Daveyboy

I don't think the country is short of nurses in some nursing specialisms. My girlfriend has worked in two Sydney children's hospitals this year and by all accounts there is now a significant surplus in paediatric nursing at least. Same in Adelaide too

Hi Kelbert Thanks! She has a psych degree and a grad dip in paediatric nursing. Hopefully you won't be waiting too much longer - great foresight to put it in well in advance! Best of luck

Hi all Thought I would share my Adelaide experience with everyone. Hope it's useful, without being negative, to those planning or thinking of moving to Adelaide. My girlfriend and I arrived in Adelaide in October 2013. I had spent a working holiday in Melbourne about 7 years previously and always had the intention of returning one day. I arrived on a 190 visa sponsored by South Australia (I am a HR practitioner of around 5/6 years experience) and my girlfriend (a recently qualified pediatric nurse) arrived on a working holiday visa as we hadn't been together very long by the time I had started my visa application so it wasn't really feasible to apply together. I/we chose Adelaide because I thought it was the best option I had available as only NT and ACT were offering sponsorship for HR people. I had spent around a week there during my previous time in Oz and although it was completely different to Melbourne I could see why people were/are attracted to it. Loved the open space and park/river around the city perimeter, nice beaches, wine regions and great climate. I had done some research into the jobs market before I arrived but due to my profession it was difficult/impossible to secure anything before arrival. I was nervous about finding work as it isn't as transferable as some professions. However I thought because of my girlfriend's profession she would be in work without difficulty and even be able to secure sponsorship for a work visa almost as easily, we had been told as much but in hindsight we were naive to the reality awaiting us. Within a month of arriving I was able to secure a 5 month contract however this was in the public sector which I had not experience in previously so I did wonder how things would work out, however I started work with a positive attitude, an open mind and a commitment to make it work. My girlfriend was still awaiting her nursing registration to come through (even though she had applied for this 3 months before our departure). This would eventually come through 3 months after we arrived (I could start a separate thread about this alone but will spare you all) - any nurses reading this please take note! So fast forward to January 2014, I had been in work a couple of months and still trying to adjust to the Australian and public sector workplace - really was a bit of a double whammy! I was struggling a bit and had started to get the feeling I wasn't impressing my boss sufficiently for the work to become longer term, which made me slightly anxious. My girlfriend had finally received her nursing registration but had not dealt with the waiting around for this that well, she was pretty frustrated. She was really looking forward to starting work however even before the registration was granted she had done enough research into the market understand the reality was nursing work was thin on the ground in Adelaide. She is only paeds trained so her range of options was narrowed somewhat. The 'Bank' or 'Pool' at all the Children's hospitals were full and not admitting any more staff and there were no permanent jobs. She was registered with both agencies that put staff into the Children's hospitals but didn't get a single shift. It wasn't looking positive work wise. It got worse when she was called on 3/4 occasions by an agency for a shift only for the shift to be cancelled before she arrived at the hospital . She had kept a little money coming in by doing some part time child minding and had even tried her hand at door to door sales Work problems aside we really both began to love Adelaide and the lifestyle, we had made a small circle of friends with a few expats and all in all were having a good time which had made me long for us both to secure steady employment and settle into life properly. We were living in West Beach in shared house with a couple of others but this made living very cheap and comfortable even on just the one income. We had a pool in the back yard, we were 5 mins walk from West Beach and just 20 mins walk from Henley pier. Despite the poor outlook work wise we were chuffed about where we were living. However at the beginning of March we really had to assess whether staying in Adelaide seeing if work opportunities developed would be the best strategy. My girlfriend had just 6 months left on her WHV and wasn't keen or 3 months agricultural work. So she only had another 6 months to secure sponsorship. My work contract was looking unlikely to extend beyond the end of March with other opportunities looking hard to come by. I was really worried that if we stayed we would be on a plane back to the UK by October '14. We came to realise we didn't have much option but to look elsewhere for work opportunities, we were prepared to go anywhere within reason but it was the likes of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane would be the places most likely to provide work opportunities. Within 2/3 weeks of looking we had both been offered jobs in Sydney and we felt as though we didn't have much of alternative and we made the move during April '14. We both now have longer term work prospects and are pretty happy with how things are, however Sydney is very expensive to buy and for that reason I can't see us being here long term. I am hopeful one day we will be able to return to Adelaide. If anyone is reading this from the UK making plans to move to Adelaide, be prepared to persevere (should your visa situation allow) if things do not to slot into place within a few months because it is a great place. I am sure you can see that reading most of the posts on here but when I was at home reading the same posts I tended to think 'Oh I'll be fine, I'll get a job and it will work out'. Research the industry you are in and find out what the Adelaide labour market is like, how directly transferable is your skill? Ask you yourself whether you are prepared change careers or go into a lower skilled job to pick up local work experience so you are better positioned for the job you want. If it is an option open to you, consider another city as a 'stepping stone' to Adelaide while the local economy picks up. The larger cities like Sydney, Melbourne and maybe Brisbane could be a kinder environment for a recently arrived immigrant and might 'the percentage bet' for a long term migration.

Hi Solomon I think the ANMAC assessment is for the purposes of verifying your occupation as a nurse in order to apply for a visa. I would have thought this step would almost always come before applying for your APHRA registration?

Hi Shelle No you are allowed to work in any profession despite having a nominated occupation

I'm pretty sure that you have to pay at the time you submit your application. I know I did and I seem to recall there was no option to pay later. Just a thought it might be worth looking to see if sponsorship is on offer in hospitals in other states before making any final decision. It's quicker, easier and cheaper to be sponsored and you could always then look at PR applications once you are here. There's pros and cons to whatever way you do it but its always useful to know what all the options are

Hi Lisa I spoke to my colleague at work (the consultant midwife) and she said if you arrive in Adelaide work ready (with APHRA reg) you shouldn't have a problem getting work. She said there is always a shortage of midwifes (particularly out in the country but being a new migrant I wouldn't necessarily advise you go there - there's a reason why they can't get people to work out there). I asked the specific question about being sponsored and offered a job before you come out here, she said it isn't a practise she has heard of happening in Adelaide. However I would speak to the internal recruiters at the hospital and ask them directly, you should be able to find a contact on the SA health careers website. If you do end up going the independent skilled migrant route I would just make sure you have your APHRA registration before you get to oz.

Yes of course please get in touch. More than happy to help if we can. What hospital do you work in at home?

Good point. It's sharing with 3 other people. The property is a generous size so there's plenty of space for 4/5

We (girlfriend and I) arrived in November. I am in HR and my girlfriend is a paeds nurse. I got temp work in a HR role within 5 weeks but consider myself fairly lucky to get it considering the picture painted by recruiters of the HR job market was dire to say the least. My girlfriend has not got work yet and has been advised she will be very lucky to get any paediatric nursing work for the foreseeable future. My advice would be just to get literally any kind of work while you are searching for perm/long term jobs and prepare yourself to be very patient to secure your perm/long term job. You have probably heard this advice many times before but I can't understate how important it is particularly if you come out here with anything less than 6 months worth of funding for rent, living expense etc.

Hi My girlfriend and I are having to break a lease on a large double room in a shared house. The house is in west beach about 500m from the beach itself. Outdoor pool, 2 large gardens, 2 living rooms. We pay $220 pw including all bills and Internet. Local supermarket is at the end of the street (50m) as is the bus stop to town. 20 mins walk to harbourtown shopping village. We are looking to move out during March after 17th but flexible and would leave it until April if required. It would be perfect for a single person or young couple just coming to Adelaide. Landlord is very good. Would be looking for someone to cover our lease until July. Please drop me a PM is you are interested. Thanks Dave

Sorry I missed that you were intending to get a job offer first. That would negate all the issues we experienced. Not sure how possible it is being honest. I will ask someone at work who is on secondment from SA health. She is a consultant midwife (I think) from the women and children's hospital and should have some tips on where to go

My girlfriend had a slightly less positive experience with APHRA. I think they can be very hit and miss, we had a feeling her case officer went off on long term sick because it changed when she started chasing the application after 12 weeks. Took 20 weeks to process in the end. I work with someone on secondment from SA health and they said APHRA is a mess and inefficient

Hi BillyJo I went through a skills assessment but I can't pretend to know the process in enough detail to answer your query so sorry. Not sure what your specific concerns about qualifications are but if anything I have found that higher education qualifications from British institutions aren't questioned by Australia. If you have 10 years experience in the field and are working in management I think there is reason to be optimistic as long as your evidence is solid. I am in a different profession but had less than 5 years experience at the point of applying and didn't encounter any issues. Best of luck!

Oz I was in exactly the same boat as you - started looking into my options to move to a state with better work prospects for my profession. I'm on a 190 state nominated GSM too, I went through it with an immigration official in central government they confirmed iam permitted to work in any state. The state is permitted to set visa conditions when they sponsor you state nominated visa but can only do this at the time it is granted. It appears SA are not putting conditions on people. Any conditions will be on your VEVO document.