Australia still a favourite with UK & Irish nurses



By Marian Edmunds

Rita Martin came to work in Australia as part of a big recruitment drive by the NSW Department of Health in England and Ireland in 1988.

“We thought at the time that the working conditions were fabulous compared to what we had left,” says Rita an ICU Registered Nurse, and government community relations organiser with the NSW Nurses Association.  “All the nurses from England and Ireland used to comment on how good the working conditions were.”

With experience working in several European countries behind her, Rita originally from Ireland, was one of a large intake of nurses at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

“A group of about 15 who started in the ICU at the same time and about two-thirds of that group were from overseas,” she recalls.

Rita has retained registration in the UK and returns there to work every year. She believes Australia continues to offer better working conditions than the UK.

“I came here with my boyfriend [now husband] with no intentions of staying. We went home and got married, then went to Boston, in the US for a year and spent the whole time in America thinking, ‘oh God why did we leave Sydney?’ so we came back in 1991.”

“The professionalism of Australian nurses is recognised, the skills are recognised, and they are well organised in groups. Then you have to take into consideration the cost of living [in Australia].”

Clair Nunn went from being a nurse working in a large hospital in London to working in Central West Queensland covering an area the size of the UK.

Now based in Longreach, Clair is employed by Queensland Health. She has found challenging work first as a nurse educator and now as part of a team at Longreach Hospital. She has also met her husband Luke Nunn, a lifestyle she loves and the couple are soon to welcome their first child. Read the
full story on Clair.

From 1 July 2010, the regulation and accreditation scheme for nurses coming from overseas will be handled entirely by the Australian
Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC).

The ANMC is an authorised assessing authority for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and undertakes skills assessments of internationally qualified nurses and midwives seeking permanent migration to Australia.

It currently receives online-only applications in a process that takes 12-14 weeks because of the large number of applications.
Australia has become even more popular with Irish nurses. Since the Global Finance Crisis, the Irish Government has slashed public sector spending. Irish nurses saw their pay cut by 20 per cent and have been burdened with new taxes.  

The cost of the accommodation in Australia varies around the country with Sydney being one of the most difficult markets to break into.

While hospitals in Australia focus their efforts on hiring home-trained nurses the aging population has reduced the labour supply and so recruitment campaigns do include hiring nurses from overseas as well.

Australian hospitals like to attract nurses who have experience of working in western-style hospitals such those in the UK, Ireland, the US, South Africa or even Saudi Arabia. Registered nurses from those places are seen as having a similar pro-active style of nursing to Australian-trained nurses.

North Shore Private sponsors nurses coming in from overseas for a minimum of two years. This usually applies to registered nurses.

Overseas recruits find colleagues welcoming and willing to assist with getting new recruits settled by offering advice and even donating furniture. Recruitment agencies also provide a range of support including greeting new arrivals to Australia and connecting them to services such as real estate agencies to help organise housing.

CareerOne.com.au, May 2010.