Crossing the Tasman - NZ doctors locuming in Australia - what you need to know (Part 1)

Posted by Beat Medical

Sure, we don't have the All Blacks, or Keas, or as many glaciers as you - but we do have some fantastic locum work, paying loads, in interesting places. Before you quit your job, sell the house, divorce the wife (or husband), there are a few things you need to know about working in Australia.

Beat Medical are a medical recruitment and locum agency based in Wollongong, Australia.

Every year, we have a steady stream of doctors from NZ doing locum work in Australia, and other locations in the region. Some come for the pay, others for the climate, and some for exposure to clinical work that they may not be able to access at home.

With the introduction of national Aussie medical registration 2010, it is now easier for NZ locums to work across Australia.

Generally, much of the locum work is outside of capital cities - as that is where the need tends to be. Pay ranges from around $1500 per day for GPs to between $2500-$3000 per day for physicians, anaesthetists, emergency docs, surgeons, and other specialties. More often than not, employers will cover return flights from NZ, as well as accommodation and a vehicle.

Before you book work, there are a few things you need to do. 

1. The first is to confirm your right to work. You need to hold NZ or Australian Citizenship, or a valid Australian visa in order to work here. NZ permanent residents do not have the right to work in Australia. 

2. The second step is applying for mutual recognition of medical registration. This is where it gets a little more complex. There are essentially two categories of medical registration you can apply for. The first is General, the second is Specialist. 

To be eligible for general registration, you need to have full registration in NZ. This category only enables you to work in a general, non-specialist position here. 

To apply for specialist registration, you must hold a medical speciality recognised in Australia or NZ. 

For those holding a speciality which has a joint Australian/NZ College (such as ACEM), you can apply directly to AHPRA, the Australian Medical Registration body. 

If you hold a speciality with a college which is solely NZ based (such as RNZCGP), you’re going to have to apply to the equivalent Australian college for recognition (i.e. the RACGP) via the Australian Medical Council (which is an intermediary body that forwards your application to the college). The AMC does not deal with medical registration, and is NOT the equivalent of the NZMC.

Have a look at this flowchart for a breakdown of the process*

This may sound ridiculous, and complex  - and honestly, in some ways it is. Beat Medical can help you through the process, from start to finish. Although the process is bureaucratic, we’re the experts at making it go as painlessly as possible. With current locum possibilities and rates in Australia, it’s well worth it.

The next part of this series will focus on the how - what you need to do to get registered in Australia ASAP. 

In the meantime, if you are an NZ doctor interested in working in Australia, call us on +61 2 5454 1004 (we can call you right back) or email recruitment@beatmedical.com to talk about your options.

*Big fat waiver - The timeframes we have suggested for each state of the process are indicative only. Dealing with government organisations, we can sometimes only guess what the timeframe will be. Sometimes it will be more, sometimes less. The key message is: don't sell the farm until your registration is approved!

More problems for AHPRA - Health Ministers Intervening

Posted by Beat Medical

The Australian Health Professions Regulations Authority (AHPRA) has once again come to media attention following a torrent of complaints about the backlog of applications and the potential for interruption to health service delivery.

This recent article in The Australian revealed at the end of 2010 up to 500 practitioners were deregistered as a result of unintentional lapse. Subsequently, the State health ministers pledged more support to AHPRA to ensure they meet the needs of the health professions, and the community.

At the same time, the Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon intervened to "fix" the ailing registration system, with the opposition labelling the situation a "debacle".

Since the introduction of the national registration body in July 2010, there have been consistent complaints about the efficiency of the agency, and claims that the added bureaucracy imposed by the body has caused significant delays in the registration of health practitioners across Australia.

AHPRA has responded by increasing staffing and operating hours to cope with the demand. 

From the locum agency/medical recruitment perspective, our opinion is that the situation as it stands is untenable. Our experience with many front line AHPRA staff is that they are well-meaning, but are unable to assist adequately due to an apparent lack of knowledge, training, or both. We are consistently unable to contact senior assessing staff. 

The problems experienced with AHPRA are just  a small part of the wider problem experienced by local and overseas trained doctors. The lack of integration and cooperation between the AMC, Colleges, and AHPRA is astounding. The system, in entirety requires a good overhaul before these problems disappear.

Western Australia joining National Medical Registration scheme

Posted by Beat Medical

Western Australia in National Medical Registration from 18th October 2010

The Medical Board of Western Australia has advised Beat Medical that they will be incorporated into the National Medical Board of Australia from next Monday, 18th October 2010. The legislation enabling this to happen has passed, however the government is waiting final sign-off on the legislation (the "Royal Assent") before it is finalised.

Western Australia is the final state to join the national medical registration scheme, which has been plagued with problems since commencement in July this year. Under the auspices of the Association of Medical Recruiters (AU&NZ), Beat Medical has lobbied AHPRA to make key changes and improvements in the program to make it more workable.

This final milestone is a positive development, meaning that for the first time in history, locum doctors can work in jobs around Australia without being hampered by an archaic state-based medical registration system.

This development comes just in time for some fantastic emergency specialist shifts which will be available from the end of October, for the foreseeable future in southwest WA. With travel and accommodation provided, and an excellent hourly rate - it is a perfect opportunity for a working holiday. Read more or apply for this position here.

National medical registration update - some progress, but not enough

Posted by Beat Medical

In an article last month on the new national medical registration roll-out we reported that the Medical Board of Australia was struggling with demand, and have put on extra staff to deal with the issues reported by doctors, agencies and employers around Australia.

We are pleased to report that there has been some progress - phones are being answered, there are new, relevant forms available on the website, and they seem to be processing applications. Following a comprehensive letter from a group of key medical recruitment agencies (under the auspices of AMRANZ), the Board has replied to our concerns and will be meeting with representatives from medical recruitment agencies this month.

However, as the Board will not agree to provide timeframes for processing of applications, unfortunately only time will tell how long it will take to process a new application for medical registration. Another issue which is not yet resolved is the one remaining rogue state - Western Australia - which still stands apart from the national registration scheme until some time in October 2010.

Tell us about your experience with the Board, by clicking on Comments below.

National medical registration system struggling with demand from doctors, agencies, employers in Australia

Posted by Beat Medical

Following criticism levelled by doctors, medical recruiters, and employers, the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) is reporting that they are increasing their capacity.

After failing to respond to enquiries, poor response times, lack of available documentation, and serious mistakes when transferring information about practitioners to the new national database, AHPRA has advised that they are taking action on the emergent issues.

Representatives of the Board have said that: "AHPRA’s focus continues to be on boosting our enquiry response capacity and bedding down our IT systems. By early next week, we will have doubled the number of enquiries staff whose sole priority is to respond effectively to enquiries, in a timely way[...]".

As a medical recruitment and locum agency, we are very concerned that there will be serious after-effects from the lack of preparedness that the Board has shown in the roll-out of national medical registration. Not only are the phones left unanswered, the Board has failed to provide key forms, policies, and documentation to enable us to place doctors where they are needed as quickly as we usually do.

As members of the Association of Medical Recruitment Australia and New Zealand (AMRANZ), Beat Medical are contributing to assisting the MBA to bring their service to the standard expected by the healthcare industry, and the Australian public.

As an AMRANZ councillor, Beat Medical Director Shaun Hughston is playing a key role in exerting pressure on the MBA to meet the immediate demands of medical employment in Australia. We wish to assure our clients and candidates that we are the forefront of addressing the key concerns and issues surrounding the very tenuous implementation of national registration.

Have you had a problem with the new national Medical Board of Australia? Let us know... click on "Comments" below.

Nearly national medical registration?

Posted by Beat Medical

A bane of most locum doctors' existence is the lack of a national medical registration system. Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with the formation of the new Medical Board of Australia, and national registration on 1st July 2010.

Many doctors will have already received a letter outlining the new system, and what you need to do next. There are some changes, with greater responsibility placed on the individual doctor to keep up their CME, undertake criminal history checks, and more. The actual registration fee remains unknown.

So, why is it nearly national registration? At the moment, there are three dissenting states - Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania - who have not passed the required legislation to make the national registration happen. Until this is completed, the national system will be rolled out to some states, but not the dissenting ones. If you are not registered in one of those rogue states, and you wish to be, you will still need to apply for mutual recognition.

When will true national registration happen? Your guess is as good as ours. We hope it happens sooner rather than later - with nationally mobile doctors in locum work across Australia, it is almost ridiculous that they need to go through a complex, paperwork laden process just to work in another Australian state.

What do you think about it? Let us know your thoughts...