Working in New Zealand / Australia

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

Kate Richardson — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:45:17 GMT

Previous posts all excellent! I found Kookaburra locums really helpful as well, both in terms of getting jobs but also with general information about visas, tax, bank accounts, registering etc.

As someone said, you need to register with the Board of Vets in each state, and you need a copy of a letter of good standing from the RCVS to do so, so worth having a few copies. I think photocopies of the original letter are ok, but best to double check. (it was a while ago!) I don't think it was hugely expensive to register with each state, but if you are only planning to do say 2 weeks work in a new state, its hardly worth it.

I did locum work the first year I was out there, fairly straight forward to organise via locum agencies. You can claim your tax back at the end of the year as well.

I did also take a permanent job in Oz for a few years- it was a bit of a faff to start with as had to organise a temporary residency visa which meant my boss had to prove he couldn't find a suitable australian to work for him. A lot of employers can find this quite a big hassle and it does cost them some money too. It does also mean you can only work for them. After a couple of years, I applied for permanent residency which by that point was fairly straightforward, but still not cheap but you then have the option to work wherever you like.

I think Australian specific diseases have been covered well already. Main difference I found was that I worked in the country, and it was quite basic. However, it was really excellent experience as referral was very rarely an option, so most people were prepared to let you 'have a go' as there was no other option, so I got a lot of surgical experience I would never have had a chance to do here, particularly ocular surgery. Also (at risk of being berated by any ozzie nurses!!) the Ozzie nurses are not a patch on our fantastic UK VNs. At the practice where I worked, there were no qualified nurses, the 'nurses' did reception, "nursing", and the cleaning, and basically just held animals for me. When I started they did not even know how to feel a pulse on a dog! and monitoring GAs, or putting an animal on a drip- forget it. Not their fault, they hadnt been trained to do so, the vet had always done it all himself. They were quite capable with a bit of tuition, but just be warned! I'm sure not all practices are like that, especially in the city, but in the country areas, you may still find this the case, but just be prepared for some blank looks. But as I said, this was just my experience.

Most of the drugs are the same, just different trade names, some that we have here in the UK now were available there before here.

Hope this helps

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

salome2001 — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:09:56 GMT

and in rural areas: DFOBOU (dog fallen off back of ute)

BTW Phipps- good post

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

Glen McIntosh — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:09:42 GMT

I have recently returned to Australia after 13 years in the UK, so it was a bit like moving to a new country for me.

In terms of finding work, the sources of information I used most were:

Kookaburra Veterinary employment:

http://www.kookaburravets.com/Australia/IndexOz.htm

Vetlink:

http://www.vetlink.com.au/index.asp

and the AVA classifieds:

http://avacms.eseries.hengesystems.com.au/AM/Template.cfm?Section=New_South_Wales1

With Kookaburra being the most useful. There may be others but these seem to be the main ones.

Expected salaries: Salaries are similar to, perhaps at the lower end, of market rates in the UK after currency conversion. Salaries for vets in Australia have set minimums as per the "award":

http://www.business-sa.com/library/Animal%20Care%20and%20Veterinary%20Services%20Award%202010.pdf

but these are minimums and most jobs will pay significantly above award rates. All employees have at least 9% of their salary automatically and compulsorily paid into a pension or "super" fund. Most jobs will be advertised as "Salary $XXXXXX + compulsory super".

I would say locum rates will be similar to those in the UK, at the lower end of the scale, after currency conversion.

At the moment the Australian dollar is quite highly valued in comparison to historical valuations and conversely the pound has tanked, so it is a good time for poms to be earning AUDs.

Living costs: Australia is in no way a cheap place to live now. Cost of living in Australia is now on par with that of Europe and the UK in virtually all areas (except perhaps petrol). Some things may well be marginally more expensive in Australia than in the UK.

Pay and tax: Most employers will pay your salary directly into your bank account or by cheque. Tax is taken as pay as you go for salaried employees. I am not sure what status locums have for tax purposes in Australia, but the agencies should be able to tell you. Here are the Australian income tax rates:

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/12333.htm

Bank accounts: You will need to set up an Australian bank account to receive pay etc. Uk bank accounts are easily accessible via internet, post and ATM machines, but you will need to arrange international money transfers to put money into a UK bank account.

Veterinary practice in Australia: I can only speak to small animal practice but veterinary work is by and large very similar to that in the UK in terms of the types of cases seen, with the following additional types of cases seen fairly commonly throughout most parts of Australia (although there can be significant regional variation):

Heartworm (a big part of preventative medicine in Australia)
Snake bite (potentially and often fatal)
Tick paralysis (potentially fatal)
Cane toad poisoning (potentially fatal, on the east coast north of Sydney)
Dog bite wounds (seem to occur with much greater frequency and severity than I can remember while in the UK)
Pig hunting injuries (in dogs, especially in rural areas)

Cheers

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

salome2001 — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:16:15 GMT

pretty much anywhere in Australia you will need to brush up on canine (and feline) heartworm disease (dirofilaria immitis), and tick poisoning (Ixodes holocyclus)

you will also need to get registration in each state you work in so it might be prudent to stay put in one state to minimise your costs.

other than that, try googling locum agencies. there is one agency that used to be at every bsava congress but the name eludes me tonight.

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

Jacquin Mitchell — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:10:17 GMT

I was born and trained in NZm worked there after graduation and went back to do a couple of short locums 10 years ago.

I always used this lady

http://www.vetsolutions.co.nz/

and she will be happy to give you any information re working conditions, payment, bank accounts etc.

She is lovely and very helpful.

HTH

Re: Working in New Zealand / Australia

HMC — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:17:11 GMT

I was just about to start a post asking the same question!!

So far I have looked up about the working holiday visa and found a locum agency over there that often deals with locums from the UK. I was thinking of Sydney in particular.

Any tips please post them here!