British NHS doctor moves to Australia to earn £1k-a-month more than she did in the UK

A British doctor who moved to Australia to earn £1,000 a month more than in the UK says she has ‘absolutely no reason’ to return home.

Aoibhín Bradley, 27, decided to turn her back on the NHS and look for a job in Australia’s Gold Coast, Queensland, after hearing about the opportunities Down Under.

She has been a doctor for three years – graduating from Queens University, Belfast in April 2020, where she studied medicine – and worked on the frontline during the Covid pandemic.

But she struggled with the long shifts – claiming she often worked three hours past her finishing time – and took home £2,100 a month based on a 48.5-hour work week.

After completing further basic training, Aoibhín took the plunge to move to Australia in September 2022 with her boyfriend, Matthew McQuaid, 29, who is also a doctor.

They have both found jobs in the emergency room at Gold Coast University Hospital, Queensland, and can work the same shifts so they have days off together.

Aoibhín now earns $6,000 AUSD a month – £3,202.53 – for 36 hours a week. The doctors get a double rate if they stay late and on Sundays.

Aoibhín says the salary “blew her mind” and that she can now spend her days exploring and camping in Sydney and Melbourne – compared to being too tired to do anything in her spare time while working for the NHS works.

Aoibhín, from Belfast, said: ‘You work to live – not to work. Australia is more expensive, but I still earn several times what I made back home.

‘At home you worked so many extra hours that your life consisted of work. I lived in Northern Ireland and there was nothing to do in MY spare time.

‘I was so tired – I didn’t have the energy to do much. In Australia, in terms of pay, it’s incredible. You are paid per hour you work. It surprised me.

She added: “Here you leave on time – if not, the advisers come over and tell you to leave.

“I have absolutely no reason to go home, except that my family is not here. Here people love their work. Life out here is different. It’s better. Everybody is happy.’

Aoibhín wanted to become a doctor since she was four – following in the footsteps of her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

After graduating, she started working in May 2020 and was immediately ‘thrown in’.

She recalled, “I worked all my life to be that. I really enjoyed the job. Helping people, the practical part of it. I liked the procedures.

“I loved knowing how to make people better and watching them get better. But the working conditions were appalling.

‘You rarely have a break. You made almost no money for the work you did. Everyone died left, right and center.

“I probably decided to move on when I started F1 – the basic training program after your bachelor’s degree. A few weeks later you think ‘I can’t do this’.’

Aoibhín knew a few people who had come to Australia to work and her boyfriend, Matthew, was also eager to go.

She decided to complete her basic education first – so she could return to the UK to work if she didn’t like Australia.

She said: ‘I heard about opportunities to work in Australia through word of mouth.

“I googled hospitals in Brisbane and Perth and applied to all of them. I must have extended to the Gold Coast. They interviewed via zoom and then offered us the job.’

Aoibhín moved in September 2022 and says it has been “nothing but positive”.

She said, ‘Everyone is so friendly. I realized that everyone is so happy. They get paid what they earn. There is a good work-life balance. It is awesome.’

In the UK, Aoibhín worked a day shift from 9am – 5pm, a late shift from 9am – 9pm and a night shift from 9pm – 9am.

But she claims she worked overtime every shift.

She said, “There was no way I could catch a break. I lost 8 pounds by not eating for 12 hours and then going home and eating a few slices of bread and then going to bed.”

Now in Australia, Aoibhín is paid $47 AUSD per hour and her work week is limited to 36 hours.

She said, “For every minute you have to stay late, you get double pay. I average $3,000 AUSD biweekly, so $6,000 AUSD per month. I’m not over it yet.’

With more free time, Aoibhin can explore the country.

She said, “At home in my free time I would go to the gym, walk or go for a drink and that was it.

“I didn’t really do weekends away from home. You were always going to go somewhere, and it was absolutely whipping.

‘Here we book a campsite every weekend or long weekend and spend the night. Nobody dies for their job.

“Yes, sometimes I’m very tired here, but it’s nice to lie on the balcony and look out over the beach.”

Aoibhín has no plans to return home, but struggles to be away from family – and has lost two grandparents and her dog since moving.

She said, “In the space of eight months, I lost two grandparents and a dog. It is heavy.’

Aoibhín says she is one of many British doctors living and working in Australia.

She said: ‘My workforce is made up of British doctors. It is rarer to have an Australian consultant. They all say ‘why the hell would I go home?’. I don’t know why people go home.’