All nurses and midwives wishing to work with Affinity must have unrestricted registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). You apply online and registration lasts for a 12- month period, expiring on 31 May each year.

AHPRA is an independent body with strict confidentiality provisions, so we cannot engage with AHPRA on your behalf. We recommend applying well in advance of your start date, as we cannot submit you for roles until your registration is finalised.

Affinity covers you for professional indemnity insurance and work cover while you are on contract.

Australia and New Zealand have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, which ensures you can obtain urgent medical care that can’t wait until you get home.

This includes hospital care, maternity care and clinically necessary pharmaceuticals. It doesn’t cover care from a GP, ambulance travel or the full cost of prescribed medicines.

Nursing practice in Australia shares many similarities with New Zealand including a high standard of care. There will be some things you will need to adjust to including drug trade names, different paperwork and computer systems, and ward routines.

Like Australian travel nurses, you will also need to adapt to local models of care as you move around the country.

Working out how to navigate the superannuation and taxation systems in Australia can be daunting, but we’re here to guide you through! We’ll advise you on applying for your tax file number (IRD equivalent) and setting up an Australian bank account.

There are a large number of superannuation providers in Australia, so most of our New Zealand nurses opt for our default superannuation fund, HESTA, the industry fund for health and community services. But you can certainly nominate your own preferred fund.