# UK Paramedic thinking about Australia



## ukparamedic (Jun 16, 2014)

Hi guys,

I understand that Australian and UK Paramedics are quite interchangeable. I wonder however what the triage system is like in Australia in terms of how much bullsh1t you get sent to over there, and what the shift patterns are like, how good the pay is etc. Also do you have fast response cars like we do here in the UK, as this is my preferred method of working as I do here.

I have never seen station during a shift on an ambulance in all my years of working on one, we never get breaks during a 12 hour shift and to sleep during a shift is quite literally unheard of. Is it the same in Aus? Here we just green up and go from job to job to job until the shift is over.

Any other comments that any Aus Paramedics would like to throw in, please feel free.

thanks


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## janemcd (Aug 9, 2014)

I worked for the NSW Service (Sydney)and now the QLD (Gold Coast) service.  In NSW if you are not a pension card holder or do not have private health insurance you pay a decent fee (approx >$700) per trip, in QLD the service is free for all residents.  Given that, the amount of BS jobs here on the Gold Coast QLD is very high.  Both QLD & NSW service have ICPs on a single response car in metro areas.  Pay varies ALOT!  Sydney metro approx $80k but NSW country can be well over $100k due to the on-call component.  QLD metro is below Sydney metro and I have never heard of anyone in the country earning the amount of $ that NSW ambos offer.  Its cheaper to live in QLD though.  It depends on where you get posted in terms of being busy.  Sydney/Gold Coast - BUSY, Country - not busy!  There are a huge amount of UK paramedics here in Oz.  Hope that helps a little....


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## ukparamedic (Aug 10, 2014)

It does help a little, thank you for taking the time to reply!

So in terms of earning the best salary, NSW is probably the best place to go? Also could you explain what you mean by the 'on-call component'? Is that a part of the rota where you're required to be on call from home even when you're not officially on duty?

I guess by the terms metro and country, you're talking about metro being like the city kind of life, and country being out in the sticks in the middle of nowhere right?

I'm considering Australia as a real, serious option for the future... so the more information gathering I can do the better


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## janemcd (Aug 16, 2014)

Yes, NSW is far better in terms of earning better money but you have to work rural / country areas - places in Northern NSW such as Byron Bay are just divine (on the coast, great surf, great weather) and the money there is awesome BUT you have to wait until someone dies to get there and even then its difficult.  Not to say it cannot be done though...  I have only worked Sydney city but the on call component goes like this i believe:  In-between your rostered day shifts you are required to be available for any calls outside your rostered day shifts.  You drive the ambulance home each night and you must live/stay within a certain klm radius (maybe 14klm) from the station -  ready to respond.  You are officially on-duty but on an on call basis.  I believe each actual call out is worth several hours pay.  So if its an 'unable to locate' and you get back home after 10 mins you have just earnt yourself a nice little several hours pay - obviously if the call takes 5 hours then you earn the 5 hours pay.  This is how the country NSW ambos make a ridiculous amount of cash, but they will tell you it certainly impacts on their life, their sleep and their family.  Alot go and live at the station for their days on then fly home to where ever.  As i said i haven't worked country NSW but i have many mates who do so I am not up with the way it all works.  I now work southern Gold Coast QLD and Tweed Heads NSW ambo station is just over the border and they make FAR more money (100k per year) than us QLD ambos cause Tweed Heads is considered a rural area.  I worked with a pommy guy and he has said that the quality of work here is very poor compared to UK and he's glad he didn't come for paramedic-stimulation but came for the lifestyle.  Yes re metro being city and rural country but NSWAS consider the coastal towns north and south of Sydney rural too.


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## ukparamedic (Aug 19, 2014)

That's really useful info, thank you so much 

Would you be able to send me a private message so I can ask some questions?


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## janemcd (Aug 19, 2014)

I have no idea how to do that - flick me your email if you want!


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## actiondaniel (Sep 24, 2014)

Hey, I know this thread is a little old, but ever hear of Americans working in Australia? Is there a way to look up criteria for reciprocity? Seems like you all have bachelor degrees (I'm close to it) in paramedicine or nursing.


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## janemcd (Sep 24, 2014)

Yep, there are Americans working here.  A degree isn't entirely necessary for employment (provided you have > 3 years of experience behind you) but i am sure it will help the process.  Check out  https://ambulance.qld.gov.au/index.html for Queensland or http://www.ambulance.nsw.gov.au/ for New South Wales.


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## actiondaniel (Sep 25, 2014)

Thanks for the reply. I just got my medic license and my first job as a paramedic, so its a bit off anyway. But I'm always looking for ways to better myself through goals and challenges. I'll dive into those links...


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