Total time taken to commence work in Australia or New Zealand

 

The major stages before starting a job are:

• Finding a job

• Obtaining Medical Registration

• Obtaining a Work Visa/ Work Permit

• Relocation - flights, accommodation, schooling (for children)

• Post-arrival paperwork - Tax File Number (Au) or IRD Number (NZ)

Times taken to complete all the above task are variable but approximate times for average completion are given below:

Process	Junior Doctor (SHO/ Reg)	Consultant Specialist
Finding a job	variable - 1 - 4 weeks	usually >4 weeks
Obtaining Medical Registration	3-6 weeks	approx 6 weeks (NZ) approx 12-20 weeks (Au)
Obtaining a Work Visa/ Work Permit	3-6 weeks	3-6 weeks
Relocation	1-2 weeks	1-2 weeks
Post-arrival paperwork	1-2 days	1-2 days

Time taken to finding a job is dependent on the chosen specialty - their is a much greater demand for junior doctors in the following specialties so the time to find a job is quicker:

Emergency medicine
General Medicine
Psychiatry
Intensive Care Medicine (ICU/ ITU)

At Consultant level, there is much greater demand for:

Emergency Physicians
Physicians - General, Cardiology, Oncology, Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Nephrology
Radiologists
Anaesthetists/ Anesthesiologists
General Practitioners/ Family Medicine Practitioners

These jobs are much easier to find than surgery positions.

Completing the paperwork for medical registration as a junior doctor is a relatively straightforward process if doctors have had no disciplinary action or criminal history or medical health issues. In addition, all doctors will need to have satisfied the English Language Testing Requirements to obtain medical registration. 

For Consultants, there is the requirement to obtain an assessment by the relevant specialist college to ensure that your specialist qualifications are recognised as being equivalent in Australia/ New Zealand. This assessment by the relevant specialists college can take up to 6 months and is dependent on you being able to produce a substantial amount of paperwork - including logbooks, proof of training, exam certificates, multiple references and also may involve an interview by the specialist college in Australia/ New Zealand which is sometimes a phone interview and sometimes an in-person interview.

See relevant specialty on home page to find out the requirements for each college.