I think the transition from one country to another is an expensive exercise regardless.
I wonder if it's better to skip the UK and save on the relocation costs and test fees and come directly to Australia?
The pay rates are probably much better here in Australia than the UK, but the cost of living is higher.
I'm in my thirtieth year of nursing this year. I don't work a conventional nursing role, but choose to travel and take contracts as a Remote Area Nurse. There's an abundance of work, and the communities and towns I work in are always super appreciative.
Housing is free, and travel is paid/subsided.
Hi RedDirtNurse, may I ask how much are the hourly rates and how safe it is? I’ve been working in a public hosp in Melbs for the last 10 yrs but lately I’ve been thinking of doing remote area nursing to save money (inflation and economic crisis and all 🥲). And my experience is only as a bedside nurse in a surgical unit.
The rates vary. Some jobs (rural/remote) they pay according to the state award and the mining contracts are an EBA thing with no penalties - it's a flat rate.
Rural/remote is around $75/hr for day shift. Penalties apply for weekends, public holidays and call outs.
Typically, I am working Monday to Friday and on call. Sometimes working with others, but I'm more accustomed to working alone.
There's a stand-by rate for being on call - it's like $8/hr, I think. So, I'm paid every hour overnight between shifts.
Call outs are common, though, so it can be lucrative.
The mining gigs pay about $65 - $75 per hour, but the shifts are 12 hours for 8 days or 15 days straight. But with a 6 days or 13 days of, respectively. Even though there's no penalties, the total fixed remuneration is around $165k - but remember, you're home every other week (on an 8/6 roster). Again, I'm usually working alone in the bush with the nearest hospital more than 3 hours by road and utilising RFDS for critical retrievals.
I haven't worked in a hospital per se for more than 15 years and I don't miss it. Having a week or two weeks off gives me the time to pick up casual shifts in urgent care, just so I can get some time with other clinicians to socialise professionally - it's not for the money.
In terms of safety - mining work is super safe. Working in small towns is pretty safe. When I've worked in remote community, a security guard is required to attend call outs at all times.
In terms of experience, you'd do well to get some courses under your belt, but you could be doing that now while still at your own job - just a day here or there on your days off.
This is my experience. I hope I've answered your questions.
Oh my goodness, thank you very much RedDirtNurse for taking the time to respond to my question ☺️. Is it okay if i shoot you a DM regarding working as a mining nurse?
Hi RedDirtNurse. I am intrigued! I'm 12 yrs in public aged care and I need a change... A drastic change! Please tell us more! What type of roles do you cover? Is there a handover prior to commencement? What's the $ like?
Sometimes, there's no handover. Just the DD keys left in a safe. There will be an email or printed one - but there's no inpatients, of course.
You're working alone more often than not - Sometimes there's a receptionist, which is super helpful.
I cover rural/remote and mining/gas kinda jobs.
The annual salary is between $164k - $175k, with callouts it can get closer to $200k.
Hope that answers your questions.
First of all thanks for the answer.
I'm sorry for the late reply but I had and still have a lot going on in my life these days.
I am concerned that my savings here wouldn't be sufficient or that it will take me years, that's why I thought of moving in the UK.. This way I'd be able to save up more and to learn the language well.
But I'm still thinking about it because everything seems scary since I am alone.
What is a remote area nurse?
Happy cake day, Sister. A RAN is a nurse who primarily works in the bush with little or no clinical support. Often, I'm working on my own with the nearest hospital more than four hours drive by road. I'll use the Royal Flying Doctor Service [(RFDS)](https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/wa/) for critical evacuations.
I can’t speak to what it’s like nursing in England, but here in Australia it depends where you want to work.
NSW nurses are struggling with pay rates and ratios and it’s unlikely to change any time soon. Most of the other states are marginally better.
Conditions post covid are bleak but there are some good jobs out there, my advise would be to do a bit of research in regard to regional towns and shortlist a few that look like you might like them, a lot of them offer relocation bonuses and retention bonuses because they’re chronically understaffed. Another alternative is agency work, pays better and you get to travel.
I live in a regional, beachside town - the hospital here isnt great but plenty of work across the board
Unsure about Italian nurses but, we recruit from UK regularly I think due to the similarities between NHS and our system. I'm not totally sure how it works but I know employers provide visa sponsorship and assistance with registration and travel particularly if you're willing to work in regional/rural areas. From what I can tell this all goes through some kind of international recruitment agency
Sorry to piggy back on the post, but I'm from the US and was wondering about moving here room. I was under the impression that if I had a BSN from an accredited program and since I'm a native English speaker I didn't have to do any testing? I know it's much easier to become a nurse in Australia if you live in the UK or Canada because they're part of the Commonwealth (it's what I read on APHRA). And that it's still relatively easy (still a pain in the ass) to come to Australia as a nurse if you got your education and worked as a nurse in specific countries, one of them being the US. I've got 3-4 years to get experience in the specialty I need to move, but yeah. I had a coworker (she's a traveler) that is native to Italy too and she told me when you go international, they want to see 3 years of experience in the specialty you work in to be considered.
Can anyone verify any of this for me? I'm fortunate to not be in OPs specific situation, I just hate where I live as well, but it sounds like we have similar questions.
Also, OP, I think your English was wonderful in your post! You're doing great! :)
Thank you!
I upvoted your comment so hopefully someone will answer you! When I started to learn about my problem I discovered that on the Aphra website there is a guide and there are several sections related to various cases.
I hope there is some useful information for you too!
I think the transition from one country to another is an expensive exercise regardless. I wonder if it's better to skip the UK and save on the relocation costs and test fees and come directly to Australia? The pay rates are probably much better here in Australia than the UK, but the cost of living is higher. I'm in my thirtieth year of nursing this year. I don't work a conventional nursing role, but choose to travel and take contracts as a Remote Area Nurse. There's an abundance of work, and the communities and towns I work in are always super appreciative. Housing is free, and travel is paid/subsided.
Hi RedDirtNurse, may I ask how much are the hourly rates and how safe it is? I’ve been working in a public hosp in Melbs for the last 10 yrs but lately I’ve been thinking of doing remote area nursing to save money (inflation and economic crisis and all 🥲). And my experience is only as a bedside nurse in a surgical unit.
The rates vary. Some jobs (rural/remote) they pay according to the state award and the mining contracts are an EBA thing with no penalties - it's a flat rate. Rural/remote is around $75/hr for day shift. Penalties apply for weekends, public holidays and call outs. Typically, I am working Monday to Friday and on call. Sometimes working with others, but I'm more accustomed to working alone. There's a stand-by rate for being on call - it's like $8/hr, I think. So, I'm paid every hour overnight between shifts. Call outs are common, though, so it can be lucrative. The mining gigs pay about $65 - $75 per hour, but the shifts are 12 hours for 8 days or 15 days straight. But with a 6 days or 13 days of, respectively. Even though there's no penalties, the total fixed remuneration is around $165k - but remember, you're home every other week (on an 8/6 roster). Again, I'm usually working alone in the bush with the nearest hospital more than 3 hours by road and utilising RFDS for critical retrievals. I haven't worked in a hospital per se for more than 15 years and I don't miss it. Having a week or two weeks off gives me the time to pick up casual shifts in urgent care, just so I can get some time with other clinicians to socialise professionally - it's not for the money. In terms of safety - mining work is super safe. Working in small towns is pretty safe. When I've worked in remote community, a security guard is required to attend call outs at all times. In terms of experience, you'd do well to get some courses under your belt, but you could be doing that now while still at your own job - just a day here or there on your days off. This is my experience. I hope I've answered your questions.
Oh my goodness, thank you very much RedDirtNurse for taking the time to respond to my question ☺️. Is it okay if i shoot you a DM regarding working as a mining nurse?
Sure. I'll try to reply promptly.
Hi RedDirtNurse. I am intrigued! I'm 12 yrs in public aged care and I need a change... A drastic change! Please tell us more! What type of roles do you cover? Is there a handover prior to commencement? What's the $ like?
Sometimes, there's no handover. Just the DD keys left in a safe. There will be an email or printed one - but there's no inpatients, of course. You're working alone more often than not - Sometimes there's a receptionist, which is super helpful. I cover rural/remote and mining/gas kinda jobs. The annual salary is between $164k - $175k, with callouts it can get closer to $200k. Hope that answers your questions.
First of all thanks for the answer. I'm sorry for the late reply but I had and still have a lot going on in my life these days. I am concerned that my savings here wouldn't be sufficient or that it will take me years, that's why I thought of moving in the UK.. This way I'd be able to save up more and to learn the language well. But I'm still thinking about it because everything seems scary since I am alone. What is a remote area nurse?
Happy cake day, Sister. A RAN is a nurse who primarily works in the bush with little or no clinical support. Often, I'm working on my own with the nearest hospital more than four hours drive by road. I'll use the Royal Flying Doctor Service [(RFDS)](https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/wa/) for critical evacuations.
I can’t speak to what it’s like nursing in England, but here in Australia it depends where you want to work. NSW nurses are struggling with pay rates and ratios and it’s unlikely to change any time soon. Most of the other states are marginally better. Conditions post covid are bleak but there are some good jobs out there, my advise would be to do a bit of research in regard to regional towns and shortlist a few that look like you might like them, a lot of them offer relocation bonuses and retention bonuses because they’re chronically understaffed. Another alternative is agency work, pays better and you get to travel. I live in a regional, beachside town - the hospital here isnt great but plenty of work across the board
Thank you for your answer. When you talk about the struggles with the pay rates and ratios what do you mean? They don't pay the nurses?
Unsure about Italian nurses but, we recruit from UK regularly I think due to the similarities between NHS and our system. I'm not totally sure how it works but I know employers provide visa sponsorship and assistance with registration and travel particularly if you're willing to work in regional/rural areas. From what I can tell this all goes through some kind of international recruitment agency
Sorry to piggy back on the post, but I'm from the US and was wondering about moving here room. I was under the impression that if I had a BSN from an accredited program and since I'm a native English speaker I didn't have to do any testing? I know it's much easier to become a nurse in Australia if you live in the UK or Canada because they're part of the Commonwealth (it's what I read on APHRA). And that it's still relatively easy (still a pain in the ass) to come to Australia as a nurse if you got your education and worked as a nurse in specific countries, one of them being the US. I've got 3-4 years to get experience in the specialty I need to move, but yeah. I had a coworker (she's a traveler) that is native to Italy too and she told me when you go international, they want to see 3 years of experience in the specialty you work in to be considered. Can anyone verify any of this for me? I'm fortunate to not be in OPs specific situation, I just hate where I live as well, but it sounds like we have similar questions. Also, OP, I think your English was wonderful in your post! You're doing great! :)
Thank you! I upvoted your comment so hopefully someone will answer you! When I started to learn about my problem I discovered that on the Aphra website there is a guide and there are several sections related to various cases. I hope there is some useful information for you too!
I'll have to look through it all again. It was definitely overwhelming when I was doing it before. Thank you!