Accountant moving to Oz

g'day


I'm an accountant (CA) in canada, and i'm considering moving to Oz. I don't actually have any experience in MYOB.

Would it be hard to get hired under either a permanent visa or one of the provisional once, if i don't have any experience in Oz?

is there any agency that deals specifically with job-placement for accountants?

Hope to hear from anyone soon

//Santiago, winnipeg

Hi Santiago

I'm an Aussie married to a Canadian, currently living in Sydney, Aust. We lived in Toronto for 3 years before moving back to Sydney for the last 6 years and now we're contemplating a move back to Toronto. I hope I can help!

You'll need a valid "Work" visa to to be hired by anyone in Australia legally (you can't work on just a visitor visa).

If you are under 30yrs, you can apply for a Working Holiday Visa which allows you to stay for 12mths and work for up to six months with each employer. It's possible for your employer to sponsor you for a temporary visa (2 years I believe) and then a permanent visa (indefinitely). Otherwise, if you are under 45yrs, you can apply under the General Skilled Migration program as your job is on the Skilled Occupation List. You could also check out the State Sponsorship Program to see if you are eligible. You can find out everything from immi(dot)gov(dot)au

Once you have a work visa, its up to you to get a job. If you'd like to check out job prospects, websites like mycareer(dot)com(dot)au or seek(dot)com(dot)au are good places to start. There are recruitment agencies for accountants - if you search 'accountant recruitment' on google(dot)com(dot)au it will bring up local results.

As for MYOB, they hold lots of courses to get up to scratch here if its necessary for your job. I'd say there are different tax laws etc to learn too but I'd talk to the recruitment people for requirements. Your skills should be transferable here.

Good luck!
Tammy

Hi Santiago,

I guess it really depends where you want to work. I'd say in general, if you're CA qualified, it's relatively easy to go through the visa process and even visa sponsorship. Do you want to work for a firm or within an accounting apartment? I work for an external auditing firm (though I'm not an accountant) and the industry sponsors CA's all the time.

I would recommended reaching out to a few firms (if you're Big 4, should be relatively easy) and gauging their interest. As a last resort, you could always come over on a working holiday visa, work for the company for 6 months and then have them go through a sponsorship process after should they not be willing to sponsor you immediately.

DJW

I guess it will depends on your knowledge and ability, but for sure they will still look for some working visa, and I think work holiday visa is fine. And if you will be qualified for the company, I think they will help you to have a permanent visa.