# Working in mental health / occupational therapy in Oz



## monkeybum (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi again!

I went to the Expo and got mixed info as to whether or not I can work in Oz as a newly qualified Occupational Therapist. I would like to work in the area of mental health. Some people from Melbourne/Tas/NSW/Queensland said this shouldn't be a problem. Others said I need 6 months/1-2 years experience in the UK before I could consider it. Also I think I need supervision for 6 months in Oz in order to gain my registration, so I have to find someone who is willing to take on a new graduate and supervise me for 6 months! I think this might be difficult!

Does anyone else work as an OT or in the mental health field that could give me any advice or contacts...? I am looking for inpatient ward work or forensic work to get my career started. Also does anyone know about which visa I could/should go for?

Thankyou!!


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## Loeske17 (Nov 22, 2007)

Hi,

I'm very interested in possible answers, as i'm in a similar situation. I'm a recently graduated clinical neuropsychologist. As far as my research goes, you have to have at least 1 year experience in your field. But since you actually went to the expo you might know more than me!  

Regards,
Marloes


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## Pudding (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi monkeybum,
I am an OT and have been qualified for 5 years, I recently attended an interview with queensland health and have been offered a job but dont plan to move until early next year(sorry thats not much help to you). Anyway the reason I am saying this is because they were really helpful and seemed really keen on employing OT's, especially as I have worked in mental health since qualifying and for the last two years have worked in forensics.
Maybe you should try contacting them, they were in the UK not sure if they still are. 
Sorry if this is no help, just got quiet excited by fact that there's another OT out there who is interested in mental health and wants to move to aus.

Victoria


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## monkeybum (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi pudding!

Yes I think as ot's we are few and far between!! I did look into queensland health and they were so lovely, the guy I spoke to was from the Uk and head of the mental health services. He said I should be fine with no experience as mental health Ot's are in demand. We should stay in contact as I would be interested to know how you get on!


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## crazylady (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi 

I am also a mental health OT and have also been offered a job with Queensland Health. I work with older adults, mainly in the community. We are hoping to move over to Queensland by the end of the year. I have been qualified for 3 years, but have been working in mental health for the past 10. 

I think it does help if you have a least 2 years clinical experience. However, it usually takes at least 6-9 months to sort out visas etc. So any newly qualified OT's should be able to gain some experience in that time. From what I have been told, they are desperately short of mental health OT's. 
They left to go back to Queensland last friday, but I am sure you can still post your express on interest on their web site.
It would be great to hear from other OT's who are moving to Oz !!
Steph


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## roxyinitalia (Feb 17, 2008)

crazylady, what stage are you at with Queensland Health? I was offered a position as well when I was interviewed in Manchester a few weeks back. I am a mental health Social Worker. Currently I am waiting for the reference checks and police check.

Thanks



crazylady said:


> Hi
> 
> I am also a mental health OT and have also been offered a job with Queensland Health. I work with older adults, mainly in the community. We are hoping to move over to Queensland by the end of the year. I have been qualified for 3 years, but have been working in mental health for the past 10.
> 
> ...


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## crazylady (Mar 25, 2008)

roxyinitalia said:


> crazylady, what stage are you at with Queensland Health? I was offered a position as well when I was interviewed in Manchester a few weeks back. I am a mental health Social Worker. Currently I am waiting for the reference checks and police check.
> 
> Thanks


hi Roxyinitalia!
I am in the process of completing my registration with the Australian Council of occupational Therapy. It gets quite frustrating when you have to wait for others to complete references. We are now delayed, due to the bank writting out a foreign draft to the wrong person !!!!  So fingers crossed it will be in the post by the end of this week.
We were going to go with the temporary visa, but have discovered that you are unlikely to be able to buy property over there, and going over on a permanant visa has much more advantages. It just means that we will be delayed a few months as it takes longer to process. We are aiming to be there before the start of the school term in january.
We are going over to Brisbane in May to have a look at different areas. 
It all seems very complicated and stressful but exciting !!

I guess until I know exactly where my job will be, it will feel a bit more like reality. It seems to be a bit like a dream at the moment.

What about you? have you made any plans yet?


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## roxyinitalia (Feb 17, 2008)

crazylady, yes the process is so long and frustrating. I hope to send my completed package to the Australian Association of Social Workers by tomorrow as I have only now received the written references (requested them a month ago..uugghh). We hope to be there by September if everything goes as planned. I will keep you posted, cheers.


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## Pudding (Mar 25, 2008)

*OT's in Queensland*

Hi,
It sounds like there are a number of people in a similar position to myself, Its so nice to hear that there are other mental health OT's out there planning to move to aus.
I had my interview with Queensland health two weeks ago and have emailed them a number of questions but have not had a reply yet, want to know things like how long does the offer stay open for?, what is the next step? and how long is it before you start hearing about jobs?.
My partner and I are not 100% sure about it all yet mainly because of our families and we have a dog who I would want to take with us, also we're not sure about what area to live in, we think we like manly west.
It would be lovely to keep in contact with OT's and other health professionals in a similar situation.
Monkeybum, thanks for replying, would love to keep in touch, let me know how your getting on and if I can be of any help.

Victoria


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## crazylady (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi victoria
we have 3 kids and a large old english sheepdog to take across , so i also feel it is a huge commitment and change to out lives. Scary, but really exciting. 
i managed to get hold of a lady called kate from Queensland health and asked similar questions. From what i understand, they have to do our police and reference checks first, which can take up to 6 weeks. i spoke to her last week and they only returning to brisbane on friday. so the 6 weeks is from now really. Then they meet up with the districts and put forward names etc. they will then contact us and ask a few more questions. 
The job should stay open 6-9 months. However if you know it will take you longer, you just have to let them know and it can be put on hold. You have to get registered with COTRB. (this takes up to 12 weeks to process). If you are going on a temporary visa 457. Queensland health will start the process, so there is no need to start applying yourself. 
As OT's we should have more than enough points to get an independent permanent visa. This enables you to buy a house over there, have school fees paid and you will have more choices where you want to work, live etc. 
i am still not 100% sure either, so we are going over there in May to check everything out. Everyone keeps telling me that we will fall in love with the place and will be eager to move. At my interview I requested Brisbane , Gold and sunshine coast. Fingers crossed I dont come across too many spiders, snakes or crocodiles...
I would be lovely to keep in touch
Steph


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## roxyinitalia (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi crazylady, thanks for sharing the information you received from Queensland Health. I am sure was useful to me and I am sure others. Keep us posted. 

Roxy
[email protected]


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## Pudding (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi Steph
Thanks ever so much for your reply, it was really helpful. Kate is the lady I have been trying to get hold of, but it seems that you have been able to answer most of my questions. I think we will go over on a 457 visa as would be looking to rent over there and rent our house out here, are you looking to do the same.
I think it would be really helpful for us to go over too but are unable to for a while, we have already been to Brisbane when we travelled over there and it was lovely, didn't come across any snakes but we did find a huntsman in our camper van!. We selected north and south side of Brisbane but have been trying to get more info on the areas to give us a better idea of where we might want to live.
It a massive decision and I guess more so for you with children, its our families that are causing us to think hard about it, we haven't told them yet want answers to questions first.
when you go in May how long are you staying for?
Thanks again for the info, its really helpful.
Hope to hear from you soon
Victoria


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## nicoz4us? (Jan 12, 2011)

HI There

I was just wondering if you ever got over to Oz? I find myself in a similar situation! I'm about to qualify as an OT and i'm getting so much conflicting advice about moving to Perth WA. I'm unsure if I need to have experience and if so can I start the application process if I secure a full time job in the UK and work in the meantime? I really don't know where to start!!!!!

Thanks 
Nicola


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## monkeybum (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi Nicola, 

I decided to get some work experience first in the UK since qualifying in 2008, I am still in the UK and about to head out to Asia/Oz using the years working visa to find work as an OT and take it from there!

I was desperate to head out straight away to Oz after qualifying and I think you would be able to get work out there, however I am glad I waited. I was able to get 2 years experience under my belt and feel a lot more confident in my abilities as an OT, I was also able to save lots of money pay of my debts and travel for 3 months to Oz to see if I liked it 

With the skilled independent visa you need 12 months previous experience to apply, I believe this is true of being sponsored by WA as well (but obviously look into this). These visas can take months to process. However if you are under 30 you can get a working holiday visa which allows you to work for 6 months at a time, for up to a year. There are Aussie locum websites which you can register your cv with, but you may get sent job offers from all over Oz including rural and remote areas. 

I am going to go with this visa, trial it for a year and hopefully may be able to gain sponsorship whilst out there, OT's are in demand and this is a real possibility. This may be a good option for you too? Don't forget you can always register with locum agencies in the UK to get some temp work whilst saving/waiting to get to Oz, even if you do this for 3 months it will still improve your confidence and look good on your cv!

Good luck... xx


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## Ribena (Mar 18, 2013)

Hi guys Iv noticed its been a few years since this thread but wondering if anyone out there had any advice for me or as its been a few years if things have changed much. I'm an Aussie citizen but training in the UK want to move as soon as I qualify as an OT. Is it easier as a citizen and do they do junior rotations like in the UK as I am still a little unsure of what field I want to specialize in?
Any advice would be great


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