More than ever, New Zealanders are considering teaching in Queensland for its warmer weather, competitive pay and incentives, and close proximity to home.
Primary teacher Hannah Parsons said she was teaching in New Zealand for five-and-a-half years before she made the decision to move to Queensland.
Making the change
'I grew up in the South Island of New Zealand and I was teaching at a small rural school there with 80 children,' Hannah said.
'I was looking for my next challenge and that is when I started to research other opportunities available and where I could go with my teaching qualifications.
'I looked at a number of places—I looked Europe and teaching in England and then I saw Queensland.
'Queensland really stood out for me. The support right from applying with the Department of Education to the interview process was very seamless.
'I applied for a job with the department and about 2 days later I was contacted with an opportunity.
'I was driving home from work and I saw an Australian number on my phone and thought, oh, who's this? And yes, on a minus-five-degree morning, I was offered a job in Queensland.
'I landed in Mackay teaching a group of wonderful Year 1 students at Walkerston State School.
'When I arrived in Queensland, it was the end of June. I arrived in jackets and jeans and I slept the first night in Central Queensland with the air conditioning on.'