Salary and Working Conditions

Questions relating to salaries and working conditions.

What field of psychiatry makes the most money?

As is generally the case with other medical specialties, consultant psychiatrists will make significantly more money than other health professionals working in the mental health field, e.g. psychiatry trainees, psychologists, social workers and nu...

If I Work More Than 38 Hours in a Week. Can I count These Additional Hours Towards Demonstrating Recency of Practice?

No. You may only accumulate 38 hours in one week. Additional time will not count towards the standard.

How do medical recruitment agencies make money?

Medical recruitment agencies generally work on a commission which they generally take from the employer. So if they don’t place a doctor they do not get paid. Commissions can vary widely but can be as high as 20% in some cases. As a doctor, it is ...

Do I need to be signed up to a medical recruitment company to do a locum?

No. But it often helps. It is possible to arrange locums directly with services and the service will probably appreciate not having to pay the additional premium. But if you are thinking of doing locums regularly then an agent is probably the bett...

Do I need to sign up to just one Medical Recruitment agent or can I sign with more?

If you are working as a locum you are not obliged to sign with just one company. In fact, it probably makes sense to sign with more than one initially. As no one company normally has access to all the jobs that may be available. You also may find ...

Can I Work Locums As An International Medical Graduate?

It is essentially impossible to work as a locum as an IMG because of the requirement to be supervised in your initial registration period. Certainly, after you have obtained general or specialist registration you may then be able to do locums. But...

What happens to my continuing professional development when I work as a locum?

If you are locuming as a specialist then you should continue to perform whatever continuing professional development (CPD) requirements are expected of you in that specialty and under your college.  You should also consider whether your locum work...

Can overseas doctors work as a psychiatrist in Australia?

Yes. There are lots of opportunities and vacant positions for suitably qualified psychiatrists from other countries (IMGs) to work in psychiatry jobs in Australia. There are also numerous openings for appropriately experienced psychiatry trainees.

Do psychiatrists make good money?

Yes. consultant psychiatrists will generally earn at least $350000AUD if they work full time. And psychiatrists are  5th on the list of top salary earners in Australia .

How much does a consultant psychiatrist earn in Australia?

As we have highlighted in  this article  for a permanent full-time public health service position you can be expecting to earn around $350,000AUD to $450,000AUD per annum. Psychiatrists also do relatively well in the private sector and you can pot...