ali

On 31/10/2023 at 05:30, InnerVoice said:

Basically yes, and unless you're advised otherwise by an RMA I wouldn't mention anything about the suicide attempt - it's not a medical condition anyway.

Unless you they were subsequently diagnosed with and treated for depression.

It's a long time ago that we brought a cat, but we used Pets on the Move who are still going so may be worth getting a quote from.

On 12/11/2023 at 22:53, Lara40 said:

Hi all can anyone advise on what it’s like working as a mental health nurse in WA in particular in relation to the below:

work life balance?

What it’s like to work in the community/caseloads and work demand etc? Any home working allowed?

Annual leave as an SRN level 3 coming in as a British person?

 

Depends on the position if you would be allowed to work from home  and caseloads will vary from different teams e.g. ATT smaller caseloads, CTT higher (up to 30).

Annual leave in the public sector is 4 weeks unless an continuous shift worker which is 5.  If you work full time you'll accrue an ADO each month as full time is 80 hours per fortnight.  These ADO's are often rostered to prevent leave liability.

I've found the work life balance to be good.

It's great if you've secured a L3 position from the UK.

On 02/10/2023 at 16:52, calNgary said:

Hi

 Yes we are from Manchester (Bury), moved just over 15 years ago when the kids were little and have no regrets yet,lol.

@ali lives in Perth so hopefully she can give you some advice. Its a place i havent yet been but do want to visit. 

                        Cal x

Apologies for the delayed reply - We have never regretted moving here and our kids (28 and 24 who are well travelled) also choose to remain on the West Coast.  My Niece whose now 27 came on a working holiday visa originally, - did the rounds and decided to return to WA for her 2nd holiday visa and is still here (now on a partner visa).   Transportation is relatively easy, there's loads of opportunities that I can see in hospitality.  Perth is the place that seems to divide the forum, my advise is to see for yourself if it's your cup of tea or not, everyone has an opinion on it - even when they've never set foot in the state, and even those of us that live here also seems to love it or hate it lol.

On 19/09/2023 at 14:25, RubyMonday said:

Yes that's what I said. All job adverts will state preference will be given to citizens/PR first as all jobs in every industry have to be. I only mean that it's not hopeless and it's not correct to say that you have to be there with everything sorted and ready to start tomorrow and still not likely to have a chance if you're on 482 visa. I've known people to be offered jobs from abroad so at the very least it's not impossible and definitely worth making inquiries once the visa is confirmed. I'm getting the daily updates for job alerts but am not going to apply for my nursing registration until I have my visa then I'll apply for jobs.  

We've just offered a UK candidate a job, but they've worked in Aus before, have PR and registration.  Availability, does play a part in filling the vacancies if like for like candidates - the UK candidate had already planned to arrive in less than 8 weeks.

14 hours ago, RubyMonday said:

I’m basing my comment on having seen WA health specifically targeting UK nurses on working holiday visas as soon as the rules changed to allow for up to 3 years. A working holiday visa is even more casual than a 482, dependent or not. Given that she would be working as a registered nurse I don’t think they would be concerned about the visa running out since there would be multiple she would qualify for in her own right. They could offer sponsorship themselves for a visa for her to stay. Of course if they have plenty of Australian citizens/PR applying for the jobs then she might be at disadvantage but it doesn’t appear that they are swamped with too many nurses so there is decent chance.

A lot of job adverts do say that preference is given to Citizens and PR holders - it doesn't exempt people from applying but do understand that the preferred candidate may be based on their visa status.

On 30/08/2023 at 14:31, Quoll said:

My husband would concur with the Bunnings - if he doesnt go at least once a week he gets withdrawal symptoms.  For me - the wider car parking spaces is about it.

My hubby has gone 2 or 3 times in one day because "he forgot something" 

Great list - I enjoy a lot of those, the alfresco dining, fire pits in the winter, I don't live in NSW but I never tire of the journey into the city along the river  here in Perth.  My hubby would concur with Bunnings, I swear it's his aim to visit every single one in WA lol

On 12/07/2023 at 13:15, SWMOY04 said:

Snr Mental health worker here (Grade 4 in VIC - I believe thats grade 3 in WA)

Crisis, ED, Forensics etc. 

Cant speak for WA, but definitely a better work life balance (and income) in Aus than UK. 

SRN 3 is a clinical nurse specialist here in WA, Level 4 would be a Nurse Unit Manager (NUM), although I'm a nurse I'm in an HSU position which is L4 equivalent (Level 8 HSU)

11 hours ago, BobHatton said:

We have lived in all three states mentioned (QLD, SA and now WA). For what its worth, here's my tuppence worth;

QLD: Nice weather all year round but can get extremely humid in summer. So much so that after 25 years we moved to WA where it's still very sunny but much less humid.

SA: Only spent a year living here and didn't like it at all tbh. Too cold and wet most of the time (maybe we struck and unusual year!) but couldn't wait to get back to Queensland!

WA: Been living here now for 9 months and absolutely loving it! Yes, the winter is cold and wet but you just know that summer is fantastic. Six months of near perfect weather (No rain, sunshine all the way and temps hovering around 32 degrees) - a perfect Mediterranean climate if you ask me. We're wondering why we didn't make the move 25 years ago!

Another bonus to WA is the house prices. Where else in Australia can you be within an hour of the capital city (which is fantastic btw!) have beaches and countryside on your doorstep, fantastic public transport if you need it, cheaper utilities and, as an added bonus, it's full of Brits and STILL be able to buy a house under $500K?

Done deal!

Glad you're still loving life in WA Bob

On 05/07/2023 at 19:01, RubyMonday said:

Only 10 days sick leave per year!! That’s terrible. With the NHS it’s 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay. I’ve only been off sick for a week in the last 6 years so it’s not that I need it but it’s nice to know it’s there. Is there any plans to increase that or are people just ok with it?

Edit: So actually is it 10 days per year but if you don’t use them then they build? So I would have had 60 days minus the 4 shifts  so still left with 56 days?

In the public sector in WA you get 12 days - 10 are cumulative and 2 not.

On 04/07/2023 at 14:09, InnerVoice said:

 

 

When you salary sacrifice you don't get any money back - at least I never have. The sacrificed amount is directed towards superannuation contributions, motor vehicles, laptops etc, depending on what your employer offers. It reduces an employee's taxable income and there's a point where you can effectively 'break even' by ending up with the same net pay, whilst having made a contribution towards one of the aforementioned. It's a nice arrangement because you never miss the money, but for most people the end result is not much different than claiming legitimate expenses at the end of the financial year and receiving a tax refund. You also have to pay a small fee every month to the company that handles the sacrificing. I use Remserv, who charge the princely sum of $1.35/fortnight.

Mine gets taken out of my wage pre-tax then put back into my bank 

On 29/06/2023 at 18:49, RubyMonday said:

Ditto, just waiting on my 189 application getting processed then I can move next year probably. Looking at WA health it seems like there's loads of drug and alcohol work going in particular. The jobs site isn't very good for separating out mental health related jobs though so you've got to wade through quite a bit of medical roles.

Also the salary structure is very confusing so I'm having a hard time figuring out what pay I'll be offered. I have 7 years of experience as a UK RMN (currently band 6) not sure if that gets taken into account or I'll just start at the bottom of their equivalent of band 5 or if you can negotiate to start higher. Also some roles seem to have super included in the given salary and some don't.  

Are there specific community mental health services for older adults or are they just included the same in regular 18+ community caseloads?

There are separate OAMH teams.  Most community jobs are level 2 jobs, so when searching (Jobs WA is the best), look for Clinical Nurse Level 2.   You would likely start at level 2.1 (there are 4 increments) which you get automatically each year.  if you apply for a level 1 Registered nurse (mostly wards) then with your experience you would likely be at Level 1.7 (8 increments).

Do check the job adverts, I know that ours usually say you have to be a citizen or have PR to apply for a permanent position.  If you have visa, registration already in place you will be seen as a more attractive candidate - they'd rather have someone ready to fill the vacancy than wait several months.  

Were most UK nurses fall down with the application is addressing the selection criteria (most don't) which makes it difficult to get shortlisted.  Happy to help and give you some tips when you're ready

2 hours ago, Lara40 said:

Hi all. Hoping to move over to WA on a 189 and work as a community mental health nurse. Can anyone advise me what working as a mental health nurse is like in OZ especially as a community nurse? Is it flexible and can you do some home working around visits? How big are the case loads? Work/life balance etc. 

I can only speak for the clinic I work at and you don't work from home - happy for you to drop me a line - I'm the team leader for a community and EEP team.

A while ago now but my brother met his now wife whilst in Aus on a WHV.  My sister-in-law did have duel citizenship and came to live in the UK with my brother for several months whilst they applied for a partner visa.  They provided evidence that their correspondence whilst apart was about living together/long term future etc.,   I would suggest your partner looking at the WHV so that you can live together, or you consider going to the UK as you suggested.

Been a while but we used John Masons who were brilliant and we had no issues.

My two are now adults, my daughter 28  lives with her partner 29 and currently rent as he went back to Uni (career change) and in his final year.  He only works part time during term time.  They rent an apartment in South Perth and will be looking to buy a home next year.  They'd love to stay in the area they are now but property prices may be a little too expensive for them, however, they will be able to afford something in a nice area.  My son 23 and his girlfriend 21 both live at home and are saving - rental prices are quite high a the moment and i think they'd struggle financially without some savings behind them. 

Any airport - you just need to enter Australia 

I remember feeling it feeling quite an alien environment - little things like not knowing where to buy something, if there was a late night chemist and at the time, no late night shop opening or PH.  I also remember feeling quite 'people' sick, missed connections, history I had with people, colleagues who i'd worked with a long time. 

Give it some time, take the opportunity to meet some people, get a bit of a social life - if at the end of the day you find it's not for you then you've done something a lot of people haven't and it's been an adventure.

On 15/02/2023 at 17:39, Jon the Hat said:

We bought everything just about, and I spend my time wondering why I have so much shit.  Generally speaking everything is expensive here.

We brought everything as well (other than fitted robes and appliances) including the washer and dryer.  We're so glad we did - reduced our stress levels and financial outgoings in those early days as we didn't have many huge purchases to think about

5 hours ago, Daisyflowers said:

I really appreciate all the information. The more I look the more confusing it is! When I was looking for best ways to contact your state I found a video by Karol Konrad made this year saying; you don’t have to stay in your state, there is no risk to your visa being cancelled as the visa has already been given, and no impact on citizenship later down the line. I can’t understand the different information  around  on such a huge matter. Surely it’s a yes or no situation. It just adds more stress in trying to figure out my options

Could you move to your sponsoring state and your relative come and live with you?

15 hours ago, bergerac14 said:

We're getting closer to applying for our Visas, and are anticipating what information to bring to the medical.

My partner has Ulcerative Colitis, and we are assuming we're going to need a letter from the Consultant, detailing the disease, how it impacts day-to-day, medication and likely costs into the future for the MOC to make an assessment.

Id like to pre-emptively do this, as im sure it will take a while to get it so we can take it along to the appointment.

Does anyone have any information on what it should it definitely contain, to satisfy what they are most likely going to ask for?

Anyone that has had experience with this id love to hear from!

E

When we went for medicals we were told the letter should include - illness/disorder, treatment/investigations, impact on day to day functioning and prognosis 

1 hour ago, nomadiccarpenter said:

Thought I'd revive this thread with some good news. 32 months after applying, my 190 NSW was granted! Carpenter, offshore. Got my first CO contact 24 of October. After submitting medicals the 5th of November, grant came just five days later. Made so many friends here and if you all have any questions, I'll be there for ya!

Congratulations

The medical may get referred and you be asked to have more investigations.  Plenty of people get a visa with diabetes.  I share your pain at the GGT - drinking the liquid made me feel sick

13 hours ago, JZT said:

Yes thanks Ali I may do that. I was curious whether anyone ever had (particularly as the clinic say not to contact them for results as they go straight to immigration ) so it’s interesting to know that you don’t tend to find anything out as Paul advised

I think rule of thumb if they find anything - they'll ask for more tests (if the info hasn't been supplied).