There are bountiful opportunities for overseas-trained Allied Health Workers with the right qualifications and experience in Australia.
Whether it’s a short locum assignment, a three to six month contract, or even a permanent role, Allied Health workers are in high demand and you have a fantastic position to find jobs in Australia.
In this article, I will cover all the essentials you need to know.
Allied Health was the fastest-growing health section in Australia increasing by 40.2% from 2015 – 2020. There are currently over 200,000 professionals employed in a diverse range of Allied Health Jobs across Australia. These professionals include:
With such a wide range of jobs available here in Australia if you have experience in any of these areas you will find it a lot easier to find a job in Allied Health. That being said there are currently some jobs that are in high demand they are as follows:
Note: In some countries, Pharmacists can issue prescriptions and antibiotics over the counter. In Australia however, a prescription can only be issued by a GP or Certified health care professional. Generally, a pharmacist can only fill and refill prescriptions and antibiotics.
Like many other workers, foreigners enjoy the great work-life balance that Australia offers. Australia is a huge and diverse country with some of the best coastlines and beaches in the world, as well as mountains, forests, and deserts. These are some of the top benefits that foreigners enjoy while working in Australia:
Australia is a huge country with 8 different states, the three largest states by population are New South Wales (8.3 million people), Victoria (6.8 million people), and Queensland (5.4 million people). These three states combined make up over 75% of the entire country’s population.
Therefore there are likely to be more jobs available in these three states.
According to Allied Health Professions Australia, there are 200,000 Allied Health workers across Australia. Below, I’ll provide more details
These are the main hubs for Allied Health jobs in Australia. As mentioned above these three states are populated by over 75% of the entire Australian population. Therefore if you are seeking work these three states are likely to have the most employers and job opportunities. The capital cities of these states are Sydney (NSW), Melbourne (Victoria), and Brisbane (Queensland) which are considered the biggest hubs for Allied Health in Australia.
Although they have a much smaller population per state than the larger 3 states (NSW, VIC & QLD) they should still be considered when looking for Allied Health jobs. These states are usually considered to be less desirable to live in than the 3 major states for many Australians (see table below). Western Australia has some of the best beaches but is generally considered a less desirable state to live in due to being removed from the more densely populated East Coast of Australia. Therefore you may find it easier to find employment in these states.
The remaining states Tasmania, ACT, and NT have a much smaller population than the rest of Australia all three states combined are less than 1 million people. Therefore when searching for a job in these states you may find it difficult as there aren’t as many employers. On the other hand, these states are considered the least desirable to live by us Aussies (see table below) due to harsher weather conditions and smaller populations. Therefore you might find yourself an opportunity to fill a role that many Australians will not.
The remote parts of Australia generally find it extremely difficult to fill roles in Health Care services. This is due to the extreme remoteness causing very few Australians to uproot their lives and relocate there. Many Australians already have established family and friends where they currently are and don’t want to move. Therefore this presents an opportunity for you if you are looking for a job (see table below). You may find it easier to find a job in these areas. These areas often pay higher salaries to attract staff and have much lower costs of living.
To provide some context to the above areas of Australia the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) compiled an analysis on the first preference of location for Allied Health Workers to seek employment as follows:
Location | First Preference of Location Percentage |
Capital City (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin) | 65.3% |
Major Urban Centre | 17.3% |
Regional City or Large Town | 11.9% |
Smaller Town | 4.1% |
Small Community | 1.4% |
As can be seen from the above table there is a very small percentage of Australian Allied Health workers that have their first preference to work in either a smaller town or small community. This presents a fantastic opportunity for workers seeking employment in these areas.
In some cases it is possible to get a job in Allied Health as a graduate with no experience however the more experience you have the more likely you are to gain employment and sponsorship.
There is a wide range of different levels of experience required depending on the job you wish to pursue. However, the vast majority of jobs require a bachelor’s degree in your chosen field.
You will need to get your degrees recognized in Australia to apply for registration and work in Australia.
See the next section for more.
Before overseas-trained Allied Health Workers (excluding those on working holiday visas) can register to practice in Australia, they must first check whether or not they are eligible to do so.
Eligibility to register as an Allied Health professional in Australia is determined by the responsible Health Board which assesses an applicant’s tertiary qualifications, clinical work experience, English language proficiency, and registration status in the country where their degree was attained.
There are generally 3 different pathways to consider, we set these out below:
1. Standard Assessment Pathway – This involves 4 steps:
2. Equivalence of Qualification Pathway – To be eligible for this pathway, your university, program, and year of study must be deemed substantially equivalent to an Australian entry-level program. You can search for your program on this list of Equivalent University Programs.
Once you have applied for the Equivalence for Qualification Pathway, it will be necessary for you to complete the Council’s online Cultural Safety Training to progress.
To find out more see here
3. Skills Assessment – If you are looking at getting a sponsored visa or it is a part of your visa conditions you will need to carry out a skills assessment.
For more information on a skills assessment and to apply for a skills assessment see here.
See the Allied Health Professions Australia for more details on how to register and apply to work in Australia in Allied Health.
The most important thing you will need to work in Allied Health in Australia is a Visa. There are several different types of visas you can obtain, so I have made it simple for you by detailing the most common visa types and how to get them.
The easiest visa to obtain to work in Australia as an Allied Health Worker is a working holiday visa. I have created an easy-to-follow article on how to obtain a working holiday visa.
To work as an Allied Health worker in Australia on a working holiday visa you will need to apply for and obtain a provisional license to work in a specific state. Each state has different requirements.
Whilst this visa is easy to obtain most provisional licenses only allow Allied Health Workers to work for a maximum period of 6 months.
There are a large number of other visa types you can apply for the most common types of visas you could obtain are as follows:
I collected the information above from the Department of Immigration. If you can’t find the type of visa I mentioned, please visit the Department of Immigration website to view the full list of available visas.
To apply for Allied Health jobs in Australia there are a number of different job search websites that you can use.
The most popular job advertising websites here in Australia are:
There are also some very popular healthcare-specific job search websites in Australia. Some of the most popular ones are:
It is worth getting in touch with a recruiter especially if you are looking at gaining a sponsorship visa. The recruiters have a large number of industry contacts and can make the process of finding a job much simpler for you.
If you are still overseas, apply to Recruitment Agencies up to two years before you arrive and jobs within a month of arrival. This helps to determine which City and State has the best opportunities and assistance may be offered with professional Registration and your Visa.
I have created an in-depth guide to getting a sponsorship job in Australia that also has some very useful tips about getting a job in Australia. Be sure to check my sponsorship jobs full guide here.
Working as an Allied Health Worker in Australia can be a great experience, you will be paid well, enjoy many great places in Australia, and enjoy an excellent work-life balance. There are a few steps that need to be taken to secure a job and a visa which should be a lot easier to do yourself. I recommend starting your job search and visa application as early as possible to give yourself plenty of time to find the right opportunity.