Australia has long been a popular destination for UK General Practitioners. The land Down Under has a lot to offer and shares many cultural similarities with the UK. In this post we will explore 10 reasons why GPs enjoy a better life in Australia compared to the UK.
1. Weather
Let’s start with an obvious one. While Australians bathe in endless sunshine, the UK drowns in rain even when it’s supposed to be Summer. Take Perth for example, the city enjoys 144 sunny days per year. What’s better than that?
2. Earnings
The GDP per capita in Australia is significantly higher than in the UK ($52,481 vs $39,252). While it depends on the line of work, people in well educated professions, such as General Practitioners earn a lot more Down Under.
In Australia, the median General Practitioner salary in our experience is about $230K to $380K (128K to 212K GBP), depending on the number of hours worked. These results come from our annual salary survey.
Not surprisingly, Dr Krish said to us in an interview about his move to Australia: “The only thing I regret is that I haven’t moved sooner”
3. Cost of Living
The cost of living varies greatly depending on what city you live in. For example, the cost of living in London is 11% more expensive than in Sydney, whereas the cost of living in Liverpool is 14% cheaper than in Perth.
4. Shorter Work Days
Most GPs in Australia work between 32-42 hours and that’s not just clinical time. It also includes everything such as paper work, staff meetings and other things. Many UK GPs who made the move to Australia report that they have more time with their family.
5. Insurance
Medical Indemnity Insurance can be ridiculously high for GPs in the UK (Up to £7,000). In Australia, Medical Indemnity Insurance roughly costs A$2,000-4,000/year
6. More clinical autonomy and less paper work
Many GPs report they have more time to treat patients, rather than going through paper work. It’s more enjoyable practicing medicine because they can quickly and easily refer patients for further testing and get results straight away instead of waiting many weeks for MRIs, etc.
Easier to treat patients in a timely manner because diagnosis is quicker due to less barriers on testing.
7. No Home Consultations
You won’t be required to visit patients at their home in Australia, because patients will come to the practice where you will be working. This means less stress for you as a doctor and more predictable working hours.
8. Lifestyle
In Australia you can enjoy a second to none lifestyle. The continent is known to the world as a liberal and democratic nation with a high standard of living, low crime rates, political stability, a long life-expectancy and excellent access to healthcare for everyone.
The warm Australian climate is typically favourable to an outdoor lifestyle, meaning many Australians spend large amounts of time at the beach, participating in sport, or barbecuing in public parks.
Taking up rank three again in 2018, Australia continually performs very well in the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) which is one of the most widely respected and quoted measurements of a country’s development in terms of quality of life for the average person.
As a means of comparison, the UK ranks 14th place in the HDI 2018.
9. Beaches
Australia boasts more than 10,000 golden strips of sand, meaning you could visit a new swimming spot every day for almost three decades. The land Down Under has some of the most beautiful beaches along with fascinating coral reefs. We could put some pretty Australian beach pictures right here, but everyone has seen them before and we all know how great Aussie beaches are. Not to mention the amazing sunsets with a dream like scenery.
10. Fine Dining & Coffee Culture
Australia has been defined by immigration for hundreds of years. Naturally, migrants from around the world have enriched the Australian kitchen and its dining culture. There is a vast variety of gourmet foods from around the globe and pretty much nothing you can’t find in the major Australian cities.
You thought Italy is the nation of coffee?
Australia has one of the most sophisticated coffee cultures in the world. Our guess is that Australia has the highest number of unique café spots per capita. Cafes are a special place for Australians where they meet and mingle. A place where baristas call clients by their name. These are some of the reasons why the giant commercial coffee chain Starbucks had to close hundreds of stores in Australia after a failed attempt to gain a foothold Down Under.
Are you ready to make the move?
Convinced yet?
Every year, many of your General Practitioner colleagues move from the UK to Australia. We understand that making such a life-changing decision takes time and needs to be considered carefully.
Surely enough you will have many questions, which we are more than happy to answer.
Read the full interview with Dr Krish.
Further advice
Please contact our recruitment consultant in the UK for advice.
Monique Giron | +61 405 607 793 | [email protected]
Besides assisting you in finding the best GP job at the best GP practice in Australia, we also create a community that connects and supports UK GPs in Australia. Every year we organise networking events in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth where you can meet other GPs.