Australia continues to actively recruit UK-trained Consultants across a wide range of specialties. For many doctors, the move is far more straightforward than expected.
If you hold — or are approaching — CCT / CCST, you may be eligible for an expedited (fast-track) specialist registration pathway or a specialist assessment pathway.
Current expedited pathways include:
- Anaesthesia
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Psychiatry
Why UK Specialists Are Making the Move
Australia offers:
- A strong culture of work–life balance, with protected time off and fewer rota pressures
- An outdoor, health-focused lifestyle — beaches, walking trails, sport, and long daylight hours
- Shorter commutes and more space, particularly outside major metropolitan centres
- Family-friendly communities with a relaxed, welcoming social culture
- A climate that supports time outdoors, rest, and genuine recovery beyond work
- Less day-to-day crowding and congestion
- Fewer long winter months impacting mood and energy
- A greater ability to properly switch off outside rostered hours
When comparing Australia and the UK, it’s important to look beyond base salary alone. Australian consultant roles are structured very differently — and this is where many of the financial advantages sit.
Australian consultant packages commonly include:
- Higher total remuneration, particularly outside major cities
- Salary packaging, allowing part of your income to be taken in tax-efficient benefits
- Employer superannuation (currently 11%+) paid on top of salary
- Location allowances, on-call payments, and loadings
- Opportunities for private practice or sessional work alongside public roles
Many UK consultants find that:
- Their take-home pay is noticeably higher, even before private work
- They have greater control over earnings, rather than fixed national pay bands
- Housing and commuting costs are lower in regional and coastal locations
- Income growth feels linked to experience and contribution, not simply time served
- Clear, specialty-specific advice on CCT/CCST recognition
- Guidance on expedited and specialist assessment pathways
- Early access to unadvertised and upcoming Consultant roles
- Direct engagement with hospital decision-makers
- End-to-end support: assessment strategy, interviews, offers, and relocation
- A long-term, relationship-led approach — not transactional recruitment
If you’d like a confidential, no-pressure discussion about your eligibility and options, I’d be very happy to help. And if you know a colleague who may be considering a move, please feel free to pass this on.
Call / WhatsApp:+61 401 010 048
Email: nickiw@ccjobs.com.au
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nickiwade
