Informed Locum

The Boring Stuff

We are a husband and wife team (she is the Dr, he is the stay-at-home dad) who began our locuming journey in 2017. We found that there was little information to be had on placements being offered. Sometimes we would only discover that the pay runs were monthly after submitting fortnightly billing, or the supplied month-long accommodation was in a motel with no cooking facilities, no internet, and poor mobile reception.

We designed this website to help you (and us) make informed decisions on which locum placements are best suited to your (our) preferences. For example, you may not want to work in placements that pay monthly, or perhaps you don’t want the hassle of figuring out tax rates and just want to be paid after tax. Informed locum is designed to show you which placements, on offer, will best fit you.

Much like Trip Advisor or Yelp, we depend on your reviews to make this tool the best it can be. So please take the time, (perhaps during your wait at the airport) to add a review or two. The more reviews we have the more helpful we can be for locums like you and me.

That’s why we have built the Informed Locum website as a tool to quickly compare different placements as a solution to these hiccups. We hope this tool develops into a useful website that is used by professionals to get the best out of their locuming experience.

We have no intent or interest in monetising this site. Our desire for this site to be Successful, comes from us being able to use it to make our lives much easier and less problematic.

Thank you for your visit and thank you for contributing.

Freya.

Become verified and your icon will display the coveted gold aura. This reassures readers that your reviews are a little more dependable.


Tip #1: Avoid Paying Car Hire Excess. It is always nice to be provided with a rental car or a hospital car. However, you will occasionally come across a time when a hire car is provided but the excess insurance is not. Yes, this is dumb as most times the excess cover costs more than the car hire itself. For reduced excess, I have been charged between $26.00 and $57.00 per day on rental cars that the actual hire charge is $20-$30. Obviously, this expense is something we would all like to avoid (especially on longterm placements). I personally would rather discover this prior to committing to a placement, but if not here are some methods to reduce the expense.

If you Google ‘excess car hire’ there are a plethora of companies that offer reduced excess cover. These companies offer greatly reduced rates compared to rental car companies. If you have had experience with this please include it in your reviews.

Another method is to check your credit card provider for reduced excess cover. Many of the major players have this cover if you use their card to hire the car. You would, therefore, have to nominate to the locum agency or hospital that you would rather invoice them for the entire car rental charge.

Tip #2: Gym Memberships. I have found that being away from family and friends during placements can get you either lazy or lonely or both. Heading to the local gym for some StairMaster, treadmill, and/or bike abuse can help counter these effects. Anytime Fitness (not sponsored by) has a good amount of gyms in the areas that I seem to get most of my placements at. When you first sign up, your key fob will only be good for that gym for one month after which it will become available to all Anytime Fitness gyms (all over the world).

Tip #3: Credit Card Travel Insurance. This is a tricky one as it can change each year. Some credit cards offer complimentary travel insurance for lost baggage and delayed flights. Some require you to purchase your flights with their card, others just need you to have the card on you at the time. You will have to do your own research on this as they vary so much from year to year.

Tip #4: Credit Card Lounge Entry. Certain credit cards gain you entry into airport lounges such as cards associated with QANTAS and Virgin Australia. I personally have American Express Platinum charge and credit cards (not sponsored by). The fees are high but with the complimentary flights, travel insurance, and Virgin Australia airport lounge entry, and other perks I feel it is worth it while I locum.

Tip #5: Don’t pay for Qantas frequent flyer membership. Google ‘free Qantas frequent flyer’.

Tip #6: Always, Always collect points from your airlines, rental cars, and all other expenses. Each year I accumulate around 500,000 points on Qantas Frequent Flyer and around 200,000 on Virgin Velocity. The status credits are a huge benefit to your travelling as well.

Tip #7: Keeping Warm in Winter. When you are expecting to do some rural placements during winter, consider purchasing a single electric blanket. These can be purchased fairly cheaply ($50 +/-) from most retailers (Kmart, Target, Harvey Norman etc.) The issue you will come across is the accommodations can be old and not insulated very well. I have experienced far too many cold accommodation rooms, and they’re not fun after a rough shift.

Tip #8: Pre-Book your taxi/Uber/Lyft. The night before your flight book your transport to the airport. This is especially important if you’re in a rural placement. Often smaller towns have very limited taxis and limited flights. This means everyone is booking a cab for the same time, for the same flight. I even go a little further, I prebook the night before and I call 45 minutes before, as a ‘just in case’. Even if the hospital books and pays for the taxi I still call 45 minutes before the due cab departure time.

Tip #9: Photograph every expense. I as a general rule photograph every expense receipt and upload it to a tax file within my dropbox account. It is important to name the photograph clearly so it can be sorted quickly in June (or November the following year, if you are like me). It only takes a few moments and it ensures a smooth tax time. Remember if you paid for it while you were on your placement your accountant is going to want to see it. Finally, when you’re given a car, doesn’t matter if it is a hospital car or rental, photograph the odometer when you get the car and again when you return the car. Save these in your tax file with the dates in the file name, your account will most likely want this as well.

Tip #10: Always enquire when checking into your accommodations if there is an in-house laundry service. Sorry if this is an obvious one, but only into my second year of locuming did I discover I no longer had to doze by the washer to ensure clean scrubs. I generally now pay $20 per load. I drop them off in the morning and they are delivered to my room by the afternoon. Not all accommodations offer this but it is a pleasant surprise when they do.

Tip #11: Loans/Credit Cards. This only really applies if you have been locuming fulltime and want to apply for a loan or credit card. This had not really come up as an issue until recently for me. The tip is don’t just fill out online applications, ring and talk to the institution’s applications line and explain to them what you do and how much you earn. Ask them, how they would like you to apply. Never assume a ‘close enough’ answer on the application form. Ask them what they would like you to select for your circumstances. If you have worked predominantly in a certain state they are happy to contact that state’s pay office to confirm employment. They want to give you the loan/credit card you just have to fit into their criteria which I assure you very often we do not fit in to very well.

Have a tip? Please press the comment icon to your left and send them to us. We would love to share them here!

Dear Locum Agency
You have my roster and you know I am on nights, so why are you calling me in the middle of the day to ask about flights? Furthermore, why do you get upset when I barely remember any of the questions you asked me in my sleeping haze?
The highest regards
Locum Doctor Z

Dear Locum Agency
Why are you booking flights at 7 am when you have my roster and you know that I finish my shift at 630 am? I can assure you it is not enough time.
My very best
Locum Doctor H

Dear Locum Agency
Really a motel for a month? How do I prepare meals?
Best regards
Locum Doctor T

If you would like to submit a Dear Locum Agency letter, please click on the comment bubble on your left and submit your letter for us to post. We think it is a great way to communicate those pet peeves I have no doubt we all have.

Terms and Conditions

Last updated: September 04, 2019

Please read these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”, “Terms and Conditions”) carefully before using the www.informedlocum.com.au website (the “Service”) operated by Informed Locum (“us”, “we”, or “our”).

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service. You warrant that you are at least 18-years-old and you are legally capable of entering into binding contracts. If you are under 18-years-old, you warrant that you have obtained consent from your parent or guardian and they agree to be bound by these Terms on your behalf.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you may not access the Service.

Content

Our Service allows you to post, link, store, share and otherwise make available certain information, text, graphics, videos, or other material (“Content”). You are responsible for the Content that you post to the Service, including its legality, reliability, and appropriateness.

By posting Content to the Service, you grant us the right and license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content on and through the Service. You retain any and all of your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Service and you are responsible for protecting those rights. You agree that this license includes the right for us to make your Content available to other users of the Service, who may also use your Content subject to these Terms.

You represent and warrant that: (i) the Content is yours (you own it) or you have the right to use it and grant us the rights and license as provided in these Terms, and (ii) the posting of your Content on or through the Service does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person. Further, you warrant that: (i) the Content will not cause you or us to breach any law, regulation, rule, code or other legal obligation; (ii) the Content will not or could not be reasonably considered to be obscene, inappropriate, defamatory, disparaging, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, threatening, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence or in breach of privacy; (iii) the Content will not be unsolicited, undisclosed or unauthorised advertising; (iv) the Content does not contain software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware or telecommunications equipment; and (v): the Content does not bring us or the Service into disrepute.

You agree to keep all records necessary to establish that your Content does not violate any of the requirements this clause and make such records available upon our reasonable request.

We are under no obligation to regularly monitor the accuracy or reliability of your Content incorporated into the Service. We reserve the right to modify or remove any Content at any time.

You acknowledge and agree that all Content you provide on the Service will be publicly available information and you bear the risks involved with such public disclosures.

Accounts

When you create an account with us, you must provide us information that is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our Service.

You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Service and for any activities or actions under your password, whether your password is with our Service or a third-party service.

You agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You agree to be fully responsible for activities that relate to your account or your password. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.

You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trade mark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you without appropriate authorization, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene.

Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content (excluding Content provided by users), features and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of Informed Locum and its licensors. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the Australia and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of Informed Locum. Nothing in these Terms constitutes a transfer of any Intellectual Property rights from us to you.

You are permitted to use the Service only as authorised by us. As a user, you are granted a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable right to use the Service to create, display, use, play, and download Content subject to these Terms.

Our Intellectual Property must not be used in connection with a product or service that is not affiliated with us or in any way brings us in disrepute.

You must not modify the physical or digital copies of any Content you print off or download in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio, or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by any other users are those of the respective authors or distributors and not of us.

Links To Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by Informed Locum.

Informed Locum has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that Informed Locum shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

We only provide links to external websites as a convenience, and the inclusion of such a link to external websites do not imply our endorsement of those websites. You acknowledge and agree that when you access other websites on the Internet, you do so at your own risk.

We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your account, you may simply discontinue using the Service.

All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any claims or damages arising out of any termination or suspension or any other actions taken by us in connection therewith.

If applicable law requires us to provide notice of termination or cancellation, we may give prior or subsequent notice by posting it on the Service or by sending a communication to any address (email or otherwise) that we have for you in our records.

Indemnification

As a condition of your access to and use of the Service, you agree to indemnify us and our successors and assigns for all damages, costs, expenses and other liabilities, including but not limited to legal fees and expenses, relating to any claim arising out of or related to your access to and use of the Service or your breach of these Terms and any applicable law or the rights of another person or party.

This indemnification section survives the expiration of your registration, and applies to claims arising both before and after the registration ends.

Limitation Of Liability

You agree that we shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using the Service, copying, distributing, or downloading Content from the Service.

In no event shall we be liable for any indirect, punitive, special, incidental or consequential damage (including loss of business, revenue, profits, use, privacy, data, goodwill or other economic advantage) however it arises, whether for breach of contract or in tort, even if it has been previously advised of the possibility of such damage.

You have sole responsibility for adequate security protection and backup of data and/or equipment used in connection with your usage of the Service and will not make a claim against for lost data, re-run time, inaccurate instruction, work delays or lost profits resulting from the use of the Service. You must not assign or otherwise dispose of your account to any other person.

Without limiting the foregoing, in no event will our aggregate liability to you exceed, in total, the amounts paid by you to us.

Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.

Informed Locum its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.

This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access or, alteration of or use of record in connection with the use or operation of the Service, whether for breach of contract, tortious behaviour, negligence or any other cause of action.

We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the content contained on the Service for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. We disclaim any express or implied warranty representation or guarantee as to the effectiveness or profitability of the Service or that the operation of our Service will be uninterrupted or error-free. We are not liable for the consequences of any interruptions or error in the Service.

Exclusions

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the limitations above may not apply to you.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Queensland, Australia, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.

Changes

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will try to provide at least 30 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect.

It is your sole responsibility to periodically check these Terms for any changes. If you do not agree with any of the changes to these Terms, it is your sole responsibility to stop using the Service. Your continued use of the Service will be deemed as your acceptance thereof.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.

Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 04, 2019

Informed Locum (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the www.informedlocum.com.au website (hereinafter referred to as the “Service”).

This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data.

We use your data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, the terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, accessible from www.informedlocum.com.au

Definitions

  • ServiceService is the www.informedlocum.com.au website operated by Informed Locum
  • Personal DataPersonal Data means data about a living individual who can be identified from those data (or from those and other information either in our possession or likely to come into our possession).
  • Usage DataUsage Data is data collected automatically either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
  • CookiesCookies are small files stored on your device (computer or mobile device).

Information Collection and Use

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our Service to you.

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Data”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

  • Email address
  • First name and last name
  • Cookies and Usage Data

We may use your Personal Data to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email we send or by contacting us.

Usage Data

We may also collect information on how the Service is accessed and used (“Usage Data”). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

Tracking & Cookies Data

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and we hold certain information.

Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Other tracking technologies are also used such as beacons, tags and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyse our Service.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

Examples of Cookies we use:

  • Session Cookies. We use Session Cookies to operate our Service.
  • Preference Cookies. We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.
  • Security Cookies. We use Security Cookies for security purposes.

Use of Data

Informed Locum uses the collected data for various purposes:

  • To provide and maintain our Service
  • To notify you about changes to our Service
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so
  • To provide customer support
  • To gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our Service
  • To monitor the usage of our Service
  • To detect, prevent and address technical issues
  • To provide you with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information

Transfer of Data

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to – and maintained on – computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction.

If you are located outside Australia and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to Australia and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

Informed Locum will take all the steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organisation or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

Disclosure of Data

Business Transaction

If Informed Locum is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Disclosure for Law Enforcement

Under certain circumstances, Informed Locum may be required to disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Legal Requirements

Informed Locum may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

  • To comply with a legal obligation
  • To protect and defend the rights or property of Informed Locum
  • To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
  • To protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public
  • To protect against legal liability

Security of Data

The security of your data is important to us but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Service Providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service (“Service Providers”), provide the Service on our behalf, perform Service-related services or assist us in analysing how our Service is used.

These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Analytics

We may use third-party Service Providers to monitor and analyse the use of our Service.

  • Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualise and personalise the ads of its own advertising network.

    You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

    For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Links to Other Sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Children’s Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 18 (“Children”).

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “effective date” at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

  • By email: admin@informedlocum.com.au