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Extreme Medicine Courses - World Extreme Medicine

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Our extreme medicine courses enable medics to combine their skills with adventure, travel or humanitarian projects.

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Adventure Medic is packed with features, tales, electives, stunning photography and video from the world outside the ward.

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Find your perfect locum fast. The best locum agencies together in one place, competing to find you work. Managed through your Messly account.

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Prospects - A careers site to explore other job roles

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Prospects - A careers site to explore other job roles

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What can I do with a medicine degree? | Prospects.ac.uk

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Find out what you can do with your degree in medicine including NHS careers, job options in the health sector, work experience, further study and skills.

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Squiggly Careers - podcasts and resources for career learning

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Squiggly Careers - podcasts and resources for career learning

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Making squiggly careers better for everyone

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Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis are the founders of Amazing If, an award-winning company with a mission to make careers better for everyone.

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2021 SAS contracts - the alternative career pathway

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Information for overseas allied health professionals

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Dr Ollie Burton - lots of useful career content

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Dr Ollie Burton - lots of useful career content

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Hello! I'm Ollie, a doctor working in the NHS in England. Come here for advice on med school interviews, tutorials and video diaries covering my career in medicine.

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Gemma Sinclair - Careers Northeast Deanery

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Applications for Specialty Training and F3 Roles

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The British Medical Association is the trade union and professional body for doctors in the UK.

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You can recover your place by logging back in to Specialty explorer, scrolling down to the 'launch test' area and clicking the icon next to the assessment you were completing. This will return you to the same point you left.

If your internet connection is lost you will still be able to answer the questions and navigate through the assessment as normal. Your answers will be saved locally so you will not lose any of your answers. However, you will need an active internet connection to submit your answers.

If you leave Specialty explorer, you will need to login through the BMA website and relaunch it by scrolling to the launch area and selecting the assessment icon, you will need an active internet connection to do this.

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Specialty explorer is a tool for BMA members that matches you with medical specialties that suit your preferences. It is designed to help you choose what kind of doctor you would like to be.

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NHS England | Workforce, training and education | Medical Hub

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Medical Specialty Recruitment | Workforce, training and education | NHS England

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Guidance to help you apply to your chosen medical specialty

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Updated article
This article was originally published on 7 Mar 2018, and has since been updated ready for the 2023 application window.
Dr Shona Main / ST4 Emergency Medicine / Wessex

Dr Will Denehan / ST4 Anaesthetics / Wessex

Dr James Truell / F4 / Wellington
For many years now, New Zealand has been an incredibly popular destination for doctors at all stages of their training looking to expand their horizons and experience life and work in another culture and healthcare system. With it's stunning landscapes, sunny climate, unlimited opportunities to explore the great outdoors, countless wineries (need we go on?!) not to mention the favourable working conditions and pay, it's easy to see why so many are tempted down under. Adventure Medic initially teamed up with UK junior doctors Shona Main and Will Denehan in 2018 to bring you their 'Definitive Junior Doctors' Guide to Working and Living in New Zealand', which has since been updated by Jamie Truell in 2023. Drawing on their invaluable recent first hand experience and research, Shona, Will and Jamie will guide you through the process of job applications and relocation from start to finish, demystifying the bureaucracy and simply informing you what you need to do and how you need to do it. Now you've no excuse..!
If you are interested in this piece, you may be interested in these others relating to work in Australasia:

Contents

1. Checklists

Documents for your applications

Cover letter

CV ( + Auckland specific CV document if applying there)

UK Police certificate

Certificate of Good Standing from GMC (within 3 months of your job start date and no sooner)

Advanced Life Support (ALS) certificate

Foundation completion certificate

Contact details for 3 referees (current supervisor and 2 previous supervisors)

GMC Licence to Practise certificate

Evidence +/- ability to obtain the right to live and work in NZ

* Medical degree certificate

* Driver's licence

* Passport

Proof of current indemnity

* documents that need verifying (see Verification of Documents)

Once you've got a job offer

Book flights (check baggage allowance offered by different airlines and routes)

Sort visa +/- visa medical

Decide whether to relinquish your GMC licence to practise or whether to keep revalidating in the UK

Arrange initial accommodation in NZ

Arrange health insurance

Contact Student Loans Company if you have a student loan to arrange compulsory payments while you are earning abroad

Book annual leave for your first job

Request to set up NZ bank account online and arrange an activation meeting for as early as possible after you arrive in NZ

Transfer money into your NZ account before you fly to ensure it transfers in time

Tell your UK banks that you're going away to cover using your cards until you have an NZ bank account

Take out some NZ dollars to cover your initial expenditures

Complete Occupational Health paperwork - this will be sent to you by your employer

Sort MCNZ registration - this will be done via your employer; arrange initial zoom meeting to verify your documents for when you are in NZ

Sort NZ indemnity cover

Complete Payroll documents - these will be sent to you by your employer

Sort NZ police certificate - your employer will do this for you but requires your permission

Join social media group for your hospital - this will also aid arranging run swaps

Once you've landed in NZ

Attend MCNZ meeting with required documents (as per their emails)

Complete any outstanding Occupational Health tests

Activate bank account , request debit/credit card and get a printed statement for address confirmation at the same meeting

Apply for IRD number (tax code) online/at post-office once you have proof of address and an active bank account

Buy an NZ sim card for your phone

Find long term accommodation

Buy a car if needed

Attend meeting with your DHB to complete final payroll documents etc. as required

Discuss available entitlements with your employer. Most IMGs working at a NZ DHB receive a 6% contribution to their retirement savings plan.

Consider signing up to MAS (a non-resident version of Kiwisaver). You can take the lump sum out when you leave NZ or access it when you turn 65 if staying in NZ long term.

2. The NZ system

The academic year in NZ starts in January/February (rather than August as in the UK). It is possible to start work in August i.e. as soon as you finish F2, although a many people start in January/February. This means you can work in NZ within F3 - work for 6 months (January/February to July/August) or 12 months (August to August); returning to the UK for interviews and then again to start training. Others take an F3 and F4; working January/February to January/February and return to the UK for interview season in their F4 year (or for February starts).

The grade scale is slightly different in NZ, see below:

3. The Application

(a) How To Apply

There are two main routes to getting work in NZ.

Other routes include applying directly to hospitals, though at a junior level you're often re-directed back to the national applications.

1. Kiwi Health Jobs

Individual hospitals or deaneries (called district health boards, or DHBs) will publish available jobs on Kiwi Health Jobs. You can often still get ahead of the game by looking at the DHB's own website too or contacting them directly. Click here for a list of DHB websites. It varies between the DHBs, but they usually list either:

A specific job at a specific grade in a specific DHB e.g. House Officer in Emergency Medicine in Waikato DHB, or

General jobs at a specific grade in a specific DHB e.g. All House Officer jobs in Lakes DHB

The Kiwi Health Jobs application system auto-populates your answers if you've answered the same question in another application. This is handy, though there are still small differences that can catch you out. For example, Northlands DHB have a separate application form entirely. Similarly the Auckland DHB (a large area covering Waitemata, Auckland and Counties Manukau DHB's) has a separate CV form that you must use; failure to do so can void your application.

2. Locum Agencies

There are a few locum agencies with whom you can register in order to get a job in NZ. Jamie's experience was with Triple0, though others do exist. They are free for the user and receive a "finder's fee" from the health board.

The upside is that they facilitate a lot of the paperwork that you will otherwise need to do yourself. They are more likely to have job availability during periods when national applications aren't open (e.g. in August when you finish F2) and can look for quite specific jobs for you e.g. House Officer in O&G in Auckland starting in October, rather than having to apply to many different jobs.

Their downside is their popularity - you have to register early in order to get ahead of the masses! They may also not find you a job, or find you one very last minute. If you want a set plan and structure to your time out, relying on the locum agencies to find you a job at a specific time isn't the most sensible. It is always worth regularly staying in contact to ensure you stay on their radar.

The best thing to do is to try to tailor your approach; decide where you want to work and what in. Even if you decide on just North or South island, it will save you an incredible amount of time in application form filling!

(b) What To Apply For

After finishing F2 in the UK, you are eligible for either House Officer or Junior Registrar posts in NZ [see table above].

House Officer jobs are essentially like F1 and F2 all over again. They are a good option if you don't know what you want to do long term and just want a job full stop. They can be useful to gain experience in specialties you haven't done during F1/2, for example more time in surgical specialties, ED etc. If you do know what you'll train in, they can be useful to build points for an application (e.g. Anaesthesia applications give points for 12+ months post-F2 in "complementary specialties"). Their downfall is that you're not really progressing; it's like doing more time in an F1 or F2 role.

Due to changes in junior doctor contracts, there are more House Officer jobs available than previously. This should make it easy to get one somewhere. That said, priority is given to NZ nationals (and in particular NZ nationals of Maori descent), so you are unlikely to get all your first choices in terms of location or specific specialty.

Junior Registrar jobs are more like core training jobs in the UK. They are good if you know what you want to specialise in, or want experience in a specific field to see whether it's for you. The application process is the same, but there is greater competition for places. Some of them require a certain length of time in the specialty before applying e.g. 6 months Emergency Medicine before applying to be an ED Registrar, 9 months Surgery before applying to be a Surgical Registrar. In most centres it is easy to transition to a Junior Registrar from a SHO after 6 months. Of note, Registrar posts tend to run February to February, rather than January to January.

(c) Where To Apply

There are 20 DHBs in NZ, now all under the umbrella of Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand). Most tend to have 1 or 2 big hospitals, with a larger number of smaller DGH-type hospitals. It's best to do some thinking about what you want hospital-wise (big city vs. small rural) as well as where you want to work (small town by the beach, major city etc). The government's website with a list of individual DHB websites is a good place to start and there's a helpful map here.

(d) Important Dates (approximate)

These are provided as a guide, but please check up to date application dates directly with where you intend to apply. For example Christchurch, or Auckland.

mid-May

House Officer/Registrar - Applications open

mid-June

House Officer/Registrar - Applications close

late-Aug

Registrars/designated Senior House Officer positions - Offers made

late-Aug

Registrars/designated Senior House Officer positions - Acceptances due

early-Sept

House Officers - Offers made (non-residents will hear a week after kiwis)

mid-Sept

House Officer - Acceptances due

late-Sept

House Officer - Allocations published

late-Sept

Registrars and designated Senior House Officer Allocations published

mid-Jan

House Officer Start Date

early-Feb

Registrar Start Date

(e) Documents required for your Applications

Passport

Regardless of what visa type you apply for (see 'Visas' below), you will need a minimum of 15 months left on your passport from the time your visa starts (usually the first day you enter the country). If you planned on starting work in NZ in August 2023, your passport should expire no earlier than November 2024. Worth looking at early on, as last-minute new passports are pricey!

CV

All applications require a CV. As mentioned above, the Auckland Region has its own CV template. Otherwise it's an as-you-like-it CV. Worth getting in order early, especially as you'll need one for UK applications anyway.

References

A mandatory requirement for applications are three references. These must be from the three rotations/jobs you did immediately prior to starting in NZ. There is a generic RP6: Referee Form, used by the DHBs and the MCNZ.

If you are planning to start in NZ in August, the references will be from your Clinical Supervisors for your three F2 rotations.

If you are planning to start in NZ in January/February, and have done one locum or trust grade job between August and then, the references will be from your locum supervisor and the Clinical Supervisors from your last two F2 rotations.

It can seem annoying to have to get the form filled out; our best suggestion is to print off a number of copies and bring one to end-of-rotation meetings, getting the supervisor to fill it out then and there. You'll then have to scan it yourself and upload it to your application later. Some regions now do these electronically, so give your supervisor a copy in case they need to fill it out online again at a later date.

DBS/Police Checks

You will need to have checks from any country you are a citizen of, in addition to NZ police forces, during the process of getting a job in NZ. The international police certificate(s) are for immigration purposes. UK certificates cost £55 (or £95 if you leave it last minute) and can be requested here.

The NZ police certificates is for work purposes. It is free. Once you receive your job offer, your employer will email you a Police Vetting Form to fill out.

Other Documents

Both National and Locum application processes will require copies of a wide array of documents. These include personal ID (passport, driver's licence) and medical documents (ALS certificate, F2 completion certificate etc.). Please see the checklists above for a full list of the documents you'll require.

Verification of Documents and Statutory Declaration

Some documents you will need to have verified as being yours through the US based Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC) Physicians Portal. The whole process takes a few weeks, includes an identity check over zoom and costs 230 USD. Your EPIC Identification Form (EIF) must be certified by an authorised official. The Post Office offers this service - you'll need to bring the original document, a photocopy and the £12.75 fee. See here for more details. If your name differs between any of your official documents, you will need to have a statutory declaration signed to verify they're all yours. Examples might be lacking middle names, or maiden and married names on different documents. This has to be done by a notary. If you don't happen to have a family friend or colleague who's a notary, you may have to pay for this to be done, in the region of £75. You can find your nearest one here.

4. Things You'll Need To Start Work

(a) MCNZ Licence

The MCNZ is New Zealand's GMC equivalent. You'll need a licence to practise before you start work. As a UK graduate, you'll be given a 6 month provisional license to practice which, assuming you get 'signed off' at the end of the period, will be converted to a full licence to practise after that time. The MCNZ also require references - you can use the same ones as for your job applications.

The application can be pricey. Most people pay an initial fee of approximately $600, followed by the actual licence fee. The license fee cost changes depending on your birthday (yeah, we know it's weird), but is going to be in the region of $700-$1000. The good news is that you can claim that fee back once you start work; the bad news is you have to have the money in the first place to afford it! See Fees and Finances below.

Once you have applied for a licence, the next step is being "invited for a zoom interview". This is merely a document-checking and form-filling exercise, but has to be done in NZ by an MCNZ-approved notary. It is free. Once this has been done and paperwork approved you will receive a practising certificate.

On finishing work in NZ, contact the MCNZ to let them know. If you are even considering returning to work in NZ again, they recommend remaining on their register as a non-practicing clinician (equivalent to relinquishing your license to practice but staying on the GMC register). This is currently free.

(b) GMC Licence

As an aside, it is worth considering what to do with your GMC licence. There are three options:

Keep your licence: you'll pay full fees, but be eligible to work in the UK (including as a locum). You'll also have to revalidate annually i.e. complete an annual return. This either means getting your current designated body to agree to keep you on their books and doing your revalidation meeting OR paying a fee to the GMC to do it.

Relinquish your licence: you won't have a license to practise medicine in the UK, though you'll keep your registration with the GMC. You'll pay less in fees. It costs £10 to relinquish your license and £10 to reinstate it. You won't need a designated body nor have to complete an annual return. To reinstate your licence to practise you will need to provide statements from employers since relinquishing your licence and a certificate of good standing/professional status from the medical council(s) you have worked under (e.g. COPS from MCNZ currently costs 220.43 NZD [March '23]). You will also need a completed UD8 form.

Relinquish your registration: you won't have a licence to practise and you'll be removed from the GMC list of registered medical practitioners. Not really the done thing unless you're leaving medicine entirely or plan to never return to the UK to practice medicine. You can re-register, but we wouldn't really recommend this option.

More information can be found on the GMC website under Revalidation.

(c) Certificate of Good Standing

You will be asked to provide a Certificate of Good Standing (a.k.a. Certificate of Current Professional Status; CCPS) from the GMC. This is for the MCNZ to verify you haven't been struck off etc. The certificate sent must be within 3 months of your start-date for work. If you apply too early, you'll have to re-apply to get one within that 3 month time frame. It is free. It is an electronic certificate that is sent directly to the MCNZ. You do not have to carry, print or hand it in. Simply request it and the rest happens automatically.

To request one, log into your GMC Online account. Then follow: My Registration ⇒ My CCPS Request ⇒ Request a CCPS.

(d) Visas

There are three main visas on which you can work: Working Holiday Visa, Straight to Residency Visa and Accredited Employer Worker Visa.

For those not looking for a permanent move, the oxymoronic Working Holiday Visa is your best bet. You must apply for one before you get a permanent job offer. You can apply for 12 months (455 NZD) or 23 months (910 NZD). For the 12-month visa, you may need a CXR depending on time spent in TB-endemic countries. For the 23-month visa, you will need a CXR and medical as above. Our understanding is that once 23 months has elapsed, you will not be eligible for a further Working Holiday Visa again in the future. Getting a Working Holiday Visa is quick; can be within 2 weeks. Time on a Working Holiday Visa does not count towards residency and citizenship requirements.

From July 2023, Working Holiday Visas are open to UK citizens aged up to 35 and can last up to three years.

For those planning to be in NZ longer term, the Straight to Residency Visa is an expensive but efficient choice. Doctors are "Tier 1" roles that New Zealand wants. As such, they have introduced a 2-year fast track to permanent residency. It costs 4890 NZD to apply for from the UK and will take at least a couple of months to be approved. You will require a full medical and CXR. After your two years, you can apply for permanent residency. This beats the six years for most other professions.

The middle ground between these two is the Accredited Employer Worker Visa. This is a three-year work visa linking you to a specific job. Due to the changes to Working Holiday and introduction of Straight to Residency, this is unlikely to be your best option for short or long term.

Some of you will have partners who aren't doctors but are coming with you to New Zealand. We recommend visiting the New Zealand immigration website which has all of the above information and more.

(e) Occupational Health (OH)

You will fulfil most OH requirements just by having the required immunisations for F1/2 in the UK. There are, however, some differences which require you to have extra tests and possibly vaccines. These are free from the OH department at your employing trust, so don't shell out for them at home privately! TB - Unlike the UK, BCG scar is not evidence of adequate immunity against TB. OH will want you to have a Quantiferon Gold test. If this is negative, no dramas. If it is positive, they will want you to have a CXR as evidence you don't have pulmonary TB. If you have had a CXR for visa purposes, you can send them the [normal] report from this; you won't have to have a 2nd CXR.

VZV - A positive history of chicken pox is likewise not considered adequate immunity, so you will have to have a VZV antibody titre. Presumably if this is low, you will be offered a booster.

(f) Indemnity

You will need professional indemnity cover to work in NZ. Have a look at the indemnity insurance page on the NZRDA website. The NZRDA are the Kiwi equivalent of the BMA.

There are a few companies that provide indemnity; it's best to check out which is right for you. Options include MPS-NZ, NZMII and Medicus.

We went with MPS-NZ. If you are already an MPS member in the UK - you can transfer your membership across to NZ. You won't have to pay any new fees if you've already paid for the year. There are certain criteria you have to fulfil for this to work - one of which is retaining your GMC registration (but not license). If you aren't already an MPS member in the UK, you'll have to create a membership and pay the subscription fee for your cover (this can also be claimed back once you start work).

5. Things You'll Need To Live

(a) Accommodation

Accommodation can be tricky to sort as you arrive in a new country. It's best to arrive early and get stuck in to finding somewhere to live as soon as possible. TradeMe is a good bet for both rental property (via 'Estate Agents) or 'Flatmates Wanted' i.e. renting a room in a pre-existing household. There are also Facebook groups e.g. 'Auckland Flatmates Wanted'. The other option is renting via an estate agent directly; the big ones (in Auckland) are Barfoot & Thompson, Ray White and Harcourts.

In the interim, staying with friends, friends-of-friends or Airbnb are good options. You will need an NZ address for many of the things below, including bank accounts, IRD numbers and car purchase/insurance. Best to ask someone you know (well) if you can use their address for official things - others have had success using Airbnb addresses.

Be aware that many properties come unfurnished and may not have white goods. Everything can be purchased through TradeMe at reasonable rates.

(b) Bank Account

You'll need an active NZ bank account for your wages (these cannot be put into international accounts), as well as for your IRD number and day-to-day living. There are a number of different banks you can choose to bank with (see 'Banks' under Useful Websites). The banks all seem much-of-a-muchness; we personally went with Westpac as we had them recommended to us and it was extremely smooth.

We recommend you apply for your bank account in advance of your arrival in NZ. You can then arrange to have it activated (requires a meeting at the bank in person) on one of the days soon after your arrival, meaning you'll avoid having to use UK cards etc.. You are also able to transfer money into your account in advance of it being active. This means that on the day you activate it, you'll have money ready to go! For international transfers, we recommend Transferwise.

All bank accounts come with an EFTPOS card - this is a non-personalised, non-contactless transaction card. It is linked to your account, can be used in most shops, petrol stations etc and to withdraw cash from ATMs. It does not work for online purchases - you will need to apply a debit or credit card for these. Our recommendation is applying for a debit (+/- credit) card during your initial activation meeting at the bank. You can also have it sent to the bank branch to collect if you don't have a permanent address yet.

(c) IRD Number

The NZ IRD Number is the equivalent of a UK National Insurance Number. In theory it's not a mandatory requirement to work, although without it all your earnings are taxed at 45% (and not retrospectively reclaimable if you get an IRD number later). You need to already be in New Zealand before you can apply; applying online gets you your number quickly (<1 week) versus the paper application (2-3 weeks). The IRD website has the details for applying, but you'll need an active bank account to apply, so sort that out first!

(d) Health Insurance

Emergency healthcare is free at the point of contact. GP appointments are not, and you will have to pay for an appointment +/- extra depending on what they do. It is unlikely you will find a health insurance policy that covers you for the whole year. Most annual policies seem to last for just the first 90 days of any one trip. If you return to the UK within the first 3 months of your time in NZ, then fly back, it will reboot it - this is an expensive option however!

(e) Car

The public transport systems in NZ are pretty woeful compared to most of the UK, certainly compared to major UK cities. Inter-city trains are virtually non-existent. Within cities and towns, there will be variable bus and train networking. Auckland has the best train network, though it is still relatively poor.

If you plan on doing any sort of travelling in-country, you will need a car. The car market in NZ is slightly odd - the bulk of it consists of Japanese cars that have been imported (seemingly because Japan has an extremely strict M.O.T after a few years, which is so expensive most people just sell their cars to exporters rather than have it done). The bonus of getting a second hand car of Japanese make is that they tend to be cheaper (as there's a big supply) and if they do break, spare parts are plentiful. By comparison, European makes such as Volkswagen are less plentiful, tend to be a bit pricier and are more expensive to fix. If you don't require one day-to-day, it may be worth just renting a car or camper van for when you do want one! If you need one day-to-day, there are a few places to get one from:

Car Fairs: These are pre-organised days where people bring their car and try to sell it. The upsides are that you can see loads of cars at once and can negotiate a price individually. The downsides are the quality is very much dependent on who pitches up to sell on the day, as well as the usual downsides of buying privately rather than through a dealer. You'll have to find the nearest car fair to where you'll be working/staying, but as an example in Auckland they have them every Saturday (Auckland Central - www.aucklandcitycarfair.co.nz) and Sunday (Ellerslie).

TradeMe: TradeMe is the hub of most internet buying/selling in NZ. It is sort of a lovechild of Gumtree, Ebay, Freecycle and Amazon. With respect to cars, both private dealers and car dealerships will put cars up for sale on TradeMe. The same pros and cons apply as above; it can be good for seeing rough pricing estimates etc.

Car Dealerships: There are loads out there, from make-specific new car dealerships to generic second hand dealers. The bonus of a dealership is that they've got their reputation on the line, so are less likely to try and rip you off. There are also some consumer rights that mean if your car implodes within a "reasonable time frame", the dealer is culpable.

Car Insurance is not actually mandatory in NZ! Although it is obviously recommended. It tends to be cheaper than back home (approximately half the price of UK insurance). If you have car insurance, anyone over the age of 25 with a licence can drive your car for free without being named on the insurance policy. The excess tends to be greater if you have had an NZ licence for less than 2 years (or don't have one at all). There are lots of insurance companies available; the AA is a popular choice.

In NZ the MOT is called a "WOF" (Warrant of Fitness). It is done annually, is cheaper than an MOT ($50-80), and can be done in most garages. If you're buying a car, make sure its WOF is up to date. If not, take this into account for pricing.

Road Tax is called Registration (or "Rego"). It's more expensive than the UK, though still not loads. As with the WOF, make sure the car you buy has an up-to-date registration.

Pre-purchase inspection. The AA do two levels of car inspection. Most dealers will say their car has "passed AA inspection", which basically means it has 4 wheels and a chassis. There is a more detailed inspection called a Pre-Purchase Inspection. It costs $209, but gives a thorough run through of the mechanics etc. of the car. Worth the dollar if you're set on a car but want an eye cast over it.

(f) Phone

There are fewer available phone networks in NZ. The big brands are all much-of-a-muchness, though it's worth scouting which one will be best for you. Vodafone, Spark and 2Degrees are the three main brands; anecdotally Vodafone and Spark have the best network coverage.

(g) Student Loans

If you have a student loan there is unfortunately, no escaping paying it off. It is worth contacting the student loans company before you go to organise this as friends that didn't got hit with a large bill on their return.

6. Things To Know About Work

(a) Annual Leave

For House Officer roles, leave is:

30 days annual leave; max 2 weeks in a row, can split however you like between rotations.

Leave can be taken on any shift, although they can turn down normal leave requests for out of hours shifts if needed for staffing

STILL/STAT days; the NZ equivalent of 'days in lieu', these are earned by working public holidays. You can take them at any time and, if 2 weeks notice is given, they cannot reject your request.

If you would like a long weekend, request the Friday off before you get your rota. This guarantees your weekend off.

If you don't take all your leave, you get paid for the leave you don't take. For example, if you only took 28 days leave in the year, you will be paid 2 days worth of salary (at the rate of your most recent job). If you use up all 30 days, you are allowed to take more leave, though it is unpaid and still has to be approved in the same way. If you move jobs within a DHB, or to a different DHB, your remaining leave can be transferred. This process takes some time, however, so you may not be able to take it straight away.

(b) Study Leave and Courses

At house officer level you have 5 days study leave during an academic year. It has to be approved in the same way as annual leave.

You will be reimbursed for courses you go on if they are deemed relevant to your job or your training. This isn't clearly defined - best option is to find a course you want to do, ask your employer in advance whether they'll refund it, then book on if they say yes. You can do many of the courses that are recognised internationally e.g. ATLS, APLS - if you want to do these and/or need them for applications, may be sensible to get them done in NZ for free!

(c) Portfolio

No portfolio is required until you have your general registration (which will be after six months of work with completed sign offs submitted to the MCNZ). You will, however, have to have a completed RP3/5 form for each run within this time period (usually two runs if a house officer, one if a registrar). These forms must be signed by the supervisor named on your MCNZ provisional license certificate; if this supervisor hasn't directly worked with you on the run, their countersignature will do.

At six months you will complete a change of scope form, to apply to switch from provisional to general registration. Your named supervisor will also need to sign this change of scope form in the same fashion as above. Ensure that they are happy to provide future references, as many UK jobs you return to will require references for all jobs you have done in the last five years.

Once you are eligible for general registration, the MCNZ will contact you and explain how to set up 'Inpractice'. This is their eportfolio equivalent; a less time consuming version of the UK ones.

(d) Swapping Jobs

In theory you are able to swap any of your rotations. To do so you need to fill out a swap form stating which rotation you have and which rotation you want to have. You are most likely to get a swap approved if you can find a reciprocal swapper. You can, however, submit a form without a pre-organised match and hope they'll pair you to an anonymous swapper. Ask your recruiting DHB who to email and for a swap form if you get dealt a rough hand.

If you begin as a House Officer and want to upgrade to a Registrar this can be done; you'll have to have an offer of a Registrar job and also give 3 months notice on your House Officer contract.

(e) Bonuses

There are loads of other bonuses you can claim once you begin work. Examples include claiming 1.5x pay for working public holidays (on top of your existing salary and banding) and claiming 'additional hours' if your co-worker calls in sick (on top of your existing salary!). You are also guaranteed at least one free hot meal per shift. In some hospitals this translates to a totally free canteen; just swipe your ID to "pay".

(f) Pay

You are paid fortnightly! Your income tax is deducted at source; there is no tax-free allowance in NZ. You do pay pension contributions though can claim these back when you exit the country. As in the UK, each rotation has a different banding (called Category).

See below for the current annual House Officer, non-urban, non-shift work pay scales (in NZ Dollars). In our experience, F3's are paid at Year 3 rates with urban and shift work scales being higher. Registrar rates will differ but can also be found in the MECA agreement.

Non-urban scales apply at Northland, Lakes, Taranaki, Tairawhiti, Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty, Whanganui, MidCentral, Wairarapa, Nelson Malborough, South Canterbury, West Coast, and Invercargill Hospital-based runs at Southern DHB.

If you start or finish work any time except the start/end of the NZ tax year (April to April), you may be eligible for a tax rebate. This can be done online via Inland Revenue at the start of the following tax year.

7. Fees and Finances

The process of setting yourself up for work and life in NZ is not cheap; you will need a chunk of money to cover the initial costs. A rough estimate is below - we have erred on the side of expense but in reality may be cheaper. (All prices are converted into £ at a rate of $1.95 NZD = £1).

In order to start work, assuming you opt for a 12 month working holiday visa, with CXR required and paying a notary, and get a phone sim on arrival, minimum costs are:

In addition to this you will need to consider the cost of a car (in the region of £3000 if you buy it outright) and permanent accommodation (typically in the region of £400-650/month, estate agents usually require 1 week's rent in advance, 3 weeks deposit and a letting fee, which is usually 1 weeks rent plus tax).

8. Useful websites

Locum / Recruitment Agencies

locums.co.nz - Gold Standard Locums

www.apac.medacs.com - MedAcs

www.triple0.com - Triple0.

www.medrecruit.com - MedRecruit

www.headmedical.com - Head Medical

Banks

www.westpac.co.nz - WestPac

www.bnz.co.nz - BNZ

www.anz.co.nz/personal/ - ANZ

www.asb.co.nz - ASB

Miscellaneous

Auckland Doctors - Information on childcare, education, moving your pets, relocation companies, tax, transport etc. Courtesy of the Auckland Doctors website.

Trade Me - Listings for properties, cars and all general items

Triple0 - Guides to relocating as a junior/specialist/GP, locuming, living and working in NZ and more.

9. About the authors

Shona and Will were F3/4s in Auckland when they originally wrote this article. Before their Antipodean adventure began they mixed locum work in A&E with cycle touring, traveling and simulation/emergency teaching in Uganda with the Poole Africa Link.

Jamie is an F4 working as a paediatric SHO in Wellington having worked in Southampton Children's Emergency Department during his F3 year. He plans to stay in New Zealand for now.

Disclaimer
All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. The authors believe it to be correct at the time of publication. It remains the responsibility of the individual reader to fact check any provided information. Adventure Medic cannot be held responsible for any false, inaccurate or incomplete information within this article, or found by following any third party link. Adventure Medic accepts no liability in respect of information, products or services available from, or damages resulting from access of any third party links from this article. For further information, please see our Terms.

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The Definitive Junior Doctors' Guide to Working and Living in New Zealand - Adventure Medic

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Junior doctors Shona Main and Will Denehan have demystified and condensed all you need to know to make the move to live and work as a doctor in New Zealand. Updated in 2023 by James Truell. What are you waiting for?

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Dr Ella Bennett / Anaesthetics Trainee / Edinburgh
Dr Jack Leach / IMT Trainee / Edinburgh
Whether you're looking for a temporary adventure or a more long-term training plan, Australia is one of the most popular options for junior doctors moving abroad and it's not hard to see why. Famed for it's eternal sunshine, outdoor lifestyle and opportunities for remote and rural training, Australia is an adventure medic's paradise. The draw of sunnier climes is all very well but making the move can be an intimidating prospect. With seemingly endless form-filling, a sizeable financial commitment and a daunting immigration process to navigate, Australia is not without its difficulties. Adventure Medic are delighted to team up with UK junior doctor Ella Bennett to help guide you through the process in her 'Definitive Junior Doctors' Guide to Working and Living in Australia'.
Contents

1. Checklists

2. The Australian system

3. The Application

1. How to apply

2. What to apply for

3. Where to apply

4. Important dates

4. Visa application and medical

5. Things you'll need to start work

1. Medical registration - completing AHPRA

2. Indemnity

3. Occupational Health (OH)

4. GMC licence

6. Things you'll need to live

1. Relocation help/remuneration

2. Accommodation

3. Bank Accounts

4. Tax File Number

5. Superannuation/pension contributions

6. Healthcare

7. Car

8. Phone

9. Student Loans

7. Things to know about work

1. Pay and working hours

2. Annual leave and study leave

3. AHPRA requirements

8. Fees and finances

9. About the authors

Before you start

The key to a stress-free transition to Australia is being prepared. The following checklists detail everything you will need to find a job, get your health practitioner registration (AHPRA), secure a visa, and finally, move. The financial commitment is substantial (see Fees and Finances) and you will become a master of form-filling. Be prepared for small hiccups along the way and some un-anticipated delays. It can be a long and stressful process but don't lose sight of the end goal; better working conditions, improved pay and days off on the beach! We promise it'll be worth it...

1. Checklists

Documents for your applications

Documents for medical registration and visa application after you have secured a job

* Documents that need certifying

Once you have submitted your AMC, AHPRA and visa applications

Once you arrive in Australia

2. The Australian System

The Australian healthcare system is a mixed system; it has a universal public branch and a private, insurance-funded, branch. The public system is funded by Medicare, a form of public health insurance similar to National Insurance in the UK. This subsides approximately 75% of GP costs, 85% of specialist out-patient costs and 100% of public in-patient costs.

The reality of this system is that all patients, regardless of their insurance status, present to public Emergency Departments before being referred on to either a private or public department. This is why most hospital sites in Australia contain neighbouring public and private hospitals.

In the context of moving to Australia for work, this is relevant for two main reasons: firstly, you can choose to work in either a public hospital or a private hospital as a junior doctor and secondly, you will find yourself talking to patients about insurance for (probably) the first time in your career.

Australian Medical Grades

The medical year begins with term 1 in late January or early February depending on your grade. As a UK graduate post-foundation training, you will be eligible to apply to both Resident Medical Officer (Senior House Officer) or Principal House Officer (Junior Registrar) posts. The term 'Resident Medical Officer' is used to cover all doctors between intern level and registrar level (see table below) and is often used as a surrogate for 'SHO' in job adverts. Job adverts occasionally specify Post Graduate Year (PGY) but this is more common in New Zealand.

3. The Application

(a) How to Apply

There are 3 main ways to secure a post in Australia:

The fourth method, and anecdotally least common, of finding a job is through a locum agency. I had no luck with this as found many of the posts I was offered were not the correct grade or location. Finding a job through an agency appears to be more common once you have been granted full registration in Australia (see 'AHPRA requirements' under Things to know about work).

Regardless of how you find a job, most hospitals will want to interview you. This is usually done by telephone or skype (on Aussie time!) so be prepared to put your work clothes over your PJs and stay up until 3 am. Having done 5 or 6 interviews ourselves, the common theme was that they were largely informal with a standard ABCDE clinical scenario to talk through.

1. Recruitment Drives

There are no country-wide recruitment dates so these must be found from state Health Board websites or by emailing medical staffing departments. As a rough guide, Queensland and South Australia commence their campaigns in June/July with interviews in August/September - most health boards will be flexible with exact start dates once they have offered you a job.

Recruitment drive posts will usually be rotational. You can find details of the RMO campaigns for and Queensland South Australia on their regional pages.

2. Emailing hospitals directly

The most common way to find vacancies is to contact medical staffing for each hospital or email consultants directly. Attaching a cover letter and CV to your email will increase your chances of a reply. This is a long process but is often fruitful and usually allows more flexibility regarding job specifics. These are usually not rotational posts with the opportunity to step-up grades when you feel ready. Many departments will be used to couples or groups of friends applying together and are happy to accommodate this where possible.

3. Online job adverts

Health Boards will usually have a vacancies page on their main website advertising any posts available. These vary in how up to date they are, so it is always worth emailing the hospital if you are interested. Job adverts can also be found on websites such as and seek recruit . States will often advertise their recruitment campaigns this way too.

(b) What to apply for?

After finishing FY2 you will be eligible to apply for both RMO/SHO posts and registrar/PHO jobs in Australia [see table above].

Resident Medical Officers are similar to FY2 posts in the UK. They can be useful to gain experience in specialties you haven't done during F1/2, for example, more time in surgical specialties, ED, etc. If you do know what you'll train in, they can be useful to build points for an application (e.g. Anaesthesia applications give points for 12+ months post-F2 in "complementary specialties"). Their downfall is that you're not really progressing; it's like doing more time in an F1 or F2 role. RMO/SHO posts are usually available as both rotational posts across different departments or as stand-alone posts in one department depending on your preference.

Registrar or Principal House Officer posts are more like core-training jobs in the UK. They are great if you want a step-up from FY2, particularly if you know what you want to specialise in. They are better paid than RMO jobs as you would expect but give greater responsibility and are less supported. In addition to this, they usually require some experience in the specialty before applying. It is also worth noting that in most departments, particularly in medicine and A&E, the registrar will be the most senior doctor in the hospital overnight so expect to advise and supervise juniors! This can be a great training opportunity, particularly in remote areas, if it is something you are interested in!

(c) Where to apply?

Australia has it all, from coastal cities to remote rainforest (and even a few ski resorts in between!). Where you apply is really down to personal choice. With some perseverance, it is relatively straightforward to find a job in most of the bigger cities. These jobs tend to be more competitive, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, and therefore usually less flexible. It's worth widening your net depending on your circumstances: Adelaide, Brisbane and Cairns, for instance, have a reputation for being more accommodating of groups and couples than the bigger cities.

Alternatively, jobs in smaller towns and rural areas are plentiful and many city jobs will offer a 'half-way house' option allowing you to include a rural rotation if this interests you. One of the major benefits of Australia's huge size is that even the smallest towns usually have a regional airport making weekend trips, and longer escapes, very feasible. It's also worth bearing in mind that 'rural' doesn't always mean remote - I did a rural secondment a mere 40-minute drive from Brisbane city centre.

As a general guide, smaller cities and more rural locations will offer far better remuneration packages for taking a post there. Cairns, for example, generally offers posts with paid flights, 10 weeks of free accommodation and a generous moving allowance. Tasmania and many of the smaller East Coast towns offer similar. Bigger more popular cities like Sydney and Melbourne generally offer no financial help with moving, with cities like Brisbane and Adelaide falling somewhere in between.

(d) Important Dates

The Australian medical year is divided into 'terms' or rotations running from late January for RMO/SHOs and early February for PHOs/registrars; RMO/SHOs will usually have 5 terms/year whilst registrars have 3 or 4 (or very occasionally 2). The dates for these can be found on the health-board websites and generally do not vary between states. In practice, this does not restrict when you can start work as starting mid-way through the year is common. There is generally a lot of flexibility with regards to start dates and contract duration as the hospitals are well versed in how long the paperwork can take. It is generally preferable to start work at the beginning of a term though, as coinciding with other new starters makes for a smoother induction. The term dates for 2021 are shown below.
Senior House Officers/RMO's
PHOs and Registrars 3 terms
4 terms
4. Applying For Medical Registration

Applying for medical registration is a long process - for this reason, some people start completing the steps (namely the AMC and EPIC stage below) prior to securing a job. This is entirely personal preference but be warned, the process is expensive so it's up to you whether you take that risk or not.

If you can, it is well worth getting a credit or debit card that gives you 0% on foreign transactions before you start. The fees will quickly mount up if you use a standard card. Refer to the checklist at the start of this article for a list of required documents.

(a) Australian Medical Council (AMC)

The very first stage for international medical graduates (IMGs) applying for provisional registration in Australia is to establish an AMC portfolio. To do this you will be required to get your primary medical degree verified by EPIC:

Step 1 - Create an EPIC account (Fee 125 USD)

To do this you will need:

1. A colour photograph of your face.

2. A scanned, full-size colour image of the identity page of your passport

3. Details regarding your medical degree including issue dates and university student number

4. GMC number and dates of registration

Make sure that you indicate that you plan to apply to the AMC when completing your request to establish an account.

After you have registered, it usually takes a few days for the account to be established. At this point you will be issued with an EPIC I.D.

N.B Once you have an EPIC account, you must upload a completed EPIC Identification Form (EIF) to confirm that you were the person who set up the account. This is downloaded from the EPIC website and must be certified by NotaryCam, an on-line notary service (included in your EPIC fee). Instructions on how to do this are available on the EPIC website.

Step 2 - Set up an AMC portfolio (Fee 500 AUD)

The AMC will email your candidate number 3-5 days after you establish your portfolio.

Step 3 - Upload your final medical degree to your EPIC account for verification (Fee 90 USD)

When you upload your qualification, select the option to send an EPIC verification report to the AMC.

Please note that if of your degree is not in English (i.e. there are parts in Latin or another language) then you will need to get it translated before you upload it. There are various way to do this detailed on the however, ECFMG recommend that that you use their linked service - any part EPIC website Straker translations. The cost for this varies based on the language and amount of text requiring translation but as a guide, ours cost £42.

Step 4 - Proceed with your AMC application selecting the pathway that you are eligible for

Details of pathways can be found here

For most juniors, this will be the Competent Authority Pathway. This is also available to GPs and specialists but results in general registration with further steps required for registration as a specialist.

To be eligible for the Competent Authority Pathway you must have been trained by an institution recognised by the AMC. In practice this includes all UK, Irish, Canadian, New Zealand and USA universities. For more information check the Australian Medical Board website.

Step 5 - EPIC will automatically send a report to the AMC once your qualification is verified

EPIC verification can take a few weeks as they need to contact your university to obtain details of your student and graduation status. The AMC portfolio fee includes one qualification so you should not have to pay anything extra for this. Once this is complete you will be notified that your verification status will have changed on the 'qualifications portal' of your AMC portfolio.

Step 6 - Pay for your AMC certificate (Fee 300 AUD)

Step 7 - Breathe a sigh of relief and note down your AMC candidate number as this will be required for the next stage...

(b) Australian Health Protection Registration Agency (AHPRA)

You cannot complete this stage without a formal job offer. Be warned, this is the most complicated, form-heavy stage of the process. It's worth asking your prospective employer to check your forms (scan and email them across) before you submit them to AHPRA to avoid errors and delays. If you are a junior doctor applying via the competent authority pathway, you will be applying for This lasts for 12 months and requires various workplace-based assessments to be submitted whilst you are in Australia (see 'AHPRA requirements' under provisional registration. Things to know about work). After 12 months and the obligatory (but not particularly difficult) hoop-jumping you can apply to AHPRA for full registration.

Stage 1: Preparation for AHPRA application

Before doing anything, download and print the AHPRA APRI-30 application form below and read it from start to finish. Then re-read the final pages (25-27) paying particular attention to the checklist that details the documents that you will need to attach. Once you have a good grasp of what is required, start with the following:

1. Certify your documents using a Make sure that you take colour photocopies of your documents with you and consult notary public or a justice of the peace which is generally a local solicitor. I simply googled this and contacted a few firms for quotes. It is worth printing the AHPRA application form first to double-check what documents you need certified so that you only need to pay a solicitor once! The application form for the provisional registration via the competent authority pathway is available as a PDF from the link above. on certification. I got 2 copies of my passport, driving licence and medical degree certified and this cost £90. AHPRA's guidance

2. Obtain a criminal record check through either Fit2work or AIS. These are valid for 3 months from the date of issue and need to be attached to your AHPRA application. I used Fit2work which was very quick and cost 159 AUD)

3. Put your CV into the AHRPA format and include the signed declaration detailed in the ' Curriculum Vitae' section on page 26 of the application form.

4. Obtain your Foundation Competencies Certificate (received at the end of FY1) and a Certificate of Good Standing (a.k.a. Certificate of Current Professional Status; CCPS) from the GMC confirming you are fully registered. The certificate sent must be within 3 months of your start-date for work. If you apply too early, you'll have to re-apply to get one within that 3 month time frame. It is free. It is an electronic certificate that is sent directly to the AHPRA. You do not have to carry, print or hand it in. Simply request it and the rest happens automatically. To request one, log into your GMC Online. Then follow: My Registration ⇒ My CCPS Request ⇒ Request a CCPS. More information can be found on the GMC's website.

5. Make sure you have a copy of your Australian job offer to attach to the form

When I applied, AHPRA required hard copies of the form (and all attached documents) to be sent to them. I used Royal Mail as it was the cheapest option. This takes a few weeks so look into couriers if you need this to happen faster. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AHPRA stopped requiring hard-copies of forms and began accepting online uploads - keep an eye on the website for any further changes but at present this has made the process both cheaper and easier!

You must provide payment details on the form when you submit it. The payment however will not be taken until the application is processed. Processing can take 6-8 weeks and you will be notified when your registration has come through.

5. Visa Application and Medical

Visa fee 1265 AUD (not inc. medical check and police check)

If you've made it here - congratulations, you're nearly there. Your employer will advise you with regards to visas but you will most likely need to apply for a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa, Subclass 482. This is an employer-sponsored work visa. You can apply as soon as you are sent a 'transaction reference number (TRN)' by your new workplace. You can find more information about this visa (and others) and start your application on the government immigration website. The visa overview page is updated regularly with approximate processing times. Anecdotally this varied a lot between individuals - mine took approximately 6 weeks whereas others were as quick as 2 weeks.

There is a very useful 'step-by-step' section on the website which details the information you will need to provide and associated documents for submission. The visa application is online and reasonably self-explanatory except for the following sections:

Police check - 'Character Reference' section of visa application (Fee £55 for 12-day processing, £95 for 4-day processing)

that you have lived in for 12 months or more. This is cumulative - the 12 months do not need to be continuous - and applies to the last 10 years or since you turned 16 (if you are under 26). You can apply for the UK check Before applying for your visa, you will need to apply for a police check for every country (including your home country)online . Once processed it will be posted to you so that you can upload it to your visa application.

Under the 'Gather your documents' sub-section of the 'Step-by-step' tab you will notice that there is a requirement to provide evidence of health insurance in Australia. If you are applying from a country with a reciprocal healthcare agreement such as the UK or Ireland, you do not need to provide this as you are automatically entitled to Medicare (see Healthcare below). Many other countries are also covered - a list can be found here.

Visa health examination (Fees vary dramatically - we paid £300)

Once you have submitted your application you will be issued with a and you must use one of the panel physicians listed on the HAP ID and a list of required tests by Australian Immigration. You will generally be required to undergo blood tests for HIV, hepatitis B and C, a medical examination and a chest x-ray though this can vary depending on your travel history. To book a health examination you need your HAP ID Australian immigration website.

It is worth shopping around as we found prices for visa medicals varied wildly! The clinic will send your results directly to the immigration office - a process that usually takes about 7 days.

6. Things You'll Need To Start Work

(a) Medical registration - completing AHPRA

Once in Australia, you will need to complete one final step to gain your medical registration. This involves visiting the local AHPRA office to verify your identity in person. This is quick, easy and free and AHPRA will contact you with details of how to do this once your application has come through. It's worth mentioning that they will likely give you a date and a deadline by which to do this - do not worry if you cannot achieve this, we postponed twice and AHPRA was very accommodating.

(b) Indemnity

There are various indemnity providers in Australia. If you are already with the UK MPS you can simply transfer your indemnity to their Australian branch - MIPS. You won't have to pay any new fees if you've already paid for the year. There are certain criteria you have to fulfill for this to work - one of which is retaining your GMC registration (but not licence). You can also join MIPS or any of the other indemnity firms directly. Anecdotally costs were similar to the UK at approximately 70 AUD for the year.

(c) Occupational Health (OH)

Most of the Australian occupational health requirements are the same as the UK ones. The only exception to this is the need for proof of chickenpox (varicella) immunity. Some UK trusts test for this automatically (as mine did) so it will be on your OH record. For those that don't, you will need to get a varicella antibody titre. Some trusts in Australia also require you to have a pertussis vaccination - we were unable to organise this before we left so were given it on arrival at the hospital. These are free from the OH department at your employing trust, so don't shell out for them at home.

(d) GMC Licence

As an aside, it is worth considering what to do with your GMC licence. There are three options:

Keep your licence : you'll pay full fees but will remain eligible to work in the UK (including as a locum). You'll also have to revalidate annually i.e. complete an annual return. This either means getting your current designated body to agree to keep you on their books and doing your revalidation meeting OR paying a fee to the GMC to do it.

: you won't have a licence to practice medicine in the UK, though you'll keep your registration with the GMC. You'll pay much less in fees. It costs £10 to relinquish your licence and £10 to reinstate it. You won't need a designated body nor have to complete an annual return. To reinstate your licence to practise you will need to provide statements from employers since relinquishing your licence and a certificate of good standing/professional status from the medical council(s) you have worked under (e.g. Relinquish your licence Certificate of Registration Status (CoRS) available from AHRPA which currently costs 50 AUD. You will also need a completed UD8 form.

Relinquish your registration : you won't have a licence to practise and you'll be removed from the GMC list of registered medical practitioners. Not really the done thing unless you're leaving medicine entirely or plan to never return to the UK to practice medicine. You can re-register, but we wouldn't really recommend this option.

More information can be found on the GMC website under Revalidation.

7. Things You'll Need To Live

(a) Relocation help/remuneration

As mentioned above, many hospitals will offer some sort of remuneration package. The most common package when I applied (2018) was £1500 for relocation expenses such as flights and a number of week's free accommodation on arrival. For us in Brisbane this was 4 weeks free accommodation; friends in Cairns received 10 weeks.

(b) Accommodation

If your hospital includes an initial period of free accommodation, then obviously flat hunting is much easier. If your hospital doesn't, many people choose to rent an Air BnB or stay in a hostel while they look for a more permanent solution. It is also worth asking the hospital to send an email out to see if any existing doctors have a spare room.

The main ways to look for accommodation in Australia are through Flatmates for house shares or through various rental websites if you're looking for an apartment. We used Real Estate in Brisbane and found a flat within about a week.

(c) Bank accounts

There are several Australian banks that allow you to set up a bank account from outside of Australia. The two main ones that allow this are Westpac and ANZ. This is handy as it allows you to transfer funds over before you arrive. Most people use a third-party transfer service for this such as TransferWise as it tends to be much cheaper than using a bank.

When you arrive you will need to visit a branch with your passport and proof of address so they can issue a bank card and fully open your account - Westpac allowed us to use the hospital address before we found a flat. You can also still withdraw money without a bank card by visiting a branch with your passport. Westpac's page on moving to Australia provides further information on migrant banking.

(d) Tax File Number

In order to pay the correct amount of tax you need to apply for a 'Tax File Number' (TFN). Your employer will likely help you with this when you arrive, but if not, the Australian Taxation Office provides all of the information you need.

You will be expected to file a tax return each year which will be due at the end of October. You can do this yourself, but we recommend hiring an accountant to make the process easier. You can even do this by email from the UK if you have already left. My accountant cost 150 AUD but resulted in a refund of over 5000 AUD.

(e) Superannuation (pension contributions)

You are unable to contribute to your NHS pension from abroad. Australia does however have a number of very good superannuation schemes. Your employer will be a member of one, but you are free to choose your own if you wish. These schemes are designed to not only contribute to a pension, but also provide tax relief to employees through a salary sacrifice scheme (also known as salary packaging). There is a large amount of information available online about these schemes. The Australian Tax Office and MoneySmart are good places to start. It is worth trying to get to grips with this early as it can save you a huge amount of money - we, for instance, 'packaged' our rent so it was tax-free for the entire year!

It is also worth noting that when you leave Australia, you are entitled to claim your pension contributions back as a lump sum. This is often a substantial amount so is well worth doing.

(f) Healthcare

As mentioned in the visa section, you will likely be eligible for Medicare under the reciprocal agreement. You will still need to enroll once you arrive, but this is a free (and easy) service. Enrolling will provide you with a Medicare card so is a useful way to obtain some Australian I.D early.

(g) Car

The main websites for car-buying in Australia are Car Sales, Autotrader and Gumtree. When you buy a car, make sure it has a valid Roadworthy Certificate (RWC). This is like a (very) basic MOT and it is illegal for a seller to sell a car without one. Accordingly, you will have to obtain an RWC before you sell your car when (and if) you leave.

After you buy a car you will have to transfer the registration to your name within 14 days of purchasing it (7 days in WA and Tasmania). The process for doing this varies between states but in Queensland we had to fill in a form, signed by both the seller and buyer, and take it to our local transport and motoring customer service centre.

The equivalent of road tax in Australia is car 'Registration' (or Rego). This varies between states but in general is paid yearly and can be done online or at one of the above service centres. In addition to this, regardless of state, it is illegal to drive without Compulsory Third Party (CTP) car insurance and you cannot get a Rego without this. In most states, CTP is included in your registration fee so you usually don't have to worry about this too much. The final thing to consider after buying a car is breakdown cover - we would advise getting this given the age of Australian cars and the remoteness of many of the roads!

(h) Phone

There are lots of mobile networks in Australia and it is easy to secure rolling monthly contracts that offer lots of flexibility. The large ex-pat population means that many providers offer great deals on overseas minutes particularly to the UK and Canada. If this is something that would be useful it's worth looking at companies such as Lebara, Spark and Amaysim.

(i) Student Loans

If you have a student loan there is unfortunately no escaping paying it off. It is worth contacting the student loans company before you go to organise this as friends that didn't were hit with a large bill on their return.

8. Things to Know About Work

(a) Pay and working hours

All doctors in Australia are paid every 2 weeks. The pay is generally much better than UK pay for the equivalent grade, particularly when you add in salary-packaging (see Superannuation above).

There is no Australia-wide pay scale for junior doctors so confirm with your employer what your salary will be before you start. Doctors are paid a salary with 'shift penalties' for out of hours shifts. Shift penalties are supplements paid to the doctor and are detailed in the table below. This means that your pay can vary quite substantially depending on how many on-calls you do.

As a general rule, RMO's earn approximately 6000-8000 AUD per month depending on shift patterns. Australia has strict rules on working hours and you are entitled to double pay for any hours worked over 40 hours per week. In addition to this, you are entitled to at least 4 days off in every 14-day period, 2 of which must be consecutive.

(b) Annual leave and study leave

In general, RMO's are entitled to 5 weeks of annual leave, 11 days of professional development leave (PDL) and 9 days of exam leave per year. In addition to this, each territory in Australia has additional 'state' bank holidays which you will either get off or can take in lieu.

Annual leave can be taken for double the time at half pay if a doctor wishes and conference leave can often be negotiated. In addition to this, many trusts will allow you to take additional unpaid leave. Any annual leave not taken at the end of the year is automatically paid out at the salary rate of your most recent job.

(c) AHPRA requirements

Your employer will allocate you a supervisor and usually submit your forms to AHPRA for you. After 3 months of working, you are required to submit an Orientation Report for International medical Graduates (ORIG-30) and a Work performance Report for International medical Graduates (WRIG-30). These are relatively straight-forward and are completed together with your supervisor. After 12 months working, you will be eligible to apply to AHPRA for general registration. This will enable you to work unsupervised (e.g. take locum shifts).

Ensure your supervisors are happy to provide future references before you move on; many UK jobs you return to will require references for all jobs you have done in the last five years.

9. Fees and Finances

AUD: GBP exchange rate 1:0.55 at time of writing

On top of the above, don't forget to budget for rental deposits (typically 1 month's rent), flights and car (2000-5000 AUD). The cost of moving may seem daunting but remember that everything except the visa fee is eligible for tax relief at the end of the year. This equates to about a 40% refund. On top of this, we haven't included any relocation allowance that your employer may provide. Even if you don't get a relocation allowance, rest assured that the wages in Australia are more than sufficient to recoup the costs of moving.

10. About the Authors

Ella and Jack were F3/4s in Brisbane in 2019. Before their Australian adventure they spent some time working in New Zealand (why choose one when you can do both?) using their free time to cycle-tour and travel. After returning to the UK, they worked as clinical fellows in the Shetland Islands before heading back to the mainland to take up anaesthetics and IMT training posts in Edinburgh.
All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. The authors believe it to be correct at the time of publication. It remains the responsibility of the individual reader to fact check any provided information. Adventure Medic cannot be held responsible for any false, inaccurate or incomplete information within this article, or found by following any third party link. Adventure Medic accepts no liability in respect of information, products or services available from, or damages resulting from access of any third party links from this article. For further information, please see our Terms.
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Thinking of straying to Straya? The Definitive Junior Doctors' Guide to Living and Working in Australia - Adventure Medic

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Junior doctors Ella Bennett and Jack Leach have demystified and condensed all you need to know to make the move to live and work as a doctor in Australia. What are you waiting for?

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Webinars & articles covering applications to various careers

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Interested in joining the crew on Aurora? Please read carefully:

AURORA is a 14-meter rescue boat that has been adapted for use in the Central Mediterranean. It can reach a top speed of 25 knots. This makes it one of the fastest vessels in the civilian search and rescue fleet in the central Mediterranean.

The crew will be on standby near our port of operation in order to respond to emergencies as quickly as possible. Each rotation lasts 4 weeks. The crew of 6 need to be be prepared for a variety of rescue scenarios.

Given the small size of the vessel and crew everyone is expected to help with manoeuvres (e.g. mooring), guest care and basic first aid. Communication needs to be clear and constructive at all times. Working language on board of our ships is English, additional language skills are welcome.

Sea sickness can be a real issue on Aurora, so please consider that when applying.

Desired skills for all crew:

Medical experience and/or first aid skills

Nautical experience

Experience with living together with a small yet diverse group of people

Experience of work in context of migration or understanding of the Central Mediterranean context

Previous Search-and-Rescue (SAR) experience

Experience with crowd management

Language skills other than English - especially relevant are Italian, French, Arabic, Farsi, Bengali, Tigrinya, Somali, Fula

Below you find a more detailed description of each role, including position specific requirements and desired skills.

Unfortunately we are not able to accept every applicant for a position on board. This usually has to do with the limited space and the special skills needed on board. We would like to ask for your understanding in advance.

Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have a question about crewing or a specific position: crew@sea-watch.org. Please also refer to our FAQs.

We are very happy about all your o!ers of support!

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Interested in joining the crew on Aurora? Please read carefully: AURORA is a 14-meter rescue boat that has been adapted for use in the Central Mediterranean. It can reach a top speed of 25 knots. This makes it one of the fastest vessels in the civilian search and rescue fleet in the central Mediterranean.

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With a third of UK medical students planning an early exit from the NHS either to practice abroad or abandon medicine altogether, many students are considering other options for their MBBS degree to be put to good use. The UK has the lowest number of doctors per head among European countries - 3.2 doctors for every 1000 people. To try and address the “critical workforce shortage” faced by the NHS, the NHS’s Long Term Workforce Plan pledged that the number of places in medical schools would rise

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Medic Footprints - careers website run by doctors for doctors

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Medic Footprints - careers website run by doctors for doctors

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Many doctors reach a point in their medical career when they pause, reflect and think, "Is this it?" They feel dissatisfied for many reasons and do not know where to turn to for information and support. That's where we step in! Medic Footprints is a doctor-led organisation focused on supporting the career and lifestyle needs of medics. Let's start at the very beginning, looking at the vast non-exhaustive range of 'common' alternative careers for doctors...

Alternative Careers for Doctors

Civil service - The civil service has many departments that may be of interest to doctors such as the Department of Health & Social Care, Health Protection Agency, Healthcare Commission, Medical Research Council. Not only are they looking for experienced professionals, they have Fast Track programmes for graduates.

Clinical academics - a doctor of any speciality who combines their work with research and teaching responsibilities. The integrated academic pathway offers a route into academics medics at any stage of their career.

Complementary Medicine - involves treatments used alongside conventional medical treatments, such as osteopathy, chiropractic, herbalism, homeopathy, and acupuncture.

Expedition Medicine - provide medical care to organised groups exploring some amazing remote locations, from desert to mountain tops! The Medic Footprints guide on how to be an expedition medic is coming very soon...watch this space.

Forensic Medical Examiner - Work as a FME can range from dealing with patients in police custody to victims of sexual offences; helping people at a critical point in their lives. The majority of forensic medicine is within private companies such as G4, Mite, CRG and Mountain Healthcare. Most of these companies provide training to doctors after completion of FY2.

Functional assessor - The Independent Assessment Services (delivered by ATOS) and MAXIMUS recruit doctors to carry out assessments for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This usually would involve long clinical appointments with patients to assess their eligibility for benefits.

Functional medicine - Increasing in popularity over the past few years, functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. There are functional medicine clinics cropping up all over the country, with many doctors starting their own private practice. The Institute for Functional Medicine (based in the USA) provides UK training at the annual AFMCP 5 day course.

Integrative Medicine - a broad specialty encompassing many different therapeutic modalities including conventional medicine, nutrition, lifestyle and functional medicine, acupuncture, naturopathy, herbal medicine, homeopathy , bodywork i.e. yoga and mindfulness, and traditional healing practices such as Ayruvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Lifestyle Medicine - Lifestyle medicine is all about supporting patients to make better choices when it comes to diet, exercise, alcohol, sleep and mental health/positive psychology can help manage and even reverse disease. Rather than placing blame, it's about empowering patients, sharing evidence-based knowledge, and supporting health behaviour change. Check out the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine for more on membership and diploma certification. Medic Footprints have a career guide on how to have a successful career in lifestyle medicine.

Click here to learn more!

Management Consultancy - Management consultants are employed by organisations to provide an objective overview of their company, to identify any strengths and weaknesses, and to develop strategies to facilitate improvement and progression. Opportunities for career progression and lucrative salary makes a move into the corporate world an attractive option for many doctors seeking to diversify their career or leave medicine completely. Check out our guide on discovering Management Consultancy as a career for doctors.

Medical Education - a broad and far-reaching field, with the main aim being to train, inspire and motivate medical students and doctors. There are so many ways to get involved including, lecturing, creating and running courses, writing exam questions, or even adopting roles such as the Director of Postgraduate Medical Education! Check out our guide for everything you need to know about a career in medical education.

Medical Research - The planning and conducting of experiments to collect data to improve scientific knowledge in the medical field. Having audit and research experience is desirable as well as experience in writing grant applications, but not always a requirement. There are some PhD studentships which allow you to study for a PhD whilst carrying out research work.

Medical Translation - the translation of medical documents into other languages. Translation work can vary from pharmaceutical products to consent forms! As a doctor, you already have a good foundation of medical terminology, so if you possess a high-level of knowledge of another language, then medical translation could well be for you.

Medico-legal - With the number of legal processes involving the NHS increasing every year, the medico-legal sector is a rapidly evolving and exciting area to work in. The work is generally varied and mixes urgent and non-urgent components. Check out our Career Guide for everything you need to know about a medico-legal career as a doctor!

NHS Graduates Scheme - For those interested in management roles, the NHS offers graduate training schemes in human resources general management, finance, health analysis, health informatics and strategy.

Occupational Medicine - Occupational Health Physicians (OHP)generally work in a consultancy or advisory capacity, meaning they are non-prescriptive and provide advice to an employer on the management of an individual or workforce, depending on the setting. Medic Footprints founder and director, and occupational health physician, Dr Abeyna Bubbers-Jones, shares The Insiders Guide to Occupational Medicine right here.

Public Health - a speciality looking at the health of a general population rather than at an individual level. It's all about preventing disease, managing outbreaks, and health promotion to the whole population. There is a public health speciality training pathway, as well as a portfolio route to being a Public Health consultant.

Volunteering Abroad - Are you interested in providing medical aid anywhere in the world, for the most vulnerable communities? There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in medical response teams for crises and disasters around the world, with companies synch as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), REDR UK and VSO international. There is a Diploma in the Medical Care of Catastrophies by the Apothecaries which may be of interest to those who are interested in getting involved in joining medical response teams.

Or something completely non-medical like opening up a cafe or graphic design business!

Medics possess so many important skills, many of which are transferable to other professions. There are also a number of things to consider when trying to find the right career path for you and key questions to ask yourself when thinking about alternative careers for doctors. We are here to help!

Medic Footprints is a doctor-led organisation focusing on alternative careers for doctors and wellbeing. Have a browse around our resources for more inspiration but if you can't find what you're looking for, please get in touch.

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Alternative Careers for Doctors: The Ultimate List - Medic Footprints

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Reconsidering your career path as a medic? We explore the vast range of alternative careers for doctors with some top tips of where to begin

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Delivering health care to the remote coastal communities of Central America.

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Interviews and medical specialty training selection centres | Health Careers

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You can expect to be assessed on:clinical skillsinteraction with patientssoft skills such as empathypresentation skillsthe completion of your portfolioThere are a number of different types of interview or assessment exercises you can expect at a selection day. You may be interviewed at a number of different stations – rooms set aside for different types of assessment:

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FY: Speciality Applications and Interviews | London

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The SCAN Career Planning Model = Self Awareness Career Exploration Arriving at a decision Next Steps (this section)