katkin

Thanks hawthorne. That's what made me wonder too, but looking again it is on the application checklist (and had I looked properly it does actually say everyone on the application needs to complete one!). Better get started on it then...

Hi, Just starting this whole process. Been in Melbourne for 2 years on 457 so we're going through Transition stream without MA. Employer application not submitted yet but trying to get them to pull their finger out & get it sorted asap. In the meantime we're trying to get all of our application together. we've applied for police checks in oz & uk but have a quick question about Form 80... From experience, is it just the main visa applicant who needs to fill this out or do other applicants have to complete it too? Thanks, Katkin

Hyena, congrats on the job. Quick word on the physio reg - it can all take a lot longer than 4 weeks. You need to apply to apc and then to ahpra. Ahpra are the ones who have the final say for all registration. Are you going for public interest or supervised practice limited reg. I got my approval from apc end of nov but ahpra didnt have a board meeting till early feb and now are still debating the public interest aspect.... So none of it is guaranteed. If the place youll be working at have gone through it before then at least theyre aware of all the process. And maybe if it's in a place that's much further out into vic then they look more favourably on public interest applications as there's less physios there. Is it a hospital or private practice? Also, if you're going to stay a while then I'd start to look at the process to get full reg, as i belive that you can only stay on limited reg for a max of 2 years. my advice would be to start your portfolio to do it via the nz route now. Going via the oz process takes a long time and a lot of money - around $7000. I've got my written exam at the start of march and truly wish I'd done the nz portfolio. Still got 3 clinicals to go after this.... good luck with it all - Melbourne is a great place to be (except for the ridiculous rain this morning)..we're really glad we made the move....the only down side to it for me so far is that it's been so difficult to get the registration sorted

hey Louey, Just wondering how things are going with you and the assistants role? As an update I got my APC approval through for the job i was talking about before - unfortunately for one reason or another (mainly financial - realised was going to be paid less than the new grads just because i was on temp reg) I decided to pull out of the process before taking it to AHPRA. Gutting as I've lost $400 but better in the long run I think. At the moment I've just got a job in the return to work sector - its not physio so I do really really miss the clinical side of things. Got a few other irons in the fire at the moment so will see what happens. Though heard that they're changing the limited registration at the end of the month, so looks like that might not be an option any more if it goes through They certainly like to make it difficult! Applied for March exams too. Are you in touch with AAPTA? Its a group of physios going through the same process...lots of info on there - some useful, some not so but worth joining. PM if you want to share any revision/experiences etc for the exams

Hi John, Your sister should have a look on the APC (Australian Physio Council) website. They do all the assessment of foreign physios and its not a quick process. There used to be 2 ways of getting registration in OZ - one through APC & the other was via New Zealand. People tended to get registration in NZ as was easier to obtain, then get Oz reg through the trans-tasman agreement. However this is less of an option as nz have realised they're registering a lot of physios who never go on to work there. So they've tightened it up and you now need to show visa evidence with your reg application. fine if you're under 30 and doing the gap year thing on the WHM visa but not so great for the rest of us. The APC way is quite expensive - around $6500 at the moment, involves an initial assessment of qualifications, a written exam (September & March only - which can be taken in London), then 3 practical exams which can only be taken in Australia. (There is an assessment of equivalence option on the APC website, but if she's done a 3 year degree she wouldn't be able to apply for this & even with a 4 year degree in scotland its still not guaranteed). At the moment there is a limited registration that you can get for up to a year, but it sounds like that might be changing at the end of this month, which would mean you can only get temporary registration once you've passed the written exams. From what I understand I don't think your sister would be able to start the process until she's finished university. As a physio who moved over from the UK a few months ago and still isn't working in my profession yet (our move happened too quickly for me to get all this sorted), I'd highly advise her to get as much of the registration sorted before she comes over. It seems to be the times when uk physios could come over and work for a few months at a time and move easily between employer has ended - its now a much more lengthy and expensive process. Once she's finished her course it would be worth get as much physio experience as possible whilst going through this process - any UK experience certainly wouldn't encourage any 'bad habits'. I worked in the NHS for 2 years and I've had a lot of interest from physio practices here (physio is a lot about private practice here compared to UK), the only stumbling block so far has been registration... Totally agree with what mandajay says though, planning ahead and gathering documents in advance is definitely better for the sanity. You would also need to look at the visa options. I came over on my husband's 457. I'm guessing if she's just qualifying then the WHM visa is probably the easiest option for her to start with. Hope that helps. If your sis wants any more info PM me with her email & I'll drop her a line.

Hi Rudi, Hope your daughter is doing ok at the moment. From what you've described about the mechanism of injury (hyperextending the knee) it might not necessarily be an ACL injury (anterior cruciate ligament) - this is commonly injured when twisting and pivoting the knee when the foot is planted on the floor (Michael Owen type injury for those who remember). However it could well be the posterior cruciate thats been damaged in hyperextending the knee - did the doctor say which cruciate it was? Basically the cruciates are 2 ligaments situated inside the knee joint that cross over to provide stability to the knee joint. The fact that your daughter describes it feeling very unstable could be indicative of ligament damage. The reason doctors tend to xray is to check if the ligament pulled off a small part of the bone where it was attached (avulsion injury), so that's good news if that came back clear. An MRI is likely to give a better understanding of whats happening with the knee. However as others have said, clinical tests can also lead to a diagnosis - the reason the doctor may have said come back later is that when the knee is in the very acute stages of injury it can lead to false testing - i.e. when you assess the knee everything is painful so difficult to pin point the problem exactly. Either way it sounds as if you've got a daughter with a very painful knee and it definitely needs further assessment. The main thing in the meantime is to try and reduce the pain and swelling - RICE is the acronym to remember; Rest - trying to reduce the amount of time walking around on it, good that you've got crutches but make sure that they're the correct height Ice - wrap a frozen bag of veg/peas in a tea towel is often the easiest way. Ice should only be applied for 20 mins at a time, then remove for 40 mins. On 20 mins, off 40 mins. Repeat as required. Compression - bandaging as it sounds like you've already done (though make sure that its not too tight to cut off circulation) Elevation - as others have already described, elevate the leg. Gentle range of movement (i.e. bending/straightening) can also help to reduce the swelling and keep the joint mobile, within whats comfortable pain wise. If you're not convinced about this doctor then I'd get an appointment with a sports doctor or physio after the weekend and they should be able to advise you further. Without actually assessing the injury its difficult for any of us on here to give you a full answer, so getting further professional advice is the best way forward. Unfortunately i don't know of anyone to recommend, but maybe others on here can help...? Let us know how she gets on. Katkin (UK trained physio going through the epic process of Oz registration)

Think I'll make the most of being top for now...am sure the Hoff will be on a mission to reclaim his perch, couldn't have a sheila showing the boys up....:wink: Though the view from up here is quite nice - might try and stay a little longer

We used these guys as well and were really pleased with both price and service. Had spent a lot of time traipsing around shops in melbourne so knew what we wanted, found that the site was cheaper than most shops. They were very efficient at delivering our fridge and washing machine. Set it all up on arrival, took away all the packaging and even showed us through the finer points of our new washing machine (has more buttons and settings than I think we'll ever need!) :smile:

Well thought I'd send an update....unfortunately the APC haven't yet finished with reviewing my application and doing the report to assess if I'm suitable for the job I've been offered, so I've missed the boat on this months AHPRA board meeting. So looks like it'll be at least another month before I can start my job, but that's all providing that a) APC gives me a positive assessment and b) AHPRA does the same. AHPRA board only meets once a month hence the long wait... I'm finding that when it comes to applications, assessements and generally anything healthcare job related nothing happens quickly. I've started looking at temp job options in the meantime, but again nothing happens quickly & even though I've had office experience prior to qualifying as a physio I'm struggling to get temp work too. My advice to any physios planning on coming out here would be to definitely try and get as much of the registration process completed before coming over here (or do the NZ route), and if you're planning on going the limited registration route ensure that you've either got plenty of money to sustain you whilst you wait...or make sure that you get some temp work sorted before you even start looking for physio jobs....and be prepared for A LOT of form filling. I know that it'll all be worth it in the end, but it can be quite frustrating and depressing at times - all I want to do is be a physio !!!

Hiya, we've recently moved to Melbourne and my husband also works at Sunshine so thought I'd put in my thoughts. First of all ignore anyone who says don't go west - most have never been here for starters or if they have they've just passed through. Yes a lot of the areas are industrial and maybe there are not as many nice areas as the south east - however there are some really lovely pockets which are becoming more desirable. The issue if you start looking towards the east is that you've got to get over to the west - and that will be dictated by how long your other half is happy to commute. Coming up from point cook areas I hear its a great area for families to settle, but its worth finding out about how long the commute in the evening is (wouldn't be too bad in the morning as heading opposite way to city traffic when heading to sunshine, but would meet it all again as it comes off the West Gate bridge). It all depends on whether the length of the commute is an issue - for us we'd both spent over an hour on the M6 each way so we were keen to reduce that in Oz! Williamstown where they're placing you to start is a really nice area, very desirable, great views across the bay and even has a small beach. Think we're all a bit jealous that you're going to be staying there But as other posters have said it can be expensive to buy there, but might be affordable in the short term. We've moved to Yarraville, which we absolutely love. Its got a small high street with lots of cafes, restaurants, very cool cinema and the schools seem to be good from what I've heard. We haven't got kids yet, but its the sort of area we'd be happy to raise kids in. There seem to be a lot of families in this area as i always see lots of mums and dads with strollers around when i take a walk to the village centre. For us the location is the bonus, we're only a short walk to the train station - train takes 10-15 mins into CBD. For my husband to catch the train to Sunshine hospital its about 40 mins, can be quicker or a bit slower but depends on connections. However, to drive it only takes him 10-15 mins at the most. Cars are very expensive here - before we came over we wondered why people used to ship their small cars, but now wishing we'd brought our little corsa as I'd be worth 4 times what i sold it for. Currently got loan of a car from a friend who's gone travelling! Other areas in and around here such as Seddon have also got some lovely parts, kinda flows into Yarraville and also worth a look at whats around Newport for accommodation as Anne mentioned above. It's starting to become more expensive to buy in these areas as people are being priced out of the east - but rental is still pretty good value. I probably wouldn't advise on moving to too many of the areas past footscray on the Sydenham train line (the one that goes out to sunshine) but its easy enough to change from the Williamstown/Werribee lines to it at Footscray You also mentioned a few areas out beyond Sunshine (I would echo the advice that others have given about not living in Sunshine itself, or some of the surrounding suburbs such as St Albans - not great areas to move round the world for) - I hear that some of these are becoming more attractive for families but you are quite a way out. However haven't been there so couldn't comment on specifics. Kirsty M - I'm also with you about Torquay and surrounding areas, love it! Hope that the move goes well.

Louey, I'm right there with you on the frustrated front! We must be mad Are you applying for the March exams? I'm going to try and get the first bit of my application for it done as soon as I've started earning some money. Would be good to stay in touch for a bit of mutual support through the exam process and also to hear from anyone else out there whose going through it - or advice from those who've done it. How are you finding the work as an assistant? Is the role similar to the UK?

Good to hear that there's a few other physios out there on the forum I qualified 2 years ago and been working in NHS until I moved over to Melbourne 6 weeks ago with my hubby on his 457. Original plan had been to try the NZ registration route but our move happened quicker than expected so didn't get the chance. They're also tightening up a bit as loads of people registering but not working in NZ - think you've got to show that you've actually planning on going to NZ (flights booked, WHM visa, etc). From speaking to friends who'd been and worked here before it used to be really easy to get temp registration in some states such as Victoria, but since its all gone national with AHPRA its a bit of a mare. I've had to first of all get a job - a lot of them at the moment are in aged care facilities, from what I found a lot of hospitals weren't keen to take on limited reg physios. Once I had a job offer my employer has had to write a couple of letters stating what work I'll be doing, why its in the public's interest that I have limited registration & that I'll be supervised. I've then had to apply to the APC so that they can assess if my qualifications and experience are appropriate to the specific job offer - at the same time I've applied to AHPRA for my actual limited registration. All of which has involved A LOT of paperwork and around $800. At the moment we're waiting on the APC to ok my quals and experience - they've had my application for 2 weeks now & say my paperwork is complete but it could take a few weeks for them to give me a decision on whether they think I am suitably qualified, not sure what they're actually doing in the meantime. AHPRA say my application will be ready to go to the board meeting only when we get the ok from the APC. AHPRA board only meets once a month, so I'm keeping all fingers and toes crossed that the APC gets a move on and gives me approval before 23rd of this month. If not I've got to wait another month .... and even then keep fingers crossed that AHPRA give me approval. This is all for this specific job - if I move employers there's a chance I'll have to go through this hoop jumping (and cost) all over again. Its all been really frustrating so far, and this is just to get temp registration - then got to pay around another $4500 to sit the exams. The other issue is that employers seem to be paying less just because you don't have full reg. I have wondered at times whether its all worth it, but I know it will be in the long run. From what I've seen some hospitals do advertise for assistants and they don't need to be registered. If you have the time then I'd definitely advise trying to go the NZ registration route as I get the impression that it'd be very easy to find work with full registration and there's always loads of jobs advertised in Melbourne and Sydney at the moment. Not sure if any of that helps, would be good to hear other peoples experiences or registration and working over here.

Been lurking on this site for ages but first time posting. Moved over to Melbourne a month ago so thought it was about time we joined in! Me and the hubby are in. Kat a.k.a Wombat Wanderers