Melbourne

The deepest system in the country, and a city worth the weather

A guide to living, working and settling in Australia’s southern capital — written for healthcare professionals, by the team who help them move.

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15 chapters Updated August 2026 Free

Welcome

For clinicians who want the system.

Melbourne carries the deepest concentration of tertiary and quaternary medicine in Australia, standalone specialist services that create career paths smaller systems cannot, and a biomedical research precinct of international standing sitting next to the hospitals that feed it.

Around that sits a city built on trams, laneways and a century of migration — five million people, the largest tram network on earth, and the best food culture in the country. It is a city that rewards people who like cities.

The costs are the weather and the price: four seasons in a day is not a joke, and Melbourne is the second-dearest capital in the country. This guide prices both plainly.

Welcome to the southern capital.

Warm regards — the Ethicare team

Melbourne, in short

The five-second version

~5M

In Greater Melbourne

250 km

Of tram track — the world’s largest

~40%

Born overseas

1 hr

To vineyards, ranges or surf

Where

The south-east corner, on Port Phillip Bay — a grid at the centre, rings around it

Climate

Four seasons in a day — real heat in summer, grey and damp in winter

The system

Several major services plus standalone specialist ones — each hiring in its own right

Getting home

A major international airport half an hour out, and constant flights to Sydney

Contents

What’s inside

Fifteen chapters in five parts. Nine are written for Melbourne; the rest are national and live once in Moving to Australia, so you only read them once.

Part one · Deciding

01 Welcome to MelbourneThe city in nine numbers — and six things you only learn once you’re here Read now → 02 Why MelbourneSystem depth, a typical week, and where we’d point you instead Read now → 03 Melbourne at a glanceThe grid, the rings and four seasons in a day — orientation for newcomers Read now →

Part two · The city

04 Healthcare in MelbourneThe deepest system in Australia, the research precinct, and what to ask at interview Read now → 05 Where clinicians liveNorth, east, south and west — the tram-line logic, and what each ring costs Read now → 06 Getting aroundThe world’s largest tram network, the trains, and the hook turn Read now →

Part three · Money & home

07 Cost of livingWhat a clinical salary buys in the second-dearest capital, audited Read now → 08 Living in AustraliaRenting, utilities, banking and the practical first months — the national playbook Shared · national 09 Pay & conditionsHow awards, allowances and salary packaging work — and what to verify before signing Shared · national

Part four · Everyday life

10 Food, coffee & the everydayThe coffee standard, the laneways, the markets and the migrant neighbourhoods Read now → 11 Bay, ranges & the Great Ocean RoadThe Peninsula, the Dandenongs, the Yarra Valley and one of the world’s great drives Read now → 12 Schools & educationHow Australian schooling works — and the visa fee question every family must read Shared · national

Part five · Belonging

13 Finding your feet & your peopleCommunities, faith, sport and how friendship works here Shared · national 14 Eligibility & registrationAhpra, English evidence and assessment — the national process, once Shared · national 15 Visas & the moveWhich visa, in what order, and how the timeline runs Shared · national

The Twelve Apostles limestone stacks off the Victorian coast at dusk — The Twelve Apostles — the far end of a weekend drive

Sophie’s insight

Melbourne is where I send people whose careers need room — the sub-specialists, the ones who want research alongside the clinical work, the ones who will be bored in a smaller system. It delivers that better than anywhere in Australia. Weigh two things first: the winter, and the rent.

Sophie Careem

Founder, Ethicare Resourcing

When you’re ready

Ready to explore opportunities?

Read the guide, save it to your pack, and plan the move at your own pace — even if that’s a year from now.

Explore current opportunities Ask Ethicare The wider Victoria guide Other Australian guides