AU willing to sponsor and hire nurses before they get their PR? (I understand there is an additional step of being registered with the Nursing Board but just wondering if there is a scheme or process.)
Yes for a work visa if she aces an interview and is offered a job.
5. My wife says some of her colleagues mentioned even local Aussie graduate nurses are not able to secure jobs but yet the occupation ceiling on the SOL for Nurses is about 13,000! Do you know if this is true?
It is true. There are a few reasons cited. A lack (inadequate) of government healthcare funding or this. [link] Migrations who are granted PRs through their nursing profession are considered experienced workers (or you wouldn't be eligible for PR in the first place), whereas fresh graduates are looking for entry level positions. In my view, they are not vying for the same positions. However, there is a general consensus that locals should be given the opportunities rather than overseas candidates (just like the situation in Singapore) but for some reasons this is not happening. (just like the situation in Singapore)
1. I'm not working in the traditional hospital setting so I can't really answer this question. My work place has nurses & manager. That's it. You can't go further than a manager.
ReplyDelete2. As I'm not in the traditional hospital, I don't work traditional hours. But generally, full time is 38 hours with a fixed salary. I'm employed under a part time position, with a contract for 30 hours a week. But I do go below (not very often) or over (quite frequently) all the time. Hourly salary depends on your experience. Not sure how much an entry level nurse will earn, but a level 1.8 will get about $38. It will vary from institution to institution. & a nurse in level 1.8 for 10 years will earn more than a nurse who just reached 1.8 due to the yearly increment.
3. Not sure. Mine wasn't fast tracked. It depends on how well you prepared your documents for assessment. Botching it means delays.
4. Yes. But it's easier getting a job as a PR rather than work visa (that's just my opinion). All RNs must be registered with APHRA to practice in Australia. It's a nationwide registration so you can work anywhere.
5. Not sure but probably. I know it's true for other professions. Employers value experience. The economic slow down doesn't help either. Employers are choosing not to hire when staff resigns & instead work around the remaining employees.
I find that the more specialised you are or the higher your position, the harder it is to find work. Eg, it's easier for a RN to find work compared to a Clinical Nurse or Manager. Like me, I'm so specialised that general hospital theatre won't hire me. Sometimes, a lot of it is luck. You come onto the scene at the right time & the job is yours.
Thanks for taking the time to share your comments. We truly appreciate your kind help.
DeleteMy wife has gone through your blog and thinks she might be from the same batch in NYP.
As a follow up, if you don't mind answering this, now that you have been in Perth for awhile, are you getting more job interviews and offers in other areas of Nursing?
Anecdotally, do you think it is easier to land a permanent position as a RN in medical wards or ICU? She has about 10 years of experience in these areas.
We understand that you cannot give conclusive answers but just hearing your thoughts as someone who is in the local healthcare system will be a start.
Cheers.
"1. I'm not working in the traditional hospital setting so I can't really answer this question. My work place has nurses & manager. That's it. You can't go further than a manager."
ReplyDeleteYou can go above a Nurse Manager at public hospitals. There's operations manager, service manager, general manager. Or you can be director of nursing. Why not handle projects and be a project manager? It is not the island anymore. Don't constrain yourself. What you want you can get. You just need to network properly.
Yup, they do consider internal promotions/transfers before advertising it to the public. For me, I love clinical hands on work. I love to scrub. So I turned down my ex-manager when she asked me if I will consider taking over her position as Day Surgery manager here even if it means getting a $6-8 raise. My work place doesn't have DON though. Just unit manager. The operation manager, general manager posts are held by Drs. But I'm sure things are different in other hospitals.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'm 1 of the Singaporean nurses that is currently working in Australia (NSW). Just a bit of information to her if it will help.
ReplyDelete1. She would like to understand what kind of career path in Nursing she can strive towards in Australia.
Depends on the kind of setting she works in.
For a normal ward/OT in a major hospital
RN - CNS - CNE(Clinical Nurse Educator) <--- only in teaching hospitals/clinics
- ANP (Advance Nurse practitioner) <--- only in rural or major A&E
- NUM (Nurse Unit Manager) ---> ADON ---> DON
There also opportunities to work in other areas such as a medical rep and surgical assistant. But that is out of nursing.
2. Salary and Hours
Salary is fixed for all public hospital in NSW. The private hospital does not stray too far from the standard set by the government. It is the base salary, does not include shift, penalty and overtime.
http://www.nurseinaustralia.com/wages/nursing-wages-nsw-australia/
Working hours depend on where you work. A normal full time RN will work 80hrs/forthnight. And get 1 RDO/ADO (Registered Day Off/Allocated Day Off) every month. You work an additional 30mins every day because of your meal break. (If meal breaks are not taken due to work, it will be paid as overtime.)
3. Will she get fast tracked processing for her Visa application?
It will still take 6 months or so for the criminal record check and everything. But I heard it is already pretty fast compared to some of my friends who are in IT/Engineering.
4. Are hospitals in AU willing to sponsor and hire nurses before they get their PR? (I understand there is an additional step of being registered with the Nursing Board but just wondering if there is a scheme or process.)
Yes, they are willing to hire people on 457 (Temp skilled visa), but the person will need to get their registration first before they can actually start the process (Job application). It is quite competitive according to 1 of my colleague from the Philippines.
5. My wife says some of her colleagues mentioned even local Aussie graduate nurses are not able to secure jobs but yet the occupation ceiling on the SOL for Nurses is about 13,000! Do you know if this is true?
That is true. However, Australia needed experienced nurses, not new grad nurses. Graduate nurses are not employed because they have no experience and the government/private hospital did not want to spend money to train people up. So they are in a catch 22 situation. No experience = no job, no job = no experience.
Hope it helps! And good luck in whatever the decision is.
A few comments:
DeletePublic hospital nurses award are available on the net as public document eg http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/careers/conditions/Awards/nurses.pdf
Nurses are given more annual leave to account for shift work during public holidays and weekends thus lower penalty loading.
Private hospital nurses usually get paid slightly less or at best the same as public hospitals, but likely to get some fringe benefits or offered overtime depending on area.
RDO actually means Rostered day off, ADO accrued day off; this comes from the fact that you get paid 76 hours per fortnight for full timers even though you work 80 hours, that means you are not paid 8 hours every 4 weeks thus entitled to one day off.
Theatre modules NUM can exists looking after specialised portfolio in big hospitals, answerable to theatre nursing manager who answer to assistant director of nursing ADON etc
Definitely most hospitals are looking for experienced nurses, especially in specialised units or theatre. All local applicants must be considered first and given priority, unless not suitable or not sufficient quality or experience then overseas applicants are then considered.
You must start registration process with nursing board in AHPRA as early as possible since they can ask for the most ridiculous documents while you have been waiting for months.
You may consider agency work while waiting for full time positions, but doing locum is unlikely to be possible if you are unfamiliar with the local kind of lingo or set up. People from UK and NZ adapt quickly but all other countries take days to weeks to understand the mentality and mindset change and workflow differences, if not weeks.
Hi Seraphim and XYZ,
DeleteThanks for your detailed comments. You have both been very helpful and this has spurred us to find out more and for my wife to kick-start the process with her IELTS.
Couple of additional questions:
1.
Based on the current process she needs to so a Skill Certification with ANMAC before putting in an EOI. Can she also submit for AHPRA registration at the same time?
2.
How do they count the experience and grade of a migrant RN?
- This is in relation to the Nurse In Australia wages in NSW link shared earlier. E.g. Do the Singapore years of experience as an RN count in AU to determine your grade and salary scale?
- Is this something determined during the registration with AHPRA or skill certification by ANMAC or individual employers?
3.
Any advice on sourcing for jobs?
E.g. - Hospital websites
Agencies or other sources?
If you know any recruiters she could start networking with, please point her in the right direction.
Thanks in advance for your help.
I can only answer some questions since my circumstance is special.
DeleteHow they pay you is up to the employer not AHPRA, the determination of experience is decided by how each state government ministry of health policies
Each state has its own website to advertise for applicant, for exampl nsw health
https://nswhealth.erecruit.com.au/Default.aspx
You can try agency or recruiters but by the time they consider application through these, it means the usual channel local grad is not suitable thus they are looking for overseas. Furthermore the employers have to pay these agencies a significant amount of money for successful filling of vacancies (no cost to applicants) so this is not a decision taken lightly.
You also asked elsewhere about free postgraduate program. They are rarely free, but there are scholarship available for permanent staff of minimum employment period for phd or Masters program's, but may not cover the entire costs. However unless you are considering managerial position in the future, postgrad qualification hardly affect employability or pay for most nursing clinical positions
I had also read that the AU govt encourages the pursuit of post graduate studies and provide free Masters and PhD programs.
ReplyDeleteAre there any nurses here or do you know of others who have gone on to undertake Nursing related Masters? What kind of courses are these? Are the free Masters programs purely research based?
Hi Nix, thanks so much for very quickly posting this up. Your response and that of your audience has been most helpful.
ReplyDeleteI have an additional question not directly related to Nursing but pertaining to migration.
Let's say we are granted PR for ourselves and child. However, if we have another child in Singapore a year or two later (and we have not yet moved to AU), is it straightforward to get PR for this child? Will it have to a be a fresh application?
I could not find much info on this context on your blog or the DIBP website. Have you encountered anyone with such a situation?
Thanks for helping.