Overseas Physio's Coming to New Zealand.

As I am an overseas qualified physio from the UK working in New Zealand I have received a number of enquiries from physios looking to know if they should contact a recruitment agency before coming over to New Zealand to find employment.

The answer is NO!!!!

Recruitment agencies advertise the exact same jobs that are classified on th e New Zealand society of physiotherapy website.
They are charging huge sums of money to employers here in New Zealand and some are not as reputable as you may think.
Employers are getting fed up with the sums of moneys being asked.
Contact employers directly via email or by phone.
You will get a better contract if you don't come though an agency in terms or salary, remuneration and in terms of continued professional development.

Actually there are a lot of jobs that get advertised directly by the employer on PhysioBob's Jobs. You can check and apply online there as well :)

Yes there are and employers do advertise here on physiobob although the exact same jobs are on the NZSP website. If you want a BETTER CONTRACT TO WORK HERE IN NEW ZEALAND YOU SHOULD GO DIRECTLY THROUGHT THE EMPLOYER.

Hi,
I am looking forward to work in NZ... and was checkn out opportunities thru agencies. Thanks for cautioning me and i would like to know approx what is the per annum sal that a physio shd expect when offered a job..

Hi Anand,

well it depends on if you take a salary or a per patient rate.
Salary starts off at 42-44K a year for a new grad but if you have experience you should have 55 to 65K.

but you should work on a per pt contact rate as nearly all new zealand physios do. You can then work your own hours. There are dieereent rates given for a different types of patients
they are:
new patient 30mins
subsquent 20 mins
subsquent that need extra time due to multi injuries 40 mins
subsquent that has hearing,speaking or language diff 30 mins
pilates patients 1/2 to 1 hour
activity based gym programme patients 1 hour

all payment are paid by ACC or the private health insurance groups.

You should ask for a percentage of what you earn and get it in a contract!!!
33 to 40 % is the usual rate as clinics and hospitals are desperate for physios over here!

All recruitment companies are chargeing between 3K to 5K to clinics for securing a physioherapist!! so I have a fair idea of the corrupt and advatage taking recruiters.

You are the one with the barganing power so ask for protected CPD , payment of courses ec, ect.


any further info please ask.

Well thanks for the info. I come from India and have actually started my process of filing up my application, but yet to apply. I have done my postgrad in orthopaedics & manual therapy, and currently a lecturer in a univ in india since 13 months. Right now am more into academics and research, while i practice in OPD of our hospital itself (not full time though, comes as rotational posting only). Pl let me know about prospects which i should explore (like hosp setup or private setup). and about ur reply on bargaining for protected CPD and payment of courses, do u mean that cpds or courses shall be sponsored by the employer.

Will there be necessity to undergo specific courses as a prerequisite, as here in India, we dont have specific courses, but only workshops on topics like neurodynamics, mechanical therapy, myofascial release etc.

Thanks for the advice about getting a contract. I'm a uk trained physio and got my reg a few months ago. Aiming to arrive in NZ about August, probably going to try christchurch for work and to live. Did you have a job before you arrived, i know this can speed up your visa. I am applying for my visa at the moment and i know if i had a job offer it would speed things up. But i don't want to be stuck to the job because of my visa application.
I have traveled around NZ for 2 months so i know about expenses, how is it living of 60K / £22K seem such a cut in wages from the UK.

cheers

[QUOTE=PHY;16455]well it depends on if you take a salary or a per patient rate.
Salary starts off at 42-44K a year for a new grad but if you have experience you should have 55 to 65K.

but you should work on a per pt contact rate as nearly all new zealand physios do. You can then work your own hours. There are dieereent rates given for a different types of patients
they are:
new patient 30mins
subsquent 20 mins
subsquent that need extra time due to multi injuries 40 mins
subsquent that has hearing,speaking or language diff 30 mins
pilates patients 1/2 to 1 hour
activity based gym programme patients 1 hour

all payment are paid by ACC or the private health insurance groups.
You should ask for a percentage of what you earn and get it in a contract!!!
33 to 40 % is the usual rate as clinics and hospitals are desperate for physios over here!

QUOTE]

Hi,
may I just say that this quote is rather .. well, I don't know where you got it from.

1. The above salaries might be available in private practice; in hospitals you will be looking at 36.-38.000 as a new graduate and around 48.000 as a Senior. Treatment time depends entirely on the patient and on workload. Treatment/ salary is paid by the DHB/ government. Hospital contracts are not individually negotiable, you work under a collective agreement.
2. ACC is an Insurance company that pays only for treatment that is required post accident. So, if you need Physio post MS e.g. you need to find a government linked provider, such as Outpatient Physio hospital departments.
3. ACC also provides rehab contracts, where the Physio determines, how long and how often treatment will be provided.

Cheers,
Fyzzio

Fyzzio,

Yes You Are Right About The Hospital Salaries But Totally Wrong About Private Practice, Thats Why Myself And 3 Of My Friends From The Uk Are In Private Practice At The Moment. We All Started Off In The Hospitals Here In New Zealand 18 Months Ago And All Left After 3 Months. The Hospitals Were Quite Good But Can Not Be Compared To The Uk In Terms Of Cpd And Less And Less Patients Are Comming To Hospital For Physio Outpatients And Leads To Dna's Over 50% Dna Rate In Hospitalyou Are Lucky To See More Than 5 Patients A Day! It Got So Boreing. In Private I See 15 To 20 Per Day And Its So Great To See Such An Amount Of Different Injuries. These Salaries Are A Rough Average Of What To Ask For In Private Practice, And Yes They Are Accurate For My Company Anyway. Thats Why We Have Such A Good Number Of Physios At The Minute.you Are Totally Wrong About The Acc Contracts, What About Epn Providers In Private Practice, Lots Of Private Practices Are Endorsed With This. At A Course 3 Months Ago I Met Several Owners Of Clinics Form Both The North And South Island And All Were Agreeing That The Only Way To Attract Overseas Physios Was With Better Cpd And Improved Salaries. Hospitals Have Contacted The Clinics That I Work At And Several Others Especially In The South Island As They Need Cover Desperatly. Also Look At The New Zealand Graduate Physios 2008looking For Work On The Physiobob Site And They Are Looking/applying For Employment In Australia!! The Demand For Physios Outweights The Supply, Look At The New Zealand Society Of Physiotherapists Newsletter November 2007 And See The Number Of Jobs From Page 38 To 60, 22 Pages Of Jobs, Estimated To Be At 200 To 250 Jobs!!

You Are Right About The Hospital Salaries As The Salaries In A Hospital Are Shocking!! If You Want To Learn And Have Loads More Cpd With Better Income Go To Private Practice. If You Are Offered A Salary That Is Equilivant To A Hospital Then Go To And Look At A Job In A Different Clinic. The Good Private Practices Are Catching On Fast That If They Want To Employ A Physio They Have To Provide A Good Contract And Those Are The Private Practises That Are Suceeding.

Cheers

Hi,
sounds great.
May I just say that I presume you are a musculoskeletal Physio ..?
Am I right?
Please do not forget, that there is loads of us out there who work in other areas and are completely disgusted by the idea of seeing 15 - 20 clients a day.
That really makes me wonder about the depth of your re-assessments and documentation, or, maybe, you work 12 hour shifts.
And .. where again, am I wrong with ACC????
As I said, ACC pays for AX/ RX post injury (that includes the EPN endorsed private practices), but also provides for post-injury (serious) rehab, e.g. in the community.
Like TIs, SDAs and follow-up, RRS, MAP, WSM, etc.
That's my kind of work, mate.
Cheers,
Fyzzio

Fyzzio,

Yes Musculo, Manualy Therapy, Sports, And All Post Orthopaedics. This Is My Area , As Like Patients Physios Are All Individual And Different. 20 Minute And 30 Min Treatment Is The Norm And It Is All About The Quality Of Treatment Not Just Filling Up 20 Mins Of Non Revelant Treatment, Such As Filling The Time Up With Electrotherapy.
You Are Entitalied To What You Think And Please Do Not "judge" Another Health Professional On Time Or Their Documentation As 20 To 30mins Is Regular In The Private Setting/musculo IS THE NORMAL. AS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT DOCUMENTATION IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE UK BUT IN NEW ZEALAND ITS HARD TO GET NOTES FROM ANOTHER CLINIC IF A PATIENT TRANSFERS TO YOUR CLINIC DUE TO SLACK TRAINING, MAYBE THAT IS WHY YOU ASKED THIS? I TAKE IT YOU ARE EXTREMLEY WELL QUALIFIED? RE-ASSESSMENT IS CONTINOUIS THROUGHOUT TREATMENT!! IN THE UK I REGULARY SAW 16 PATINETS A DAY IN PRIVATE PRACTICE, 8 HOURS A DAY WITH 30 MINS APPOINTMENTS.
Enjoy.

Hi,
of course I am extremely well qualified. Aren't we all??????
Yeah, you're right, I have seen a lot of crap: 5min howareyou, 2 stretches, 5 exercises on mashines/ weights, goodbye. No documentation, no nothing.
I see my clients for about an hour, and sometimes that feels rushed.....
I don't neccessarily judge other Physios by how much time they spend with their patients, however have seen (and this seems to be quite common) that new grad Physios are asked to see 15-20 patients in a working day, not as a result of their clinical analysis, but because they have been told, that this is the norm. Including new patient assessments. In other words, their boss doesn't make enough money if they treat their patients any longer. They often struggle hugely with their own development and end up throwing any analytical skills out of the window. And that is a true disgrace to our profession. It is good to hear that some private practices have better work ethics and documentation. Hope you share some of your english CSP standards with colleagues.
I am lucky to be in a role of rehab contracts, where I can determine, how often and for how long I wish to see a client and know that not all private practitioners have got that opportunity.
Good luck,
Fyzzio

hey, you guys sound like you know what youre talking about. was wondering if anyone knows whether or not you can work as a physio if you just get a yr work/travel visa? or would i need a proper visa?
thanks liz

Hi,
honestly, I have got no idea what kind of permit you need to work in NZ.
But you will definitely need registration via the NZ Physiotherapy Board.
Regards,
Fyzzio