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Midwifery job vacancies in Australia

Back at the desk in Sydney today! One big advantage of email is that I can keep up with requests, correspondence, workshop and event planning etc while on the road, and I don’t have a huge in-tray to wade through when I get back.

There were a number of Journals to read, including the Australian College of Midwives Midwifery News. This is the magazine used by the various Braches of the ACMI to stay in touch, report on activities and celebrate successes. One interesting snippet was the announcement of a new section of the ACMI Web site, listing midwifery jobs in Australia. This is a free service, and I am sure one that will be utilised by hospitals and midwifery services to attract and recruit staff.

I am frequently asked by midwives, especially in the UK, about job opportunities in Australia. Midwifery has been designated as a “preferred occupation” by our Immigration Department, making it much easier to obtain work and resident visas for those wanting to either come for a while or settle permanently.

There are active recruiting drives by many of the Agencies that offer to arrange work overseas, often poaching from each other’s countries. Enrolling with an Agency may make it easier to handle the paperwork, but being indebted to them for a period (often 12 months) means that you will work where you are sent. Agencies are frequently used by hospitals that are having problems attracting or retaining staff, often the Private Hospitals, and whilst work is guaranteed, many midwives will find it rather soul destroying. One plus is that permanent positions are not usually offered, so there is the opportunity to experience working in a number of settings, enabling “shopping around” before making any decision to settle in an area or become part of a specific hospital’s staff.

This new web site service from the ACMI may help those midwives in other countries who want to come here and work, and also retain some measure of independence. I often recommend that the rural maternity units be considered by visiting or immigrating midwives because they offer some of the best midwifery in the country and the friendly life style of country towns is a great opportunity to get a close up view of the Australian way of life. I hope that some of the smaller units use this new service to advertise their vacancies.

If you are interested in exploring working in Australia, then click here to go to this new web site service.

Posted by andrea at July 05, 2004 12:41 PM

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