Occupational Therapy Jobs in Australia

Mari88

Hi guys...this is a really useful thread...great to have so much info re registration etc. I`m hoping to head to oz at downstage during the next year. I have most of the documents required for registration. It seems to be a total rip off though!! I'm currently working in a job that I love at home in Ireland. I have always had the plan to travel though and have itchy feet at this stage!! . Hoping to join up with friends who will b travelling to Perth to work for 4 to 6 weeks and then onto Melbourne/Sydney for the rest of my time there. Do yet think it's realistic that I could pick up some locum work in Perth? (will prob be pretty broke at this stage as planning to travel South America before oz) For those of ye in oz–how are ye getting on? Is it worth the registration investment? Just want to be as sure as I can be about going before I finalise plans. Thanks in advance for any advice :-)

statina

Its a tricky situation with OT at the moment because most jobs require that you have full AHPRA registration which includes having the 6 month practice audit completed- which of course you cant start until you have a job!!

You could be lucky and get a clinical job where they dont require full registration. But I know from friends coming over from Ireland that these jobs are getting harder and harder to find.

The jobs that dont require registration are usually in the area of Occ Rehab. Theres plenty of jobs in this area as the turnover of staff is huge- main companies are Julie Warner, Nascent and Konekt.

Best of luck with the move!

Bluebelle85

Hi Mari, I have been looking for OT work for over three months now in Australia and have not had any luck. Some employers have been interested but when they hear I don't have my full registration and would need to support a 6 month practice audit they either can't facilitate this or don't want to. It's very frustrating and as previous posters have said most jobs state you must have Full AHPRA registration to apply! Being on a WHV is also very limiting in terms of length of contracts etc so really there are many obstacles for us OTs in Australia at the moment

Mari88

Thanks guys. Did you pick up other work bluebelle85? Have you started the registration? I would love to work as an OT out there. It is very frustrating hat they aren't hiring people on whvs. I am tempted to look for work as an ota or healthcare assistant. €2000 seems like a lot of money when I only plan to stay the year and want to travel around as much as possible. It's a hard call though as it may be very difficult to adjust to assistant role after being an OT!!

Mari88

statina wrote: »

Its a tricky situation with OT at the moment because most jobs require that you have full AHPRA registration which includes having the 6 month practice audit completed- which of course you cant start until you have a job!!

You could be lucky and get a clinical job where they dont require full registration. But I know from friends coming over from Ireland that these jobs are getting harder and harder to find.

The jobs that dont require registration are usually in the area of Occ Rehab. Theres plenty of jobs in this area as the turnover of staff is huge- main companies are Julie Warner, Nascent and Konekt.

Best of luck with the move!

Thanks a mil Statina. Occupational rehab sounds good. Have many of your friends picked up jobs in that area? I don't have any experience in occur rehab though which might be a problem! It would be great to avoid the reg though!!!

statina

Yeah they have all picked up something in Sydney. None of them had experience either, they take on board your clinical experience. However, I know the Occ Rehab jobs are very stressful as you have a huge caseload and the turnover of stafff is massive- which maybe isnt something you want to be dealing with if you are only out here for a year??

dodgylegs

Mari88 wrote: »

Hi guys...this is a really useful thread...great to have so much info re registration etc. I`m hoping to head to oz at downstage during the next year. I have most of the documents required for registration. It seems to be a total rip off though!! I'm currently working in a job that I love at home in Ireland. I have always had the plan to travel though and have itchy feet at this stage!! . Hoping to join up with friends who will b travelling to Perth to work for 4 to 6 weeks and then onto Melbourne/Sydney for the rest of my time there. Do yet think it's realistic that I could pick up some locum work in Perth? (will prob be pretty broke at this stage as planning to travel South America before oz) For those of ye in oz–how are ye getting on? Is it worth the registration investment? Just want to be as sure as I can be about going before I finalise plans. Thanks in advance for any advice :-)

Hi Marri, I dont think it would be realistic to pick up locum work for 4-6 weeks in Perth. You might get an OT job after 5 weeks of looking, if your lucky. It would be more realistic to look for employmnet in Melbourne/sydney.

kellead

Hi all,

Came across this thread and it has been extremely helpful. I am currently in my last year of Master in OT from Canada and I have a final school placement from July and August in Perth. I am really hoping to practice in Auss afterwards. It looks like it is a lengthy process so I am trying to figure it all out before I head over. Can anyone foresee major challenges starting my career over there? I am hoping doing a two month placement in Auss will be a benefit and that I may be able to make some connections for work afterwards. Has anyone else experienced challenges finding an employer that will take you on for the 6 month probation period? Any information or advice would be extremely helpful!

dodgylegs

kellead wrote: »

Hi all,

Came across this thread and it has been extremely helpful. I am currently in my last year of Master in OT from Canada and I have a final school placement from July and August in Perth. I am really hoping to practice in Auss afterwards. It looks like it is a lengthy process so I am trying to figure it all out before I head over. Can anyone foresee major challenges starting my career over there? I am hoping doing a two month placement in Auss will be a benefit and that I may be able to make some connections for work afterwards. Has anyone else experienced challenges finding an employer that will take you on for the 6 month probation period? Any information or advice would be extremely helpful!

Hi Kellead, i think it depends on luck really, but you may be able to get work in another area e.g. rehabilitation. If you look at wa government jobs website you will see that it is stated that preference will be given to australian citizens. so given that you will not have any experience, it will be hard to get a job ahead of any new grad, that has trained in perth. The two month placement in oz might give you some links, but other new grads in australia will have similar links. You will also be competing against other OTs who arent australian residents, but have experience. If you are staying on after your placement you have nothing to loose, send out some cvs and see what happens.

kellead

Thanks for your response. I am wondering if anyone know is I go with a holiday work visa can this be changed at anytime if I get sponsored? Or would I have to wait until this visa is up. This could be another challenge as there many restrictions with this visa.

dodgylegs

kellead wrote: »

Thanks for your response. I am wondering if anyone know is I go with a holiday work visa can this be changed at anytime if I get sponsored? Or would I have to wait until this visa is up. This could be another challenge as there many restrictions with this visa.

you can move from one visa to another without any issue.

fionnmc

Hi there just wondering if any OTs in oz have organised their stage 2 practice audit? I've gotten a job offer and I've submitted all my paperwork to ahpra& the COT for approval. just wondering how long it took to be approved to start work? One thing that concerns me is that they seek criminal clearance from Ireland... If that's as long as ordinary Garda clearance, it'll take ages!!

AngryHippie

fionnmc wrote: »

Hi there just wondering if any OTs in oz have organised their stage 2 practice audit? I've gotten a job offer and I've submitted all my paperwork to ahpra& the COT for approval. just wondering how long it took to be approved to start work? One thing that concerns me is that they seek criminal clearance from Ireland... If that's as long as ordinary Garda clearance, it'll take ages!!

Double check if it is a Garda Clearance from Phoenix Park (I waited 8 months to get one of these when in Ireland, while an employer sat on their hands.:mad:) or a letter from your local superintendent stating you have no criminal record (usually about a week if you can get a family member to drop in and get the ball rolling, I had to do this for my 820 visa. Piece of cake compared to the rest of the list)

fionnmc

Thank you, I'm aware of what garda clearance involves -I was more directing the question at those who have been through the entire registration process as to how long the AHPRA approval and COT approval of supervision agreement had taken before they could start working

dodgylegs

I think it depends what state you are in, Garda clearance wasn't an issue.
They meet every 6 weeks, if there is one thing wrong they wont accept it! So I ended up waiting about 3 months.... not what you want to hear.

I found the entire process to be a bit of a nightmare. It only took me about 6 weeks to the Permanent Residency visa.