There is a nursing shortage in Sydney – the NSW Auditor General has predicted a shortage of up to 40,000 nurses Australia-wide by 2010. If you are applying for a registered nurse working visa, you will be processed before other types of working visa applications. We need you here!

Registration As A Nurse In Australia

To register as a nurse in Australia, you register with either the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) or the regulatory authority of the state in which you wish to work. If you are looking for Sydney nursing jobs, this will be Nurses and Midwives Board (NSW). Once you have your NSW nurse registration, you can register in any other state of Australia or in New Zealand under the mutual recognition scheme. This means you only have to go through all the paperwork once.

Cost Of Registration

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Board (which is one of the organisations responsible for Sydney nurse registration) will charge you $60 AUD for either a new registration or for a mutual recognition registration. Renewal costs $50 AUD per year.

Health Exam

To work in a Sydney hospital, you will have to pass a health exam which incorporates a chest x-ray.

Work In The Best Areas Of Sydney

The great thing about working as a nurse in Sydney is that there are quite a few major hospitals located near the backpacker or traveller accommodation precincts.

For example, the enormous Prince of Wales hospital in Randwick is only a short walk from the delightful tourist / backpacker suburb of Coogee Beach. St. Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst is close to both the city centre and Kings’ Cross – both popular tourist / backpacker areas.

Agencies Can Help You With Registration, Visas And Jobs

There are also nursing agencies that can help you. These agencies can do everything for you, including sorting out your working visa and finding you a job before you arrive. Good luck finding those Sydney nursing jobs!

However, you’ll need something called an “RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) certificate” before you start looking for bar jobs in Sydney Australia. You can get an RSA certificate in less than a day.

“RSA Certificate” – Required By Law

All bar staff in Australia are required by law to hold an RSA certificate. If you want to work in bars that have a gambling room (such as a poker machine room or a TAB room) then you may also need to hold an RCG certificate. RCG stands for “Responsible Conduct of Gambling”.

An RCG certificate is not strictly mandatory (only if you want to work in the actual gambling room itself) whereas the RSA certificate is mandatory.

However, as the state of New South Wales has over 10% of the world’s poker machines (what does this say about our national character?) you are much more likely to get a job if you hold both your RSA and RCG certificates.

This is because if you hold both certificates, the bar manager will know that they can roster you on in any area of the bar, and that you can replace bar staff who may be absent or ill. In other words, you are a much more valuable asset to the bar manager, and therefore much more likely to find a bar job in Sydney Australia.

Sydney Bar Jobs. Pictured: Sydney's Bar Aquarius. Photo: Kunstee.

Getting your RSA and RCG Certificates

The next thing to know about finding bar jobs in Sydney Australia is that you can achieve your RSA and your RCG certificates as part of a 7-day bartending course, or in about 6 hours each if you already know how to bartend. You will probably only spend about 2.5 hours studying the Responsible Service of Alcohol or the Responsible Conduct of Gambling material, as you will have time for lunch and tea breaks as well as the exam itself. Although I have not done it personally, many people have told me that the exam is easy.

Each certificate will cost around $65 AUD. The certificates do not expire or require any kind of renewal. However, you should know that the RSA and RCG certificates are only valid in NSW and may not be valid in other Australian states (although they may be recognised).

Before you choose your training provider ask them if they are LAB (Liquor Administration Board) approved. Otherwise the RSA and RCG certificates you hold in your hands may not be worth the paper they are printed on.

I recommend getting both your RSA and RCG certificates. They will help you very quickly get one of the many bar jobs in Sydney Australia.

Substitute teachers earn very well in Sydney. You’ll get at least $253.70 AUD if you have a 4 year degree and $228.77 AUD a day if you have a 3 year degree.

$39 per hour

If you work this out as an hourly rate, it equates to $39 AUD an hour at the higher level and $35 AUD an hour at the lower level. This is based on the fact that the public school day is six hours in Sydney, from 9 am until 3 pm. However, you will generally need to be at the school by 8:30 am and this brings the total number of hours worked to six and a half.

Work only 6-7 hours per day

A great thing about working as a casual teacher in Sydney is that if you work in the warmer months of the school year (November, December, February) you can collect your $250 AUD a day and still have four hours to play before the sun goes down. Then of course you’ve got your whole night ahead of you too. Nothing like having your cake and eating it too!

Dress code

Government school teachers can wear fairly informal attire in Sydney – probably because of the warm climate. Male teachers can wear shorts, polo shirts and even sandals, whereas female teachers can wear casual skirts or pants and singlet tops. In private schools the dress code is slightly more formal. Male teachers often wear a shirt and tie whereas female teachers usually kit up in business casual attire.

How to find work as a substitute teacher in Sydney

The best way to find casual teacher jobs in Sydney is to approach the schools directly. There are agencies, but schools often prefer to save the agency fees by ringing the substitute teachers directly.

Let the schools know of your availability by dropping off a brief resume (one page will do) and a cover letter. In person is the best way to do this so the principal can get a look at you and put a face to the name.

If you would like to work as a a teacher in Sydney, you will need to register with the NSW Education Department. The Education Department doesn’t have the fastest rubber-stamp crew in the world, so it’s best to apply for recognition of your overseas qualifications a few months before you arrive in Sydney.

Registration as a teacher in NSW

Contact the NSW Department of Education and Training’s Overseas Qualifications Advisory Service to have your teaching qualifications assessed:

Overseas Qualifications Advisory Service
Bankstown Industry Training Centre
Department of Education and Training
Level 2, 41-45 Rickard Road
Bankstown, Sydney NSW 2200
Australia
Phone: +61 2 8707 9600