Thinking of straying to Straya? The Definitive Junior Doctors’ Guide to Living and Working in Australia

Dr Ella Bennett / Anaesthetics Trainee / Edinburgh
Dr Jack Leach / IMT Trainee / Edinburgh
Dr Craig Miller / Emergency Medicine Registrar / Western Australia (2024 Update)

Whether you’re looking for a temporary adventure or a more long-term training plan, Australia is one of the most popular options for junior doctors moving abroad and it’s not hard to see why. Famed for it’s eternal sunshine, outdoor lifestyle and opportunities for remote and rural training, Australia is an adventure medic’s paradise. 

The draw of sunnier climes is all very well but making the move can be an intimidating prospect. With seemingly endless form-filling, a sizeable financial commitment and a daunting immigration process to navigate, Australia is not without its difficulties. Adventure Medic were delighted to team up with UK junior doctor Ella Bennett in 2020 to help guide you through the process, now with new updates from Craig and Emergency Medicine Registrar who moved to WA in July 2024. 

Contents

1. Checklists
2. The Australian system
3. The Application
   1. How to apply
   2. What to apply for
   3. Where to apply
   4. Important dates
4. Applying for medical registration
   1. AMC
   2. AHPRA
5. Visa application and medical
6. Things you’ll need to start work
   1. Medical registration – completing AHPRA
   2. Indemnity
   3. Occupational Health (OH)
   4. GMC licence
7. Things you’ll need to live
   1. Relocation help/remuneration
   2. Accommodation
   3. Bank Accounts
   4. Tax File Number
   5. Superannuation/pension contributions
   6. Healthcare
   7. Car
   8. Phone
   9. Student Loans
8. Things to know about work
   1. Pay and working hours
   2. Annual leave and study leave
   3. AHPRA requirements
9. Fees and finances
10. Additional Resources
11. About the authors

Before you start

The key to a stress-free transition to Australia is being prepared. The following checklists detail everything you will need to find a job, get your health practitioner registration (AHPRA), secure a visa, and finally, move. The financial commitment is substantial (see Fees and Finances) and you will become a master of form-filling. Be prepared for small hiccups along the way and some un-anticipated delays. It can be a long and (occasionally) stressful process but don’t lose sight of the end goal; better working conditions, improved pay and days off on the beach! We promise it’ll be worth it…

1. Checklists

Documents for your applications

Documents for medical registration and visa application after you have secured a job

Once you have submitted your AMC, AHPRA and visa applications

Once you arrive in Australia

2. The Australian System

The Australian healthcare system is a mixed system; it has a universal public branch and a private, insurance-funded, branch. The public system is funded by Medicare, a form of public health insurance similar to National Insurance in the UK. This subsides approximately 75% of GP costs, 85% of specialist outpatient costs and 100% of public in-patient costs. 

The reality of this system is that all patients, regardless of their insurance status, present to public Emergency Departments before being referred on to either a private or public department. This is why most hospital sites in Australia contain neighbouring public and private hospitals. 

In the context of moving to Australia for work, this is relevant for two main reasons: firstly, you can choose to work in either a public hospital or a private hospital as a junior doctor and secondly, you will find yourself talking to patients about insurance for (probably) the first time in your career.

Australian Medical Grades

Australian medical grades can be confusing when you first start looking for work. Essentially, there are three grades: interns, residents, and registrars. Interns are equivalent to foundation year 1 doctors in the UK, resident medical officer roles start from PGY2, whilst junior registrar roles start from PGY3. There are variations between different states, however, the graphic below from Queensland Health provides a good overview of the medical grade structure in Australia. An important difference between Australia and the UK is junior registrar roles can start from post F2. A helpful guide to understand whether you are suitable for the role is to review the job description and expectations; most post foundation doctors will apply for resident grades with the opportunity to step up to junior registrar after 6-12 months.

3. The Application

(a) How to Apply

There are 3 main ways to secure a post in Australia:

1. Contacting hospitals directly
2. Recruitment drives
3. Online job adverts

1. Contacting hospitals directly

The most common way to find vacancies is to contact medical staffing for each hospital or email consultants directly. This is where you need to utilise your contacts: if you would like to work in a specific hospital and you’ve got a friend or colleague who’s worked there before; ask for an email of the head of department or medical recruitment. Many departments will be used to couples or groups of friends applying together and are happy to accommodate this where possible. Remember to attach a cover letter and CV to increase your chances of a reply.

2. Recruitment drives

Healthcare is delivered by individual states in Australia and therefore there are no country-wide recruitment dates so these must be found from state Health Board websites or by emailing medical staffing departments. Links to each of the state health boards recruitment pages can be found below:

• Western Australia
• Northern Territories
• New South Wales
• South Australia
• Queensland
• Australian Capital Territory
• Tasmania

3. Online job adverts

Health Boards will usually have a vacancies page on their main website advertising any posts available. These vary in how up to date they are, so it is always worth emailing the hospital if you are interested. Job adverts can also be found on websites such as seek and recruit. States will often advertise their recruitment campaigns this way too.

The fourth method, and anecdotally least common, of finding a job is through a locum agency, however, finding a job through an agency appears to be more common once you have been granted full registration in Australia (see ‘AHPRA requirements’ under Things to know about work). 

Regardless of how you find a job, most hospitals will want to interview you. This is usually done by phone, zoom or the dreaded Microsoft teams (on Aussie time!) so be prepared to put your work clothes over your PJs and stay up until 3 am. Most interviews are largely informal and often contain a brief clinical scenario such as assessment of a deteriorating patient.

(b) What to apply for?

Upon finishing foundation year 2 you will be eligible to apply for both resident and registrar posts in Australia (see table below).

Resident Medical Officers (RMO) are similar to FY2 and post foundation posts in the UK. They can be useful to gain experience in specialties you haven’t done during your foundation years, for example, more time in surgical specialties or emergency medicine. If you know which speciality you’d like to train in, then this can be a useful opportunity to gain experience and develop your application. For example, anaesthesia applications give points for 6+ months post-F2 in “complementary specialties”. Many doctors moving to Australia will start as an RMO and then progress into junior registrar or principal house officer positions. RMO posts don’t necessarily represent progression, they are useful to gain experience in a new healthcare system whilst you settle into your new life in Australia. RMO posts are usually available as both rotational posts across different departments or as stand-alone posts in one department depending on your preference.

Registrar or Principal House Officer posts are more like core-training jobs in the UK. They are great if you want a step-up from FY2, particularly if you know what you want to specialise in. They are better paid than RMO jobs as you would expect but give greater responsibility and are less supported. In addition to this, they usually require some experience in the specialty before applying. It is also worth noting that in most departments, particularly in medicine and ED, the registrar will be the most senior doctor in the hospital overnight so expect to advise and supervise juniors! This can be a great training opportunity, particularly in remote areas, if it is something you are interested in!

(c) Where to apply?

Australia has it all, from coastal cities to remote rainforest (and even a few ski resorts in between!). Where you apply is down to personal choice. With some perseverance, it is relatively straightforward to find a job in most of the bigger cities. These jobs tend to be more competitive, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, and therefore usually less flexible. It’s worth widening your net depending on your circumstances: Adelaide, Brisbane and Cairns, for instance, have a reputation for being more accommodating of groups and couples than the bigger cities.  

Alternatively, jobs in smaller towns and rural areas are plentiful and many city jobs will offer a ‘half-way house’ option allowing you to include a rural rotation if this interests you. One of the major benefits of Australia’s huge size is that even the smallest towns usually have a regional airport making weekend trips, and longer escapes, very feasible. It’s also worth bearing in mind that ‘rural’ doesn’t always mean remote – a rural secondment could be a mere 40-minute drive from the city.

As a general guide, smaller cities and more rural locations will offer better remuneration packages for taking a post there, many health boards will offer rural relocation incentives or grants. Queensland, for example, offers posts with paid relocation expenses and assistance with accommodation payments for the first 4-8 weeks depending on circumstances. Tasmania offers similar relocation support. Bigger more popular cities like Sydney and Melbourne generally offer no financial help with moving, but it is worth noting that relocation expenses can be salary packaged once you start work (more about that later).

(d) Important Dates

The Australian medical year is divided into terms or rotations running from late January for RMO and early February for PHOs/registrars; RMO will usually have 5 terms per year whilst registrars have 3 or 4. The dates for these can be found on the health-board websites and generally do not vary between states. In practice, this does not restrict when you can start work as most Australian hospitals are used to recruiting doctors from the UK and therefore an August start, or otherwise, is entirely possible. There is generally a lot of flexibility with regards to start dates and contract duration. Term dates for different states can be found below:

• Western Australia
• Tasmania
• Queensland
• South Australia 
• New South Wales
• Northern Territories

4. Applying For Medical Registration

Applying for medical registration is a long process – buckle yourself in for lots of paperwork, emails and application forms. Most hospitals will have a medical recruitment team who are experts in the process and will guide you through. It can take over 6 months from offer of employment to obtaining your medical registration and visa.

If you can, it is well worth getting a credit or debit card, such as monzo, that gives you 0% on foreign transactions before you start. The fees will quickly mount up if you use a standard card. Refer to the checklist at the start of this article for a list of required documents.

(a) Australian Medical Council (AMC)  

The very first stage for international medical graduates (IMGs) applying for provisional registration in Australia is to establish an AMC portfolio. To do this you will be required to get your primary medical degree verified by EPIC: 

Step 1 – Create an EPIC account (Fee 130 USD)

To do this you will need: 

1. A colour photograph of your face.
2. A scanned, full-size colour image of the identity page of your passport
3. Details regarding your medical degree including issue dates and university student number 
4. GMC number and dates of registration

Make sure that you indicate that you plan to apply to the AMC when completing your request to establish an account. After you have registered, it usually takes a few days for the account to be established. At this point you will be issued with an EPIC I.D. Once you have an EPIC account, you must upload a completed EPIC Identification Form (EIF) to confirm that you were the person who set up the account. This is downloaded from the EPIC website and must be certified by NotaryCam, an online notary service (included in your EPIC fee). Instructions on how to do this are available on the EPIC website. 

Step 2 – Upload your final medical degree to your EPIC account for verification (Fee 100 USD)

When you upload your qualification, select the option to send an EPIC verification report to the AMC.

Please note that if any part of your degree is not in English (i.e. there are parts in Latin or another language) then you will need to get it translated before you upload it. There are various way to do this detailed on the EPIC website.

Step 3 – Set up an AMC portfolio (Fee 642 AUD)

The AMC will email your candidate number 3-5 days after you establish your portfolio. 

Step 4 – Proceed with your AMC application selecting the pathway that you are eligible for

Details of pathways can be found here

For most juniors, this will be the Competent Authority Pathway. This is also available to GPs and specialists but results in general registration with further steps required for registration as a specialist. 

To be eligible for the Competent Authority Pathway you must have been trained by an institution recognised by the AMC. In practice this includes all UK, Irish, Canadian, New Zealand and USA universities. For more information check the Australian Medical Board website.

Step 5 – EPIC will automatically send a report to the AMC once your qualification is verified

EPIC verification can take up to 12 weeks as they need to contact your university to obtain details of your student and graduation status. Be aware that some universities require an additional administration fee to verify your qualification which will need to be paid before EPIC complete verification. The AMC portfolio fee includes one qualification, your primary medical degree and once this is complete you will be notified that your verification status will have changed on the qualifications portal of your AMC portfolio.

Step 6 – Breathe a sigh of relief and note down your AMC candidate number as this will be required for the next stage…

(b) Australian Health Protection Registration Agency (AHPRA)

This stage requires a formal job offer. Be warned, this is the most complicated, form-heavy stage of the process, again, the medical recruitment team at the hospital will guide your through this process. If you are a junior doctor applying via the competent authority pathway, you will be applying for provisional registration. This lasts for 12 months and requires various workplace-based assessments to be submitted whilst you are in Australia (see ‘AHPRA requirements’ under Things to know about work). After 12 months and the obligatory (but not particularly difficult) hoop-jumping you can apply to AHPRA for full registration.

Stage 1: Preparation for AHPRA application

Before doing anything, download and print the AHPRA APRI-30 application form below and read it from start to finish. Pay particular attention to the checklist that details the documents that you will need to attach. Once you have a good grasp of what is required, start with the following:

1. Certify your documents using a notary public or a justice of the peace. A quick google search will give you several local options; it’s worth emailing and getting some quotes to ensure you’re getting the best price. Be certain you’ve got all the documents that require notarising for your application. Notaries charge per visit not necessary the number of documents – multiple trips to the notary can get expensive! A ballpark figure is £150, this facilitated notarising of 5 documents. Consult AHPRA’s guidance on certification: they will reject notarised documents that do not conform to their standards.
2. Obtain a criminal record check through an AHPRA approved provider such as Fit2work or AIS. These are valid for 3 months from the date of issue and need to be attached to your AHPRA application. These cost around 165 AUD and are quick to obtain. 
3. Put your CV into the AHRPA format and include the signed declaration detailed in the ‘Curriculum Vitae’ section on the application form. 
4. Obtain your Foundation Competencies Certificate (received at the end of FY1) and a Certificate of Good Standing from the GMC confirming you are fully registered. The certificate sent must be within 3 months of your start-date for work. If you apply too early, you’ll have to re-apply to get one within that 3 month time frame. It is free. It is an electronic certificate that is sent directly to the AHPRA. Simply request it through GMC Online. Once logged in, follow: My Registration ⇒ My CCPS Request ⇒ Request a CCPS. More information can be found on the GMC’s website. 
5. Make sure you have a copy of your Australian job offer to attach to the form

Stage 2: Fill out the AHPRA form for provisional registration and submit it to AHPRA (Fee 720 AUD)

Once you’ve filled out the form and gathered the relevant documents, these will be checked and signed by the relevant individuals at your prospective employer. You’ll then be given the green light to upload electronic copies to the AHPRA portal online.  You must provide payment details on the form when you submit it. The payment however will not be taken until the application is processed. Processing can take up to 8 weeks and you will be notified when your registration has come through.

5. Visa Application and Medical

Visa fee 1495 AUD (excluding medical check and police check)

If you’ve made it here – congratulations, you’re nearly there. Your employer will advise you with regards to visas, but you will most likely need to apply for a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482 Visa. This is an employer-sponsored work visa. You can apply once you are sent a ‘transaction reference number (TRN)’ by your new workplace. You can find more information about this visa through the Australian government immigration website. The visa overview page is updated regularly with approximate processing times but can take between 1 to 4 months. The visa costs either AUD1495 for the short term (2 year) visa or AUD 3115 for the medium term (4 year) visa. 

There is a very useful ‘step-by-step’ section on the website which details the information you will need to provide and associated documents for submission. The visa application is online and reasonably self-explanatory except for the following sections:

• Police check – ‘Character Reference’ section of visa application (Fee £65 for 20 day processing, £115 for 2 day processing)

Before applying for your visa, you will need to apply for a police check for every country (including your home country) that you have lived in for 12 months or more. This is cumulative – the 12 months do not need to be continuous – and applies to the last 10 years or since you turned 16 (if you are under 26). You can apply for the UK check online. Once processed it will be posted to you so that you can upload it to your visa application. If you require police certificates from other countries, particularly those in the developing world, this can be a long-winded and challenging process – it’s best to start early. The Australian immigration website provides guidance on where to obtain police certificates from different countries. 

• Visa health examination (Fees vary – expect to pay around £300)

Once you have submitted your application you will be issued with a HAP ID and a list of required tests by Australian Immigration. You will generally be required to undergo blood tests for HIV, hepatitis B and C, a medical examination and a chest x-ray though this can vary depending on your travel history. To book a health examination you need your HAP ID and you must use one of the panel physicians listed on the Australian immigration website.

It is worth shopping around as we found prices for visa medicals varied wildly! The clinic will send your results directly to the immigration office – a process that usually takes about 7 days. 

• Proof of health insurance

There is a visa requirement to provide evidence of health insurance whilst in Australia. Even if you are applying from a country with a reciprocal healthcare agreement such as the UK or Ireland, you still need to obtain health insurance for the duration of your stay in Australia. Compare Club is a good comparison website which has a specific ‘health insurance for visa holders’ section and will provide an array of options depending on your needs. Many opt for the cheapest due to the reciprocal healthcare arrangement but make sure this options suits your needs!

6. Things You’ll Need To Start Work

(a) Medical Workforce

Once in Australia, you will need to complete final checks at medical workforce with your employer. This will often involve identity verification, completion of payroll forms and any other induction processes.

(b) Indemnity

There are various indemnity providers in Australia and all appear to offer a similar level of cover. Prices for indemnity are fairly equivalent to that of UK indemnity costs.

(c) Occupational Health (OH)

Australian occupational health requirements are similar to those found in the  UK. The exceptions are varicella and whooping cough. You will need to provide evidence of varicella immunity and ensure you are vaccinated against pertussis. Both can be arranged on arrival in Australia by the occupational health team.

(d) GMC Licence

As an aside, it is worth considering what to do with your GMC licence. There are three options:

• Keep your licence: you’ll pay full fees (£455) but will remain eligible to work in the UK (including as a locum). You’ll also have to revalidate annually i.e. complete an annual return. This either means getting your current designated body to agree to keep you on their books and doing your revalidation meeting paying a fee to the GMC (£290) to do it.
• Relinquish your licence: you won’t have a licence to practice medicine in the UK, though you’ll keep your registration with the GMC. You’ll pay much less in fees (£163). You won’t need a designated body nor have to complete an annual return. To reinstate your licence to practise you will need to provide statements from employers since relinquishing your licence and a certificate of good standing/professional status from the medical council(s) you have worked under (e.g. Certificate of Registration Status (CoRS) available from AHRPA which currently costs 50 AUD. 
• Relinquish your registration: you won’t have a licence to practise and you’ll be removed from the GMC list of registered medical practitioners. Not really the done thing unless you’re leaving medicine entirely or plan to never return to the UK to practice medicine. You can re-register, but we wouldn’t really recommend this option.

More information can be found on the GMC website under Revalidation.

7. Things You’ll Need To Live

(a) Relocation Expenses

As mentioned above, many hospitals will offer relocation packages, particularly if you’re taking a rural post or you’ll be based north of the 26^th parallel. If you’re not offered a relocation package, fear not, as you can still recoup some of the costs through salary packaging your relocation expenses (see below).

(b) Accommodation

If your hospital includes an initial period of free accommodation, then obviously flat hunting is much easier. If your hospital doesn’t, many people choose a short-term holiday rental through companies such as AirBnb providing time to look for a more permanent solution once you arrive. A high turnover of expat doctors means there’s often houses or apartments serially rented to groups of medics – it’s worth checking out hospital mess facebook groups or the Fellowship Life Transplant Services page. The main ways to look for accommodation in Australia are through Flatmates for house shares or through various rental websites, such as Real Estate, if you’re looking for an apartment.

(c) Bank accounts

There are several Australian banks that allow you to set up a bank account from outside of Australia. The two main ones that allow this are Westpac and ANZ. When you arrive you will need to visit a branch with your passport and proof of address so they can issue a bank card and fully open your account. It’s usually easiest to use an account like Monzo, with zero overseas card transaction costs, to cover your time until your new Australian account receives the first pay check (you get paid every fortnight so it won’t be long to wait).

(d) Tax File Number

In order to pay the correct amount of tax you need to apply for a ‘Tax File Number’ (TFN). Your employer will likely help you with this when you arrive, but if not, the Australian Taxation Office provides all of the information you need. 

You will be expected to file a tax return each year which will be due at the end of October. You can do this yourself, but we recommend hiring an accountant to make the process easier. An accountant might cost 150 AUD but often results in a refund of several thousand dollars.

(e) Superannuation (pension contributions)

You are unable to contribute to your NHS pension from abroad. Australia does however have a number of very good superannuation schemes. Your employer will be a member of one, but you are free to choose your own if you wish. There is a large amount of information available online about these schemes It is worth noting that when you leave Australia, you are entitled to claim your pension contributions back as a lump sum. This is often a substantial amount so is well worth doing.

(f) Salary Packaging  

Salary packaging is a perk for public sector workers; it offers the opportunity to reduce your tax burden and is a government sponsored scheme. Essentially, you package certain living costs which is taken from your pre-tax salary which subsequently reduces your tax burden meaning more money in pocket. Moneysmart is one organisation that offers these services, they have an online calculator to demonstrate how much you could save. You can also package relocation expenses which allows you to recoup some of the cost of moving to Australia if your employer doesn’t offer a relocation package.

(g) Healthcare 

As mentioned in the visa section, you will need to maintain healthcare insurance for the duration of your stay in Australia. Ensure that the policy you take out suits your requirements.

(h) Car

The main websites for car buying in Australia are Car Sales, Autotrader and Gumtree. You can also try the wild west of Facebook marketplace (expect many scams and dodgy sellers), ask around the doctors who are heading back to the UK, or head to some local car dealers. Generally, cars in Australia are older and have done more kms often in harsh environments. It can pay to hire a mechanic to complete a pre-purchase inspection. Cars must be sold with a valid Roadworthy Certificate (RWC), but this is only an extremely  basic MOT – don’t rely on it as an indicator of a good car! and it is illegal for a seller to sell a car without one.

After you buy a car you will have to transfer the registration to your name within 14 days of purchasing it (7 days in WA and Tasmania). The process for doing this varies between states but usually involves filling in a purchase form, signed by both the seller and buyer, and taking it to our local transport and motoring customer service centre. You can drive on your UK licence for 3 months, after which you need to get an Australian licence which again, you need to head to the motoring customer service centre, so save yourself time and do both in one trip.

The equivalent of road tax in Australia is car ‘Registration’ (or Rego). This varies between states but in general is paid yearly and can be done online or at one of the above service centres. In addition to this, regardless of state, it is illegal to drive without Compulsory Third Party (CTP) car insurance and you cannot get a Rego without this. In most states, CTP is included in your registration fee so you usually don’t have to worry about this too much. The final thing to consider after buying a car is breakdown cover – we would advise getting this given the age of Australian cars and the remoteness of many of the roads!

(i) Phone

There are lots of mobile networks in Australia and it is easy to secure rolling monthly contracts that offer lots of flexibility. The large expat population means that many providers offer great deals on overseas minutes particularly to the UK and Canada. If you’re in a more rural location, it’s worth checking out coverage maps to see which network will serve you best.

(j) Student Loans

If you have a student loan, there is unfortunately no escaping paying it off. You will need to contact the student loans company to arrange payment once you arrive in Australia. Similar to working in the UK, they will calculate your repayments based on your income.

8. Things to Know About Work

(a) Pay and working hours

All doctors in Australia are paid every 2 weeks and most contracts are 80 hours per fortnight mean you can expect to work 4 days per week. The pay is generally much better than UK pay for the equivalent grade, as a general rule, you can expect to earn 1.5x to 2x your UK salary, particularly when salary packaging is taken into consideration. There is no Australia-wide pay scale for junior doctors, instead salaries are set by state governments. Pay scales can be found within industrial agreements and your offer of employment will detail your salary. It is worth noting, the pay scales determine your base salary and that is what will be quoted in your employment offer, this excludes additional payments received for out of hours work. The uplift for out of hours work is substantial and will increase your pay significantly. The Australian Medical Association has good guide to pay if you want to deep dive into the detail.

 (b) Annual leave and study leave

Annual leave allowances start at 4 weeks per year, this increases with on-call commitments, weekend working and bank holidays, as such most residents will have 5 weeks of annual leave per annum. In addition, 2 weeks of professional development leave can be utilised to attend conferences, sit exams, or undertake courses. If you’re planning a big trip, options include purchasing additional leave, taking unpaid leave or waiting until the end of your contract before starting another job.

(c) AHPRA requirements

Your employer will allocate you a supervisor and usually submit your forms to AHPRA for you. After 3 months of working, you are required to submit an Orientation Report for International medical Graduates (ORIG-30) and a Work performance Report for International medical Graduates (WRIG-30). These are relatively straight-forward and are completed together with your supervisor. After 12 months working, you will be eligible to apply to AHPRA for general registration. This will enable you to work unsupervised (e.g. take locum shifts).

Ensure your supervisors are happy to provide future references before you move on; many UK jobs you return to will require references for all jobs you have done in the last five years.

9. Fees and Finances

AUD: GBP exchange rate 1:0.51 at time of writing 

On top of the above, don’t forget to budget for rental deposits (typically 4-6 weeks rent), flights and car, which can add several thousands to the budget. The cost of moving may seem daunting but remember that everything can be salary packaged or may be covered by a relocation allowance. Even if you don’t get a relocation allowance, rest assured that the wages in Australia are more than sufficient to recoup the costs of moving.

10. Additional Resources

• BMA – Guide to Australia 
• Messly – Guide to working in Australia 
• Mind The Bleep – Thinking about Australia

11. About the Authors

Ella and Jack were F3/4s in Brisbane in 2019. Before their Australian adventure they spent some time working in New Zealand (why choose one when you can do both?) using their free time to cycle-tour and travel. After returning to the UK, they worked as clinical fellows in the Shetland Islands before heading back to the mainland to take up anaesthetics and IMT training posts in Edinburgh.

Craig is an Emergency Medicine registrar and moved out to Perth after completing ST4 in Cornwall. He’ll be working at Sir Charles Gairdner Emergency Dept (home of Life In The Fast Lane) for 6 months before moving on to join the Royal Flying Doctor Service undertaking retrievals across Western Australia.