Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

Hi all,

I am a fully qualified Clinical Psychologist here in Ireland and looking into the possibility of relocating to Australia this Summer with my partner and children.

I am in the process of having my qualifications assessed by the aus psych board and will then look for provisional registration. I believe that is the route anyway. From what I have read I will need to sit the psychology exam and also do three months of work as a “provisional psychologist” before I am eligible to register as a Clinical Psychologist in Australia.

I am just wondering if anyone else has experience of this process and if anyone could advise me on where I could get the three month work placement completed? I’ve heard private companies aren’t eager to employ people who don’t have fill registration so I am thinking I may need to look at charities and other not for profit organisations.

if anyone has any advice, tips or previous experience of this I would love to chat.

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

Hi there and welcome :)

I can't help with your occupation, but as a sparky I needed to do supervised before I could get licensed. I looked at applying to jobs that were not being advertised by recruitment agencies, and worked at a lower rate until I had enough variety of work to get signed off. The other thing I did was to make friends with a couple of recruiters who would sell me to potential employers.

That said, if you do not have a skilled visa, or are not Australian / married to an Australian and have a partner visa, then moving this year is extremely unlikely. Borders are likely to remain closed this year as vaccination for Covid has barely started. Australian citizens are still stranded overseas since there are limited numbers who can return each week dur to quarantine requirements.

Use this time to complete assessments, provisional registration, etc and meet the requirements for lodging EOI. You may need to take English tests to maximise points. (Info here -https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia )

Anyway - hopefully someone can answer your questions on the physchologist aspect

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

I would think that getting supervised practice in a NFP would be quite tricky. Having a provisional psych is actually quite an expensive process for the employer with supervision and professional development commitments s etc so they are more likely to be accommodated in an organization with a large cohort of registered psychs. If you try the APS job site you may find some where they are prepared to accept provisional psychs. If you are currently working in a large organization where you are, ask around if anyone has any Australian contacts who might be able to help you out. I assume you've got your visa if you are planning on coming this year, summer is not that far away.

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

Hi mate - I'm not from the same profession as yourself, however I'd advice you to create an account on seek.com.au as thats the main jobs site here in Aus. The current market is a struggle due to covid and all. But australia is in need of skilled Clinical Psychologists for sure (my wife work in the medical field and she tells me). I think you're doing the right thing to get all the exams done before you get here.

Where are you looking to move to in Aus if you dont mind me asking?

Best of luck for the future...I'm sure you'll be here soon!!

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

Hi there- thank you so much for your response. I joined seek just last week and I have had a couple of interviews over the past few days. Employers and recruiters seem open to me working as a provisional psychologist if that’s what it takes for me to get registration which is fantastic. They also said they are open to sponsoring me.

Now we need to figure out the visa situation. Do you think the borders will be opening September time or has there been any update on that?

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

I think it unlikely but if you have a permanent visa you will be allowed in IF you can get a flight.
The first thing to consider is the visa. If you can get sponsorship then do check as most offer temporary visas and it will need to be a 186 or 187 PR visa and even then being offshore may be an issue. I would have an initial consult with an agent to talk you through possible strategies for your circumstances .

Re: Irish Clinical Psychologist moving to Australia
 

My wife is a clinical Psychologist in the Uk. We are also planning a move to Aus toward the end of the year, or early next.
She has looked into this and im sure would be happy to tell you her findings. Im sure she said the NZ recognise the qualifications so she was going to convert them to NZ first or something.