Working in Australia as a Canadian trained Family Physician
Australia and Canada have many things in common - very large land mass, ethnically diverse population, and of course the English language (in our own unique forms!). The 2006 Australian census recorded over 27,000 Canadian-born people in Australia. 
As a Canadian trained family physician seeking a general practitioner job in Australia, the options for you to consider in terms of location, work, and lifestyle are incredibly diverse.
About college membership and professional registration
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recognises Canadian trained family physicians as being fully comparable to the Australian-trained equivalent, provided you hold the Certificate in Family Medicine from College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and evidence of Canadian Qualifying Examinations Part 1 + 2 post 1992.
To initiate the professional recognition process, the Australian Medical Council (AMC) website is the first place to visit. The AMC processes applications from all international medical graduates, however does not grant medical registration. In Australia, medical registration is governed at the State (province) level - as such, each state/territory has its own medical board.
As a Canadian graduate, there are several options for medical registration - the recommended approach is the Specialist Pathway. This pathway allows for you to work unsupervised as a general practitioner in many areas of Australia.
There are some restrictions as to location for overseas trained doctors, for example you will most likely not be permitted to work in a major metropolitan area - however will be eligible to work in many fantastic regional and rural areas of Australia.
You will need to provide the AMC with:
-evidence of English language proficiency (if English is not your first language, you will need to show English competency by by completing the IELTS examination -with a minimum score of 7 in each element), or the alternative Occupational English Test.
-evidence of current medical registration in your jurisdiction
-verification of medical qualifications
About working conditions in Australia
All Australian citizens and most permanent residents are covered by the Medicare system, a taxpayer funded public healthcare program.
- General practitioners bill per consultation on a “fee for service” basis, and many bill according to the fee set by the government (this is called “Bulk Billing”). However, GPs are permitted to charge above the mandated rate - with their patients responsible for the gap payment.
- GP/Family Physician salaries in Australia range between 50-75% of their billings, and it is usually paid to you as an independent contractor. There are some arrangements where you are a retained employee of the clinic on a fixed salary.
- The actual annual income ranges from location to location, but a good guide would be between AUD $150,000 and $300,000 per annum.
- As an contractor, you will be responsible for your own annual leave (vacation time), which is generally four weeks per year, taxation, and superannuation (retirement fund). The practice you work with will often assist you with these consideration, as well as managing the administrative aspects of the medical clinic.
- The working hours for a general practitioner are between eight and twelve hours per day, three to five days per week. You may be on call after hours, or on weekends in turn with other doctors in the practice.
- As a general practitioner, you may also have the opportunity to provide services to local hospitals in specialist areas such as anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology. This will depend on your skills, experience, and qualifications.
About getting started
There is no particular time of year that is best to start a GP position in Australia. There are generally positions available in a number of places at any one time, and you will find that you have a good selection of locations and jobs.
What we do for you
First things first - all of our services are
free to you. We take an all-encompassing approach to help you move seamlessly from
your current role to a new one in Australia. We will start with an initial consultation (about an hour) to discuss your individual requirements, and give you a briefing on the process ahead of you, particularly:
- Location preferences
(what type of lifestyle do you want?)
- Ideal position
- Remuneration requirements
-Your family situation
- Length of stay
Depending on your individual needs and those of your employer, we can work with you to manage:
-identifying employment options
-specialist college recognition
-relocation
-resume and interview training
-airport meet and greet
-working visas
-medical registration
-contract and salary negotiation
Why work with a recruitment agency?
There are many reasons to work with professional recruiters - but here are a few reasons not to take the do-it-yourself approach to finding a position from some of our candidates:
-I wish I knew where to start looking for positions
-If only I hadn’t taken the first job I saw
-There was so much paperwork and time involved with the Australian Medical Council, speciality colleges, medical boards, immigration, and Medicare. I wish somebody was there to help me along the way.
-The town I liked looked good in the photos, but when I got there it was nothing like they [employer] told me
-I wish I had more than the couple of job options I saw in the ads
-I thought the package I was offered was excellent - until I found out what everyone else was on!
-My resume was not consistent with what is expected in Australia - I had no idea
-I felt pressured to take the contract the employer was offering
-I didn’t understand the complexities around specialist recognition, and gaining medical registration. Lesson learnt!