Advice sought

[geordiecop II]

Well, my Wife and & I have made the tentative decision to look into
the possibility of upping sticks and making a permanent move
to Oz.
We are approaching it as a long term project of up to maybe
two years.
The idea we have initially considered would involve
gaining permanent residency, through her job as a
registered Nurse,with me applying for a job with the
police at a later stage.

My qustion for the Aussies/ex-pats out there is -
What is the general job situation like in Australia and
in particular Queensland at the moment ?
I have spent the past 7 years working as a police officer
but I would be prepared to do most types of work to tide
me over.

I would also greatly appreciate any advice regarding the
application process for the Australian Police,or any
general advice re the pros and cons of making the
transition from British to Australian way of life.

Cheers.

[nashynz]

Australia is a nice place to live except for all the Australians there.

Come and live in New Zealand, we don't have nearly as many Australians here and we have more Rugby trophies.

Most importantly there are plenty of jobs for cops and nurses.

Check out the NZP site.

http:// (http://www.police.govt.nz/recruiting/)

[co911]

I guess my first question is, why aren't you coming here to the US? Your wife would easily get a visa being a nurse, and we need cops.

No offense Nash but if I were Geordie, I wouldn't bypass Australia for NZ. Working unarmed in South Auckland (where he is likely to be placed), with a dept which doesn't pay overtime just doesn't appeal. I have read rumblings of dissatisfaction in the NZP Association magazine from Brits who have joined the NZP. Besides that, there is only one police dept, and no federal police agency. Isn't this why many kiwi cops go work in Australia? Note also that the NZP don't advertise the salary on their webpage.

To answer your question Geordie, it depends entirely upon what kind of environment you want to work in. As a veteran officer interested in a lateral placement, the only agency I know of which offers this is Queensland. However, recent "retread" officers from the UK and NZ who joined the QPS as laterals have not been impressed with their stations or job opportunites. As one officer told me, "if you want to work for a world class police dept, avoid the QPS. If you want to come here for lifestyle, there isn't anywhere better".

As far as I know all state police depts and the AFP are recruiting presently. This is what happens when you have massive police forces. NSW, Victoria and Queensland are continuously recruiting. You need permanent residency or citizenship to join all of them.

The breakdown:
New South Wales Police.
Largest dept, most crime, most serious crime, good opportunities for movement into specialist sections. Most stations in metro Sydney are extremely busy. Quite progressive but slooooow to implement change. Issued with Glocks, oc spray, expandable batons, soft body armor, new uniform (BDU's, baseball caps etc) on the way. NSW is such a big PD (15,000 plus cops) that everything takes a long time to arrive, but they are arguably the best dept for technology (MDC's/ICU's etc). Also the highest paid cops in the country.

Victoria.
My pick for the best dept. Supportive public, supportive Administration, very innovative. Great traffic enforcement, high standard of training, brand new academy officer safety facility. Presently carrying revolvers, but there are whispers of semi autos. Issue body armor also, carry oc spray and exp. batons, and their SWAT (SOG) are trialing tasers). There are a LOT of cops for the population, and they have a very small jurisdiction by Australian standards.

Queensland:
Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. Many of the dept's procedures are 5-10 yrs behind the other two depts. Very little ethnic crime given the fairly homogenous population up north. Good equipment, Glocks, (no body armor), oc spray, exp batons etc. They do have a lateral program (POCC) which is a bonus if they honor it.

WA/SA/NT/Tas
Much smaller depts, a little behind the big three on technology, equipmentand pay.

Australia Federal Police:
Split into two parts:
Federal Agents are more like detectives and concentrate on federal crimes (drug importation etc).
Australian Capital Territory Police provide general police services to the capital. Small dept.

Aussies are notorious for giving "Poms" a hard time (and vice versa). However, there are two ideologies undermining Aussie society which will never change. One is to give everyone a fair go, the other is mateship. If you make mates with Aussies, you have buddies for life. If you are a good cop, no matter where you are from, you will be respected for it.

Lots to consider, any more info needed, just PM me.

[geordiecop II]

co911/Nash,
thanks for the info.

New Zealand is actually where my Sister and her
Husband are looking towards moving to (both Nurses),
however the warmer climate of Queensland appeals more
to me.

The main reason we want to move is definitely
lifestyle.
Here in the UK its all about working to pay for
the next bit of rubbish to fill our homes with,
because we spend so much time inside, with the
weather being so crap.
I would love live where the emphasis is on
the great outdoors.

As far as police work is concerned,that is
what I do and what I think I'm good at.However
if I worked within a Dept.where promotion
prospects/lateral development ops.were
limited,I'm at a stage in my life were this
would not be a major problem.
I actually still enjoy sticking my uniform on
and going out to serve the public.

A couple of other questions you guys may be
able to assist me with are - The availabilty
of other kinds of work in the Northern
Queensland/Cairns area (I believe the recruitment
process for the Queensland police can be up
to 12 months)
Also,what are the house prices like in this
area ?

Cheers.

[ron9572]

Geordiecop

If you are interested in moving to Western Australia, pm me and I will answer any questions you might have. We are expanding our force and there are positions. There is also a lot of work for nurses as well.


Take care

Ron

[krj]

Originally posted by geordiecop II
co911/Nash,
thanks for the info.

New Zealand is actually where my Sister and her
Husband are looking towards moving to (both Nurses),
however the warmer climate of Queensland appeals more
to me.

The main reason we want to move is definitely
lifestyle.
Here in the UK its all about working to pay for
the next bit of rubbish to fill our homes with,
because we spend so much time inside, with the
weather being so crap.
I would love live where the emphasis is on
the great outdoors.

As far as police work is concerned,that is
what I do and what I think I'm good at.However
if I worked within a Dept.where promotion
prospects/lateral development ops.were
limited,I'm at a stage in my life were this
would not be a major problem.
I actually still enjoy sticking my uniform on
and going out to serve the public.

A couple of other questions you guys may be
able to assist me with are - The availabilty
of other kinds of work in the Northern
Queensland/Cairns area (I believe the recruitment
process for the Queensland police can be up
to 12 months)
Also,what are the house prices like in this
area ?

Cheers.

Geordie I haven't lived in Australia in more than 20 years (immigrated there from England also) but I have a sister that lives in Mackay Qld, parents that live in Brisbane, and other assorted relatives living up and down the east coast.

My sister recently sent me some real estate information for Mackay (don't know why - she doesn't work in real estate, and I haven't indicated an interest in moving back :rolleyes: ).

Anyway, things have changed a LOT since I was there in the 70s in terms of consumer expectations (trending the same as the U.S. by the sounds of it) - multiple bathrooms, multiple garages (to store "stuff" not cars), family/great rooms, breakfast bars, open/country kitchens. The houses included in the flyer I received ranged in price from $125,000 - $330,000 (no details on individual homes - just list prices - I was shocked :p ).

I'll also quote something on the same flyer re: lower interest prices boost your buying power:

"With mortgage rates having reached historical lows, more prospective homebuyers have an opportunity to secure the mortgage loan needed for the home of their choice. Over the past 30 years, borrowers have been able to qualify for mortgages that were three times their income. Now, a household with an annual income of $60,000 can afford to make monthly repayments of $1500 on a $237,000 fixed 30 year mortgage. Just a year ago, by comparison, the household would have only qualified for a $203,000 mortgage."

I would really encourage you to do LOTS of homework before making such a major life-altering decision (not trying to talk you down - just saying be very sure what you're getting into). Check out not only job prospects in your chosen town/state but also all the other quality of life things that are/will be important to you now and in the future - education, culture and entertainment, sports and fitness, health care, real estate, job prospects, salary prospects, political climate, crime rates etc. etc. The internet makes that all possible and accessible.

Australia is an awesome country, with wonderful outdoor recreation opportunites, friendly outgoing people, and a relaxed and laid back lifestyle. Most people that I know here in TN think that it is very cool that I have lived in Australia. But my family in Oz think that it is very cool that I live so close to Nashville TN and the home of country music. One of those grass is always greener deals...........

No matter which country you live in you still have to change the oil in your car, scrub your toilet, pay your taxes, take your garbage to the end of the drive - you know - take care of business.

Not sure if I clarified anything for you - but best of luck to you.

[geordiecop II]

Ron,
I've heard a lot of good reports about Western Australia and
in particular Perth.
However, my Wife already has family on the Gold Coast, so
Queensland seems to be the most practical place to
consider, at least to start with.
Thanks anyway:)

Krj,
You certainly seem to get around a lot :)
The house prices you quoted seem to suggest that you get
a lot more for your money in Oz than the UK.
Where I live you will not get much change out of

[co911]

If it's lifestyle and weather you want, and you are not concerned with promotion, Queensland would be the obvious choice. I'm sure you are aware that Cairns is about 2000 miles north of the Gold Coast so you may as well be in another state regarding your wife's family. From my sources you would have no problem being stationed on the GC or Cairns, as both Districts are screaming for cops. (Keep in mind that the humidity in FNQ can be fierce).

The biggest benefit is that the current lateral recruitment policy allows you to progress more quickly through the academy and then into a specialist area if you wish to later. Plus the extra income can't hurt. A google search on "Cairns home sales" or similar should provide you with an idea of how far the Aussie $ goes. I have a buddy who was a K9 handler in Mackey and he LOVED it. If you want to hear the bad side, go to the QPS Union's webage, download the Journal and read the letters from officers complaining about the dept.

[NSWCop]

Geordie:

I have often toyed with the idea of going to Queensland and working the Gold Coast...however...
whilst the QPS are indeed recruiting laterally..you would probably more likely to be working in some dusty, isolated,fly-blown outback town that no other person in their right mind would even stop at during a cyclone, let alone live there voluntarily.

Basically, if your missus is a registered nurse, you will have to face the facts that she is emminently more employable any-where in the world than you are! (feels good don't it?)

If you want to work on the Gold Coast, I would suggest a security company. You begin by working for one, prior to starting your own.

The Gold Coast is a very popular area, and whilst it is busy, police-wise, I imagine it is a sought after location, and, as such, probably beyond the reach of the o/s lateral transferee.

However, the "busier" suburbs of Brisbane are not that far away by road that may be OK.

You should get a firm commitment from QPS before you sign up!!

Hope this helps.:D :D

[JohnKelly]

Originally posted by co911
I guess my first question is, why aren't you coming here to the US? Your wife would easily get a visa being a nurse, and we need cops.

No offense Nash but if I were Geordie, I wouldn't bypass Australia for NZ. Working unarmed in South Auckland (where he is likely to be placed), with a dept which doesn't pay overtime just doesn't appeal. I have read rumblings of dissatisfaction in the NZP Association magazine from Brits who have joined the NZP. Besides that, there is only one police dept, and no federal police agency. Isn't this why many kiwi cops go work in Australia? Note also that the NZP don't advertise the salary on their webpage.

To answer your question Geordie, it depends entirely upon what kind of environment you want to work in. As a veteran officer interested in a lateral placement, the only agency I know of which offers this is Queensland. However, recent "retread" officers from the UK and NZ who joined the QPS as laterals have not been impressed with their stations or job opportunites. As one officer told me, "if you want to work for a world class police dept, avoid the QPS. If you want to come here for lifestyle, there isn't anywhere better".

As far as I know all state police depts and the AFP are recruiting presently. This is what happens when you have massive police forces. NSW, Victoria and Queensland are continuously recruiting. You need permanent residency or citizenship to join all of them.

The breakdown:
New South Wales Police.
Largest dept, most crime, most serious crime, good opportunities for movement into specialist sections. Most stations in metro Sydney are extremely busy. Quite progressive but slooooow to implement change. Issued with Glocks, oc spray, expandable batons, soft body armor, new uniform (BDU's, baseball caps etc) on the way. NSW is such a big PD (15,000 plus cops) that everything takes a long time to arrive, but they are arguably the best dept for technology (MDC's/ICU's etc). Also the highest paid cops in the country.

Victoria.
My pick for the best dept. Supportive public, supportive Administration, very innovative. Great traffic enforcement, high standard of training, brand new academy officer safety facility. Presently carrying revolvers, but there are whispers of semi autos. No body armor yet, also rumored, but they carry oc spray and exp. batons and their SWAT (SOG) are triialing tasers). There are a LOT of cops for the population, and they have a very small jurisdiction by Australian standards.

Queensland:
Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. Many of the dept's procedures are 5-10 yrs behind the other two depts. Very little ethnic crime given the fairly homogenous population up north. Good equipment, Glocks, (no body armor), oc spray, exp batons etc. They do have a lateral program (POCC) which is a bonus if they honor it.

WA/SA/NT/Tas
Much smaller depts, a little behind the big three on technology, equipmentand pay.

Australia Federal Police:
Split into two parts:
Federal Agents are more like detectives and concentrate on federal crimes (drug importation etc).
Australian Capital Territory Police provide general police services to the capital. Small dept.

Aussies are notorious for giving "Poms" a hard time (and vice versa). However, there are two ideologies undermining Aussie society which will never change. One is to give everyone a fair go, the other is mateship. If you make mates with Aussies, you have buddies for life. If you are a good cop, no matter where you are from, you will be respected for it.

Lots to consider, any more info needed, just PM me.

Congratulations co911, a very informative Post - you certainly have a in-depth understanding of the Police Forces of Australia and New Zealand.

JohnKelly
Australia