For our 2nd blog in the ‘Discovering Australia’ series, we will provide a spotlight on another one of our most popular locations…Canberra!
Canberra, the capital city of Australia is located within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It is the largest inland city in the country and is located 3 hours south of Sydney and less than 2 hours drive to the stunning coastline, a relatively short travelling time in Australia.
The city is split with the manmade Lake Bailey Griffin, built in 1963 and named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin who designed the city of Canberra. It’s a beautiful integration of urban planning with the natural landscape.
Living in Canberra
Many health professionals choose to move to Canberra from the UK for its warmer climate, low crime rate, access to nature reserves, and lively cultural and culinary scene.
Many who relocate to Canberra enjoy the relaxed outdoor local lifestyle, there are over 40 national parks in ACT to visit! Transport is well connected and almost everything is within easy access making commuting to and from work a breeze.
If you are moving with a family of school age, there are many private and public schools and highly esteemed universities that welcome international students.
It’s a multicultural city that welcomes people from all over the world. More than 28% of Canberra’s inhabitants hail from overseas. The city celebrates the variety of nationalities with the annual ‘Multicultural Festival’. Other exciting festivals to join on your time off are the Enlighten Festival or the Canberra Balloon Festival taking place each year.
Vicki Mclaren, head of the International GP Team and Briony Wilson, specialist recruiter for Nursing and Midwifery, recently visited Canberra. Here is what they had to say:
"We really enjoyed our visit to Canberra; it was a short and easy flight of just over an hour from Melbourne. There are regular flights to all the major cities and the airport is very central. We spent time seeing surgeries and hospitals who are currently recruiting for GPs and Nurses in Canberra. We had great food and visited one of the many bars, we also did a vineyard tour and lunch which I would highly recommend, it was an organised tour with a group and would be a great way to meet people.
It’s a bit of a hybrid city, as the Capital of Australia with Parliament based there it is a large corporate hub, all the Big 4 Accountancy firms and lots of multinationals have offices there, however, it’s also evident that it’s a university city so has a bit of a ‘hipster’ vibe too. You can see clearly that Walter Burley Griffin based it on Washington from its layout and some of the similar landmarks. On Sunday we drove to Bateman Bay in NSW, it took us around 2 hours and was a lovely, relaxing drive with very little traffic, through forests, greenery and rolling hills before transitioning to beautiful coastal views as you approach Batemans Bay. Sydney is only a 3-hour drive from Canberra. As a UK resident, I have holidayed in Devon and Cornwall and driven to them, by comparison driving large distances in Australia is a far more pleasant experience with much less congestion and traffic."
Opportunities in Canberra
We have vacancies for Consultant Specialists, General Practitioners, Nurses and Midwives in Canberra Hospital, part of Canberra Health Services.
Canberra Hospital is the region's largest district hospital and is undergoing extensive redevelopment including a new state-of-the-art critical care wing. Please check out our latest vacancies below:
Current Vacancies
Consultant roles
Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology - Gender Service
Consultant in General Paediatrics - Gender Service
Consultant in Community Paediatrics - Developmental Paediatrician
GP roles
GP - Canberra - 70% billings - earn $400k plus - relocation assistance
GP - Canberra - $20k relo. - private billing
Canberra - Mixed billing - 70% billings rising to 75% year 2 - relo. assistance
GP sought for busy Canberra based practice
Nursing and Midwifery Roles
Midwifery Roles, Canberra, 12,000AUD Relocation & Visa Sponsorship
Continuity of Care & Homebirth Australia - Visa sponsorship & Relocation
Midcall Midwife Australia - Visa Sponsorship & Relocation
PEP Midwives needed in Australia - Visa sponsorship & Relocation
For any Health Professionals looking to relocate to Canberra with their partners or spouses, there are plenty of opportunities in skilled trades such as plumbing, engineering, construction, education, and various roles within the government. In fact, over half of Canberra’s working population is employed by the ACT or federal governments.
If you are interested in finding out more about Canberra or any of the vacancies above, please get in touch on 0131 226 2200 or email info@headmedical.com