Australia - British Expat Forum

Hello all!! Im a newbie to all things OZ, we as a family haved talked often of moving to Oz, but like most dreams it was just talked about. Just lately we have thought "well what about it? seroiusly?"
I would like to ask for adivce on where to start!!
a little info on us, we are a family of 5,
3 teenagers, 19,16,13, hubby 39, fork lift driver and me 36, health care assistant and three dogs!!
we are not skilled in a professional way, so we are looking into me doing a diploma in nursing.
Can anyone give any adivce on how to start from scratch?

Hi Pomgirl,

You should first start by reading through the various visas available and other info, on the official Dept of Immigration & Citizenship site (see under Visas/medicals).

There's a severe shortage of all qualified nursing staff, so this diploma would be to your advantage.

The easiest visa to get is the regional one, which means you would be willing to go to a small town, outside of the capital cities, where the worst shortages of all qualified staff are.

You should be aware that it's a costly process, with no guarantees, or refunds, should you fail to be granted a visa, or change your minds. Your dogs will each cost the equivalent of a full airfare, including the transport and quarantine etc. So you'll be looking at approx eight airfares plus medicals etc.

Because of this expense, you need to be absolutely sure before starting the ball rolling.

Best wishes,

SSue 8)

Don't know if this is any use to you, but you could contact one of the nursing agencies that deal with securing nursing vacancies in Australia ( I think unqualified care staff are on the essential worker list too).

Clinical One is such an agency, but there are plenty on the Web. Most of them offer their service for free. Invariably they will help you find a job with a hospital who will sponsor you and the agency will assist you in gaining a Temporary Business Entry Visa (long stay) that is from 1-4 years. This allows for your husband and all children under 18 to travel too. They assist you in all aspects of relocation and support you whilst you're out in Aus.

Go on-line and get a free assessment done to see if you qualify as an essential worker and then take it from there. You'll find a little research quite an encouraging thing.

I'm a registered nurse hoping to move to Aus in the next year.

Good luck to you!

This thread appears to be about working in Aus so I'm moving it there.