Now with a national shortage of dental nurses I don't really want to encourage nurses to move abroad, but if you are thinking of doing your OE, here are the awesome facts about living and working in 'the land down under'.

Australia is an extremely alluring place to live with its superb climate, equisite beaches and coastlines, high standards of living and general all over comfort lifestyle..who wouldnt want to live there?

Lets get to the nitty gritty details. Yes ,UK qualified dental nurses can definitely work in Australia, providing you have the right working visa.

The salaries offered are very attractive. Research showed that on average salarys start from 60K and some figures were as high as 80K including bonuses and more.

These figures were based in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Sydney appears to offer the higher salaries.

Cost of living is also very appealing. On average the cost of going out for dinner is $60 per head.

Beer: $5-$6              Vino: $5-$7  Groceries $60 p/week              Studio flats start from $250- $450   Flat shares start from $110 for basic living to $200 for charming living.

The cost of a second hand car starts from $2K.

" I have been a dental nurse for 10 years. I worked in New Zealand for four years. There I decided I wanted to work in the UK but could not save enough money so decided to move to Sydney, Australia instead. I was blown away by the technology and salary! There were so many positions to choose from and I had to try not look too excited when they discussed salary. I managed to save enough in 6 months to buy my ticket to London, and do a little OE before getting back into work. I really enjoy working in London and have learnt so much. Since working here, registration has come into place and I hope there are further improvements for dental nurses!" Jo,London

" I qualified at the Dundee Dental Hospital Scotland in 2002. After that I followed my dream and applied for a visa to work in Australia. I did mostly temp work through agencies and had a couple permanent positions. I had a great job working 6 months in an all gay dental spa. Everyone was literally gay, including the nurses. It was so much fun, I would be laughing most the day. I also worked in New Zealand. Out of two I would say New Zealand was my favourite place to live, I was there for one year. New Zealand, to me, seemed like Scotland- but better! The landscape is so beautiful and I also enjoyed the rich culture and laid back attitude the kiwis have! I earned $18 an hour temping in NZ and $30p/hr in Australia. I am sure it is probably higher now as that was some time ago. It is not too difficult to apply to work there. You don't need to have their own qualification, UK qualification and experience proved to be more than enough. You can apply for a UK citizen 1 year visa. To apply for a further year you will need to do three months harvest work- fruit picking etc and then you can be granted to stay another year. You can visit www.gov.au (Australia) or www.immigration.govt.nz. Hope that helps." Emma, Forfar, Scotland