Travelling physios wander out yonder!

Most of us have worked from home at some stage or another over the past two years, but for Clare Austin and David Dimech of Project Physio, working from home has become a way of life.

Transforming a bus into a home and workspace, the duo departed their home in Wollongong in October 2020 to locum around Australia and haven’t looked back since.

Living the work/life balance dream, the couple aim to compete a full lap of Australia with the vision to settle in regional and rural locations for long periods of time.

Based out of Geraldton throughout January, Clare and David worked with Central West Health and Rehab and WA Country Health Service (WACHS).

It is this variety and freedom they have come to love.

“Working at Central West Health and Rehab has been a great opportunity to gain experience and meet an incredible team,” Clare said.

“We have also enjoyed working with WACHS and would love to continue working with the organisation in another location.

“We are very excited to continue travelling through WA and pick up more work down south.”

The pair originally began their rural careers in regional NSW.

“We had little interest in staying in the city for work, but rural health was not always at the forefront of our minds when starting our careers,” Clare said.

“After working for a few years we both wanted a change of scenery, which sparked an interest in rural work.

“We started looking into it a bit more, and what first started as an idea to combine working and travelling, soon grew into something much larger and more complex.

“We are working on advocating for other allied health workers to work rurally as well and promoting the opportunities that are available to them.”

Describing their opportunities as incredible, the pair encouraged other allied health professionals to have a go at rural.

“It doesn’t have to be a permanent career change; you could try a short-term contract to test the waters or take the plunge on an opportunity to relocate and set down roots in a new community.

“The communities you are supporting are always so grateful and the experience is invaluable.”

As well as their day jobs, Clare and David document their travels on their blog and social media platforms.

Showcasing their work and the beautiful parts of the world they visit; their pictures give any tourism campaign a run for their money.

“Having a new backyard every weekend is special,” Clare said.

“Being welcomed into a community when we pick up a new job, immersing ourselves and meeting a bunch of new people has added so much to this experience.”

“We have loved every minute of working and travelling around Australia.

“It has really opened our eyes to the different career pathways available to us as physiotherapists.”

Having spent 8 months making their way from North to South in Western Australia, Clare and David are now heading to South Australia.

“We can continue to work flexibly with fixed term contracts and take small trips in between jobs.

“It has been the best thing we have ever done.”

You can follow their adventures on Instagram at @project.physio, or check out their website https://www.project.physio/

If you're keen to secure a working holiday in rural Western Australia, contact our team [email protected]