Locuming Information

Essentially locuming is getting paid twice as much to do the same job. Traditionally locuming was seen as a way for hospitals to fill last minute unexpected vacancies. Nowadays, with the current shortage of doctors, hospitals are turning more and more to locums to fill longer positions. Doctors can get three, six, even 12 month locum contracts in many places. The short-term placements are still available for doctors who want a day, weekend or week here or there to earn a bit of extra cash.

With contract negotiations going poorly many junior doctors have taken matters into their own hands and have made a stand by choosing to go locuming. This will benefit the medical profession as a whole as hospitals and DHBs will be forced to rethink the way they are treating their salaried doctors which will lead to long-term improvements. Until that happens, locuming remains a fantastic option.

There are multiple benefits to locuming including superior remuneration, freedom, travel, new experiences and autonomy.

Superior remuneration: Locum doctors will earn between $75/hr to $150/hr. The higher paying jobs are usually in areas of extreme need like outback Australia.

Freedom and autonomy: As a locum you choose where and when you work. You can tailor your job to your lifestyle. You can choose to work a job living by the beach in Australia or you can choose to work two days a week in order to spend more time with your family. You are in control.

Travel and new experience: Locuming is a fantastic way to get around New Zealand and Australia with someone else paying for it! It is also a great way to progress your medical growth by experiencing new cultures and learning to adapt quickly to these new experiences.

The main catch is the uncertainty associated with locuming. You do not have an employment agreement with the hospital and after whatever locum placement you are on and there is no guarantee of continuing work. However, once a hospital has agreed to a certain contract with you, they are obliged to employ you for that period. A good locum agency will be in constant contact with the hospital and will keep you informed of your options, so if a change is required you will be best placed to benefit from it.

Not you! With almost all locum placements the hospital will pay for your travel and accommodation.

To locum it is useful to have general registration. It is still possible to locum with provisional general registration but there are Medical Council forms that need to be filled out and a new supervisor obtained.

General registration is required in Australia. New Zealand graduates with general registration in New Zealand can easily obtain general registration in Australia providing certain conditions are met.

That depends on what career path you want to follow and what locum position you take. More and more consultants are not looking at locuming for junior doctors as a negative thing. They see it for what it is; a great way to gain experience and to travel whilst still progressing your medical career. For people who are looking to specialise it pays to take the longer placements. These look the same of your CV as if you were in a normal salaried position.

Again, this depends on the locum placement you take. If you take lots of very short placements then this will not count towards the progression of your career. However if you take the longer placements there is not reason why this wouldn‘t count.

As a locum you are a contractor. You can do this as a sole trader or you can set yourself up as a company. Either way you are paid a gross salary which means you have to keep a record of what you earn as you will need to pay tax at the end of the tax year. The benefits of this are that you can also claim back expenses against your salary. For more information about this please refer to our tax guide and remember, it is always advisable to talk to your accountant about these matters.

You must be GST registered if “your annual turnover for this month and the last eleven months has exceeded $40,000 and your turnover for this month and the next eleven months is expected to exceed 40,000”. Most locum doctors will earn this amount in 2-3 months.

In NSW locum doctors have to go onto the hospital payroll so it is not necessary to register for GST. If you are not going onto the payroll you must be GST registered if “your annual turnover for this month and the last eleven months has exceeded $50,000 and your turnover for this month and the next eleven months is expected to exceed $50,000”.

We are not allowed to give out financial advice, so all we can say here is what MedRecruit‘s managing director, Sam Hazledine, does. As a locum he decided the best way he could benefit from KiwiSaver was to contribute $20/wk which is the maximum that the government would match. This means Sam contributes $1,040 to his scheme and the government also contribute $1,040 to his scheme each year. He does this directly to his financial provider. Sam chooses the Medical Assurance Society.

Salary packaging is a fantastic Australian invention that will be offered at many of the hospitals we offer placement at, even if you are a locum. Essentially it allows people up to $9000 of income to be tax free if you can account for it with relevant receipts, of which paying off a credit card is one of them. Even if you are there for less than a year you can compress the full amount into the time you are there, thereby drastically reducing your tax bill.

Yes. If you have general registration in New Zealand it is a simple process to obtain registration in the relevant Australian state you want to work in. Please refer to our guide ’Registration in Australia‘ for more information.

Yes. If you have general registration in Australia it is a simple process to obtain registration in New Zealand. Please refer to our guide ’Registration in New Zealand‘ for more information.

Yes. But it is not as easy as if you were a New Zealand or Australian trained doctor. A UK trained doctor at RMO level can only gain provisional general registration. They need to complete one year in New Zealand with this provisional general registration before they can apply for general registration. If a UK doctor is applying for work in New Zealand from the UK they will need to apply for a permanent salaried position. They need this job offer to obtain provisional registration. Once in New Zealand with provisional general registration, this can be transferred to hospitals that are employing locums and the doctor can work as a locum.

No. UK doctors at RMO level can only enter Australia to work in a salaried hospital job. Once they have completed a year and gained general registration they can go locuming.