Hey Sally,
I'm assuming that you are taking the IELTS because of the nursing registration. For registration as a nurse in Australia, you can skip the IELTS if you can prove that you have at least 5 years of studies that is in English and a nursing certificate that Australia recognise. The education can be a combination of secondary (high school), vocational (Language school) and/or tertiary (TAFE, collage and university).
If you did not complete your education in English, there are 2 options for you to prove your English standard. You can choose to take International English Language Test System (IELTS) or Occupational English Test (OET).
http://www.anmac.org.au/faqs#006
OET is more expensive and the listening section is a lot tougher than IELTS, but the rest of the other 3 section are slightly easier. Please refer to OET website for the exact format.
If you are truly desperate for income and a job, you can try your luck with agency nursing, age care and mental health, as they are always looking for people. While the rest of the hospitals will probably take like 2 months (or worst) to get yourself employed.
I know this is a rather late reply for your post, but all the best and good luck for your registration!