Working in Australia

[Dave22]

Hi folks

 

Was wondering if anybody had experience working in Australia, my main disapline is event power but have a good working knowledge of other disciplines including event management. Not 100% sure what events happen and any useful pointers would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[GridGirl]

What's your visa situation ? That's going to be the first and biggest hurdle; if you're under 30 you can get a working holiday visa (which I think allows you to work for a year) but if you're not eligible for that then it's going to be a lot harder. For a company to sponsor you for a visa, they pretty much have to prove that they can't find anyone in Australia to do the job (where I am, that means two rounds of unsuccessful interviews before they can open it up to internationals). If you've got an Australian or NZ passport (Kiwis can work unrestricted in Aus, which is the only reason I'm able to!) then I'd start by looking at the ALIA webpage which will give you an idea of what's around.

[Bobbsy]

Just to reinforce what Gridgirl said, getting a visa to live and work in Australia is a major hurdle. The working holiday visa might be an option if you just want to visit Aus and subsidise your stay but it would be far from ideal for a specialised job like yours--there are restrictions about how much work you can take and how long you can stay in any job. Possibly more of an issue, before you can do any electrical work, you need to hold a specific licence issued by the state you're in.

 

Visas are allowed for certain jobs where there are perceived to be skills shortages--there is a list HERE. I notice that Electrical Engineer is on the list so, depending on your qualifications, that might be a route. I know there is also the option of being sponsored by an individual state--you'd have to check with each state to see what's on their list at any given time.

 

As for work, yeah, there are events needing temporary power--possible more than in the UK since the weather here is more conducive to that sort of thing. However, just like the UK, there's a big element of "who you know". Production companies, just like the UK, tend to have lists of people they use and you need to be in the right place at the right time to get your foot in the door.

 

One other thing to consider is the size of Australia. Why is this relevant? Well, in the UK, a London-based technician can drive to Birmingham for a day's work. However, in Australia, a Sydney-based technician is unlikely to get work in Perth or even Melbourne or Brisbane, simply because of the distance involved.

 

Just so this post isn't a total downer, if you can get here, it's a great place to live!

[Deadly-LX]

As everyone has said, want to work somewhere longer than 6 months or intend staying longer than a year. you need a full blown visa, approx cost £6,000 if you find a sponsor and have a qualification that they want. would suggest travelling on a working tourist visa first, to try before you buy if you will. (I did)

 

As for employment, I would suggest giving Show support a look. they are based in Sydney, but have crew all over aus. If you work hard and well then you will be looked after.

[Andrew C]

A friend of mine (a few years back) got the visa, sorted the local sparks licence, moved to Aus; and found he couldn't get get work as he wasn't in the union. May have changed in the interim, but do check before you commit cash!

[Dave22]

Thanks for the info, my partner is a nurse so we would be using her as the primary visa applicant, have researched cost and know where we need to be.

 

I have done an amount of research for companies but couldn't find to much info so far! I have looked into getting my Auz electricians licence seams a long and slightly painful process, but do understand I may have todo this!

 

Does anybody know of any specific event power companies? Have found Agrekko but that was pretty much it

[Roderick]

Unions are all but non-existent in the events and concert industry in Australia and have been for years.

 

Australia has a number of specialised businesses in event, concert and exhibition power distribution like Power Distribution Rentals Pty Ltd in Sydney. BTW, PDR is owned by Kevin Joy, himself a Pom and much of his crew come with funny accents....

But as Bob said, work out where you want to live first and then start looking from there.

[dbuckley]

You might want to join an Australians electricians forum, to get the gist of it: http://www.phased.com.au

 

Assuming Australia is like New Zealand (and we (mostly) share standards!) you'll need to be licensed by a mob with a title like "electrical workers registration", so, for the part of Oz you want to be in, do a google like:

 

site:.au electrical workers registration [insert territory here]

 

Electrical worker registration is hard. I know a thing or two about electricity, and can pass the theory tests, and boogie the regulations test, but getting the 7,000 hours of supervised experience is just not going to happen. So make sure you can bring your history with you!!!

[Dave m]

a bloke I worked with was a sparks and his wife a nurse.

They emigrated and he had to convert his LX qualifications before working