Joanne Donnelly

Hi Dufferdev, I hope you read my message above about how i have managed to get my foot in the door. Injury management / vocational rehab and can start without reg in place with full training ongoing CPD and unlimited personal development budget, mentoring and supervision throughout and great career progression. Trying a new field of work and working out great for me. good luck!

Hi I have been n Oz 5 weeks and had a very poor response from recruitment agencies and with anything I looked into regards work in a classic OT role. I then turned my attentions to the private sector, specifically in vocational rehab, occ rehab roles and found an employer who interviewed me straight away and sounded like a fantastic company, good pay and professional development etc.. they also are happy to take me on with our reg and will let me start the training period before my limited reg comes through as I will not be practicing. Its really is the best way to avoid all this negativity of trying to get a job in over subscribed OT roles and waiting ages for reg. I am also very excited about trying a new industry whilst in a new country Its also based in the Northern Rivers in a glorious coastal location and couldn't be happier. I think trying companies direct is theist option looking for alternative roles and trying something completely different than what we all might be used to in UK etc... Good luck y'all

my heart was in the east coast but its a big place and where is the question.. sunshine coast... byron hinterland... moorchodore

I think your right, I read them and didn't try to gloss over them and would bring them up with my partner but he is very much so the glass is half full kinda guy and by god he is great in most things but sometimes he will not just see the reality and I can't make him look at the facts and see what we might be up against, I may be feeling frustrated that I knew this but kinda went along with him to Perth (not australia I wanted to come) now we are here I am panicking ...

yeah we are hearing that its a buyers market and a great time to buy and maybe more so in 6 months we are doing our research and we will scope the areas go along to auctions and open houses to get a feel. We have made contacts with some people, someone who is in real estate also and we will get more familiar with it as time goes on but its that feeling of wanting to get on and establish a life that we have waited for 2 odd years to come to and put everything on hold in UK to get somewhere and find its still so expensive.. We thought the downturn would have had more of an effect and the properties we saw online already after a few days we realise they are in areas that you are unlikely to want to live in... I am porb feeling jet lagged tired, homesick and exhausted from everything we have just done and its hard to see clearly your options..

Think I did 'know this stuff' but its not the same when you are reading from afar as you feel like you want to be positive and everyone has different outlooks.. also we got to a point where we had to decide where to go and it was hard to decide.. Sydney is ultimately more expensive and its more hectic so we didn't think we could handle that. Melbourne is colder as mentioned by loads of people.. Perth does tick alot of boxes and is great on paper and in pictures but is it really that easy to adjust to when you actually get here? Looking to hear from others who have felt the same

Just arrived in perth and having rollacoaster of emotions.. one minute the sun is shining and it looks so beautiful, clean, open spaces and no traffic and then the next it looks more dead, quite and boring! I am all over the place with how I feel, I expect to be excited and thrilled to be here but have a feeling of dread about realistically being able to live here??! Someone said on a different post about Perth that its easier to live in UK if a bit poorer than Perth and I didn't understand that but now I do.. its so so expensive here and to be in an area where its doesn't feel bland and boring is out of most peoples price range unless you don't mind living in a shack.. to get something else means going way out into suburbia which fills me with dread as this I cannot relate to here and can not visualise life out 'there'. My partner thinks I am mental and talks of suburbia in UK - we had a nice house and it was only 4 miles from the city, here its 20-30min drive at least. I am confused about what lifestyle and quality of life in Perth is really like if you don't earn lots of money? The culture seems odd now its the bust period and the city centre seems dead and lifeless, my partner again thinks nah its not busy and crowded but there is a fine line. What is really going on with the economy here and are house prices going to come down? I hope so... I am also still jet lagged! lol..

Hi there.. are you in Oz? You will have to let me know how you get on. I arrive in July and have spent loads of time contacting OTC and ahpra but not a lot of luck. Very hard to find supervision when on limited registration but good luck I will be in the same position with this catch 22 situation and it frankly got me stressed out but I have now just put it to back of my mind as I move out of my house that I have sold on Friday and too many other things to think about

damn lol... I couldn't handle the guilt! I am irish!

Hey thanks Knk... so I can declare that through HMRC with some form I suspect before we leave? And in Aus we will get an accountant that can help with the rest.. he does have to pay various maintenance costs and such like for the block the flat is in so that can be offset for sure and we can always see what else.. is it a bad idea to not declare it at all anywhere? Is that too naughty

Hi... interested on what Bevan has to say on overseas landlord and no tax... Myself and my fiancée are moving to Oz very soon we are about to exchange on the sale of our current residential home here in UK and luckily we will be set to make a nice profit, as I gather we pay no tax on this as this is our home? We do have a flat that has been and is currently being rented out and will continue to be when we are away and no plans on selling it anytime soon. We get a small income of about £200ish pounds per month does this mean if we are overseas we don't pay tax on it here in UK but will in Oz?? This is confusing... it is in my partners name only and he has always been self employed and therefore done tax returns in UK he has no idea if he is still to do this due to the small profit but he will no longer be a resident here... Advice on this would be great

Morning... Ahh the over 35's! great is isn't it lol... you will get 20 points in English, try not to over complicate what it is they want.. its basic English and as long as you are prepared for the exam structure and don't panic it can be done. I did spend days doing every available practice test from online and did it under exam conditions timing myself and making sure I did it like that.. though I could not get scored on the speaking and writing but I read everything they wanted and brushed up on grammar and used everything in my writing... throw in a semi colon and a few dash marks! lol.. The listening is annoying so its worth practices this a lot to see the silly mistakes that you can make without realising.. I got my PR in September, its so long ago but we have been trying to sell our house and its been taking forever, we thought we would have left by now. We are waiting to exchange on our house so its still not signed and sealed yet but hoping we will be abel to go in next 6 weeks! OTC have referred by email back to APHRA to consider the supervised practice that I did complete, to be honest OTC have been helpful think they may have improved their services in relation to trying to help. Fingers crossed I will get a good result from this! Have a good day x

Yeah what you have said is what I did and it makes it cheaper and quicker when you go to an agent. My agent was 'the visa bureau' recommended through a friend and I found them to be very helpful and responsive at all times, I am not sure if they are more expensive than others or not. Get a high score in English that will help, but depends on your age as you get extra points for being younger... I am in the over 35 category now! Yeah the hardest part seems to be the supervised practice, I don't think I would be worrying about it that much if my desktop audit was not due to expire so soon after I arrive. OTC have emailed me again this morning, I am trying to chase a record of the work I did do there but they say they never received anything. I am going to pull out all my supervision records etc that I still have and scan and attach them over to OTC to see if this can help or reduce my supervised practice time.. anything ! lol..

Wanted to add to this thread... the conversation so far has been related to nurses and APHRA right? I gather that nurses can get general registration straight away? Anyone on here an OT?? We seem to have to have limited/supervised reg first due to the skills assessment regulations and therefore can not go straight for general and then preventing you for applying for jobs! To get a job you need to be registered but to get registered you need to have a job that will agree to give you supervision and therefore you can not fill in the limited registration app form due to this as its need to have your employer details included and a contract of supervision supplied... anyone else had this problem?? thanks and good luck x

O sorry I probably didn't explain properly... My OTC skills assessment (desktop audit) which is only valid for 5 years expires in October.. I used it to become registered when I was there on working holiday visa and then for getting my visa.. so thats all in the bag now but if I don't have one I can't get registered.. I will get to Oz with PR and then my skills Ass runs out aahhhhhahhhha! lol... its all just more paperwork and timeframes one after another! To be honest the visa process was ok, I had done a lot of research and because I had been to Oz met others and have friends who have done it I was more familiar with it all. Having the skills assessment already made starting the process a bit easier and saved time as its takes about 3 months to get. The visa bureau I used were great and I did not have to spend as much in fees as they normally help with the OTC skills assessment.. I used them as I was mad busy in a stressful job and just back in the UK with loads going on... I filled in the forms when sent and got the info in place... the 20 points in the English test helped me as I did not have to find other points or prove my employment history.. it is confusing and can be stressful at times... are you using an agent?

Hi Patch Thanks for the positivity and you are right I have an advantage of having worked there before. I have tried looking into the reg again today but I keep going round in circles as the APHRA forms for reg clearly state that if you are to be on limited reg which we would be based on the OTC guidelines then you have to state who your employer is and have a supervision agreement to enable you to get reg. Cannot apply for general reg and therefore I am stuck again. I have send out lots of emails to find any further leads on this but not much response. I did have a positive email from a vocational rehab employer but she did say contact her for opportunities that they do and will have once I am registered... grrrr... annoying to say the least! I don't think I can really choose which area I want to work in I think it will choose me just to get some sort of employment so I can get registered... it is a pain but fingers crossed! I have no idea if NZ situation would affect Oz... I think there are jobs in OZ and lots of opportunities if you are flexible but its the registration that gets in the way...

Sorry to hear you didnt do well what is PTE? Good luck with next attempt it is a pain! We are going to be in Oz by July this year as visa expires so yeah I will have time to try and arrange something, thought it would be easier to arrive and have registration sorted so its easier to get a job straight away before the Oct deadline, ya know things always work out in the end Its complex red tape in Oz but generally people, once you get there and get into living there are so much more laid back and helpful but the paperwork side of things is a bit awkward...

Hi Patch Yeah I think I need to look into it more about doing reg now before Oct. Its a lot of confusing paperwork and hard to get an answer from anyone. I did ILETS and didn't think I would get the score but I got 9 and that gave me 20 points so it was easier than I thought to pass so good luck with yours! I have got PR already so it is great! I did a community role in Oz and it was similar but I was in a regional location so quite different there compared to urban areas, the processes are different as its not NHS but easy enough to get familiarised with it with help. I have been working for more than 2 years but generally Oz is more advanced and they seem to be getting a lot of OT's qualified so hard for over seas people like us. Vocational rehab is more advanced and looks like a great area to get into if you can. I have no idea where to settle originally it was Perth but the job market is not so good there now. I think getting a regional location role is easier but not where I would wish to live. Keep me posted on how you get on with things

Hi Kylie... thanks for the info I will do a bit of reading

Hi Patch! It is all a bit of a pickle and confusing, we will have to keep each other updated. I have had my skills assessed by the OTC, I had it done years ago for my WHV in OZ and it actually expires in October 2016 so that is also something putting pressure on me! I have gone through the APHRA reg process before when I worked in OZ for 5 months. This was a rural job and they had supervised me quite easily so it is possible. I would not want to live in that particular location and now that I am returning on a PR visa I want to settle somewhere with a more reliable job but that looks difficult. Its is a difficult system to find your way around and generally its hard to get any advice or answers from people. I am confused about the whole process applying from scratch again from the UK before I arrive. I have heard about getting NZ reg first and then transferring it to Oz but I don't know how this works and how possible this is, there may be restrictions like working in NZ for a while first. I will have to look into it. Have you started visa process? How many years you been working as an OT and what kind of field? Chat more soon! Good luck

Calling all OT's out there to update on APHRA and the job market in Australia, specifically what is happening in Perth? Is there a freeze on health care jobs in all WA? Has anyone been able to get supervised practice within a role? Thanks

Hi there all Wondering if anyone had any updates on how they have gotten on with APHRA? Has anyone arranged their reg from the UK prior to going and has anyone taken this NZ route that is mentioned often and has been mentioned to me also from recruitment consultants? I am finding the whole process confusing, the thing is I was reg with APHRA in 2012 when I was on WHV and had an OT regional outback locum job for 5 months and they did my supervision. It seemed so easy then as it was all temporary and part of my travels as I didn't care where I went then. They did not have to supervise me much it was normal supervision meeting every fortnight with a senior member of staff what you would do in any job as part of your professional development and supervision contract with your role. It was helpful and they were great and I just wish I had been able to keep it up but without a visa I had to leave and returned to the UK. Now it seems daunting and more difficult as the job market is not as good from what I can gather and no one wants to take on OT's with limited reg??! Any advice and updates would be great I will also help whatever way I can!

Hi there! How have you been getting on with your visa and OT registration? I am a UK OT and I am going to Oz in July, I have PR and my skills assessment but now I have the task of arranging OT reg and getting a job and from what I have been reading its not looking as easy and as straight forward for us lot out there! Good luck, let me know how you are doing x

Hi I would not say I have used the forum much but think I will be now! Myself and my partner had our visa granted (189 skilled independent) yesterday 18/08/2015! Applied in April 2015! :laugh: We can't believe thats its finally happened and it was easier than I thought. i already had a skills assessment done from my time in oz before and with superior english results I was not required to do a job experience evidence part and that helped a lot! We had a holiday and a wait for medicals in the June/July so I think we would have gotten it earlier, otherwise it was done and dusted once the last forms were uploaded within a matter of days. I thought i would start the thread as i can see that people are anxious to see how long to takes and what happens with the process. I have enjoyed reading others stories so it may help. We will have loads to now think about and we will have to sell our house and transfer money so anyone who has advice on that on large sums of cash that would be really helpful. We won't have loads of stuff as we will sell things but there will still be enough to need to be put in storage and shipped out at a later date to oz when we are ready for it so again any tips!? We will be putting our backpacks on again on our way to oz! We have to do some travel if I am quitting my job and have th freedom and chance to do it again. We have only been bak in UK for 18 months after 2 1/2 years of travelling and we have itchy feet for sure but mostly want to start a new life in Oz. Being back does make you settle a bit that you forget about the great things about oz and why you want to go back the forum helps that! I can offer advice on 189 if I can :cute: Living the dream!

Hey all I'm an OT who has visited and worked in Oz as an OT already on a WHV. I understand all the processes with registration etc and currently still hold a valid OTC skills assessment which will expire in sept 2015. Though I'm back in the uk because we left OZ after visa was up and travelled for a bit, we are keen to return. I don't actually know how difficult it is now to migrate under skilled migrate independent visa? How in demand ate OTs throughout OZ generally? I worked in regional south Australia great experience as a locus and did community OT including work with flying doctors! They discussed sponsorship but I could not live in this particular place for 4years, 5 months was enough. I am just unsure of demand and how easy it is to migrate as I feel that OTs are not quite needed as much as they once were. Any advice really appreciated thanks