Environmental Health Officers

[Gidza]

Hi Guys

 

Does anyone know how EHOs get registered in Australia and how long the process takes or how cumbersome it is. My wife completed her studies in Dec and for her to become a registered EHO in the UK she has to do at least 6 months working full time whilst buidling up her portfolio. We intend to move around June time so there wont be enough time for her to go through the process before moving.

 

Any info would be highly appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Gidza

[rob dc]

No idea about how to become registered

my oh was qualified for a few years before we moved to Aus, any other questions about eho in Aus let me know and I will ask her

[Gidza]

Thanks Rob.

 

Over here a qualified but unregistered EHO can work as a technical officer. Would like to know if that is the case in Aus. If so she can work on her portfolio whilst in full time employment. Also generally to find out the demand for EHOs. Would she get a job in a relatively short space of time i.e. say a couple of months.

[rob dc]

I'll ask about the tech officer equivalent here and let you know, I do know they have a couple of trainees where she works who are working towards qualifying. Where are you heading to ? The job situation in WA was good when we came, oh had several Skype interviews while still in the UK and was offered a job before we left which made things a lot easier. The EHO course was removed from uni syllabus in WA which lead to a shortage of newly qualified EHO's, don't know if it has been put back on. OH works for local council same as in the UK. Legislation is similar but different, very little out of hours work unlike the UK. Quite a few FIFO EHO jobs for mine sites etc, huge wages but lifestyle not suited to everyone. Register for EHO jobs with seek.com most local authorities put there vacancies on there

[rob dc]

The equivalent of technical officer is public health officer so this is what your oh needs to be looking for, again register with seek. The numbees of public health officers here is far less than tech officers I UK but there are jobs out there. Its worth contacting local authorities looking for EHO as often they will look at using a PHO as an alternative or in addition to EHO

[nv190499]

Hey Guys,

 

I'm an EH officer based in India and am preparing my documents for the skills assessment. My role includes work related to that of both EH officer and OH&S adviser. Is there anyone here who could help me with the format for the employee reference/statutory declaration? Many thanks.

[Sarah999]

Hi I'm new to this site. I've been reading with interest about EHO jobs and I'm considering applying to come out to work for a couple of years. I'm over 40 and so have over 10 years experience in EH. Does anyone know where there are more likely to be job prospects? Also I have contacted a few jobs advertised to test the water for employer sponsorship, but is bit more difficult. Do I need to go go the route of EOI?

Be nice to chat to anyone that had successfully got an EHO job recently. Many thanks

[rob dc]

Where are you looking at going ?

In WA you can register with a web site that lists EHO jobs for local authorities, these seem to cone up quite often though probably unlikely that you would be sponsored.

If you have a visa it may be a lot easier, the EHO degree has not been on the WA university course list for a couple of years so no newly qualified people for a while, not sure if it is back on the list now

[Sarah999]

Hi rob, thanks for reply. It would most likely be WA as I think there are more likely to be jobs there within my field. Do you happen to know the website that I could register with?

 

Yes I'm going to look into temporary working visas. Do you work in EH?

[seraphim]

You do not have to join EH Australia OR EHPA to be an EHO in Australia, it’s not like requiring EHRB in the UK. There are jobs, seek is a good start as discussed. EH Australia recently had a consultation on whether to remove EHO from the shortage list. As far as I know, the occupation is still on the list, but the mining downturn has resulted in less vacancies needing overseas fulfilment.

I was assessed by VETASSESS as being an Australian EHO equivalent on my BSc Environmental Science, not on my EH qualification.

The professional here is a little more compartmentalised than the UK, you have Workcover for Occ H&S, the EPA for all EP related stuff, The Food Authority for food borne illness, health for public health and local government for onsite sewage, general EH work, routine inspections and DA’s. (Again, NSW). There’s some overlap but in my experience I’ve not met as many generalists as you might in the UK.

Note, Public Health Officers are NOT technical officers (don’t know where that came from). They typically hold an MPH, often go through the PHO training program for their respective health service for 3 years post qualification, and work in the Health Service, rather than Local Government (at least in NSW, other states may vary I suppose). They are usually disease, epidemiology, or other health related/policy fields, rather than regulatory officers. It’s a good field but more policy orientated than regulatory.

I found work through Seek and got the job via Skype interview so it is possible, and agencies are plentiful here including Hayes, Cardno, and if you’re into FIFO, there are agencies which specialise in environmental safety or health and safety too.

Good luck with the planning .