Immigrationhelpaustralia's Blog

Trained caregiver has become an integral part in our culture today. A child would need a nanny to take care of the day-to-day needs, so would a recuperating patient. And, aged people too need constant care as their children go out for work. In short, nurses trained for different purposes are needed immensely in urbanized countries, such as Australia.

To meet this challenge, the government and the Immigration Department has formulated schemes and options to attract nurses from different locales in the world to Australia. These schemes seem to have an impact on the people as Australia has already become one of the lucrative destinations for the nurses to pursue their profession and earn some good amount of money.

Nurses in Demand

Surveys say that more than 50 percent of the existing nurses in Australia are due to retire in the next ten years or so. About 50,000 and more nurses would retire in the next five years. The void created with these vacancies would create a huge problem for those who need caregivers.

Additionally, there is also a growing demand for childcare workers, mental healthcare nurses, and caregivers for the aged. There is also a shortage of qualified nursing staff due to long stay at the daycare centers.

Factors like this have added up to create a strong demand for nurses in Australia. And, this demand is being meted by the state and federal administration. The Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) has even pointed out that each year more than 500 nursing staff come over to Australia to find a better living for themselves.

Working Issues for Nurses

It is not easy for an overseas nurse to find a top job in Australia with only her past experience. The nurses must have experience which is accepted by Australia’s nursing association. Further, the nurses should be able to interact with the patients in Australia and adjust to the lifestyle and needs of the patients.

For instance, the staff planning to work in Australia as caregivers should acquire at least “Band 7” in each test carried out by the IELTS. The nurses must also have adequate interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with the patients.

Meeting the Demand

The Australian Nursing Council (ANCI) has come up with an assessment program where the skills required for an overseas nurse are checked. Points are earned by the applicants who appear for this assessment program.

A qualified nurse specialized for mental healthcare, midwife tasks, and disability care could easily earn around 60 points to get top coveted jobs in Australia. This option adds a fillip to the nurse who already has good amount of nursing experience earlier. The nurses who are not registered can also acquire prestigious job in Australia by availing the accreditation program.

The government has also come up with pay hikes, incentives, and performance benefits to attract nursing staff who want to pursue their career in Australia. A qualified nurse could easily take home AU$ 49,000. The incentives and salary scale increases if the nurses are promoted to coordinators and team leaders.

Secured and Lucrative Career

Childcare givers with valuable experience have good scope to earn a better livelihood in this country. Adequate job security and comfort of living are provided by the government and the agencies who hire the overseas nursing staff in Australia.

Although nurses may have to initially pass competency tests, the successful candidates have a wide scope of opportunities opened in front of them. Australia has a good demand for nurses and hopes to meet the demand by providing better compensation to the staff that comes across to this country to make a kick start to their career.