blurred

Hey all, just after a bit of help and stumbled across this place on google.

I'm considering upping sticks after generally getting sick of this country, and having a bit of family in Oz and a few friends as well, it seems like a reasonable destination. I'm just looking for some sources of information and some general advice on how to go about doing this.

At the moment I'm working in an admin type position, and am also a qualified lead auditor (quality, not financial, for ISO 9001), with a law degree. Presumably there are only certain professions/qualifications that are liable to get gainful employ down under...

If anyone has got some websites or info that they could pass my way I'd be most grateful - places where you have found information or found helpful whenyou came to looking abroad - things like the mechanics of getting it sorted, or info on jobs for migrants, that sort of stuff (obviously I'd ideally like to have something sorted out before departing! )

thanks folks

Geordie George

The obvious place to start would be:
http://www.dimia.gov.au/

You might want to try looking in the immigration section of this forum for specific info:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

GG

Tiawamutu

Not really obvious to people who are just starting out. Good advice though

Geordie George

Well, thanks for correcting me.

Tiawamutu

Wasn't correcting you but never mind

Geordie George

So what was the point of your post?

Tiawamutu

I was just about to try and offer some advice to blurred....but something distracted me

gedge

nitpickers

unobviously, you could try asking a few specific questions and searching through the forums here.
There are different types of visa available, a common one being "skilled independant". This is where your skill is assessed against the country's requirement and can provide you with the bulk of the required points for the points system. See the Skilled Occupation List on the dimia website for this purpose.
These are the basic requirements:
If this isn't for you, there are other visa types available, but see how you go with the above.

And, welcome to the forum (?madhouse?).
Chris.

Tiawamutu

For jobs a good site to look at is Jobseek

http://www.seek.com.au/index.ascx

There are loads of posts on here that will offer great advice. Maybe try doing a search of the forum....Good luck

Where is it you fancy going?

ABCDiamond

Some more job sites:

Government Job Websites

www.jobsearch.gov.au - The Australian Government Job Agency Search Facility (91,000 jobs listed at 26/9/04)

www.workplace.gov.au - More Information on Jobs, Wages, Unions etc.

Commercial Job Websites

www.seek.com.au - An Online Job Search facility (78,359 Jobs listed at 26/9/04)

www.careerone.com.au - An Online Job Search Facility provided by News Limited

www.jobserve.com.au - An Online Job Search facility (41,617 jobs listed at 11/11/04, mainly IT&T jobs)

www.mycareer.com.au - An Online Job Search facility (39,863 Jobs listed at 29/10/04)

www.jobnet.com.au - Job Search for IT Professionals (6,097 jobs at 29/10/04)

www.hays.com.au - Hays is ranked as the world's 7th largest recruitment company (4,330 Jobs listed at 26/9/04)

www.ccg.com.au -Carroll Consulting Group (Brisbane)

Tiawamutu

Lol at your ticker ABC

Watch out for Merlot though :scared: (her avatar atm lol)

arkon

Hi Blurred, Daft question but ask yourself why you want to leave the uk. I too was 'Sick' of the UK and had some family out here in Oz. I had a good job and lovely house. But the state of our politics, media, immigration, health service, transport and the tax man etc. etc. was getting me down. So I thought what the heck lets do it and emigrate based on one holiday to Australia. 3 years later the visa came through, 6 months after that Resigned and sold everything and upped sticks and left.

And to tell you the truth I have found the place to actually live in infuriating in almost every respect. The bureaucracy is maddening, far worse than the uk, the tax laws are a joke and the hoops you get made to jump through to do almost everything is just jaw dropping. The medical care is great but just try figuring out how to work out how much it costs will drive you insane. My wife fell pregnant just after landing. All the doctors charge different amounts, but if you know the secret word or special handshake you can get it for free. Don’t join private health insurance as that’s a joke compared to the uk. You actually pay for the privilege of having to pay for your treatment, its called the medical ‘Gap’ out here. So for example you might pay $100 a month or more for private but instead of say a ultrasound scan being free on medicare, or $150-$250 without a medicare card, if your private it might be $500 but luckily in the private medical insurances generosity they might pay say $150 of the bill, the government gives you maybe $50 towards it, leaving you the GAP! In this case $300. In the UK private means they pay the whole bill, you only pay the insurance premium, out here they sting you anyway they can.

The RTA (roads and traffic authority) sting you with fees for everything, every year you have to re-register everything that has wheels on it, so you pay for your car reggo, trailer, caravan, boat trailer, you name it you have to register it every year. And if you should want to sell some thing with wheels on it then you pay again to transfer it! Oh and don’t forget the stamp duty, you also have to give the gov or RTA (not sure which) a percentage of its value for the privilege of buying it. And cop for this one, you now get fined $95 if you leave your car unlocked or leave your keys in it! There is no end to the fines you can incur for things which in the uk would just be chalked up to stupidity or experience. You basically get treated as a criminal if you accidentally help someone steal your car! Anyway enough of the RTA.

Sorry for the rant, but I’m going through the winging pom stage, which I’m told we all do and you eventually get bored of moaning and you forget how good the uk really was.
A lobotomy might help I think. Sorry I can’t help myself Rant continues…..

The number of times I have been short changed is amazing, and on more than a few occasions you can tell and see that it is deliberate. I never checked my change at home, but here it quickly becomes a force of habit. Did I mention mis-information? The Australians are so sincere when giving you advice or telling you what to do to complete a task that you totally believe them. BUT it is seldom correct.

Fees…. Well in the uk you might want a service like banking, telephone, etc. and you will be given a brochure spelling out the virtues of the service and why they are better than another supplier, and the fees if any are relegated to the small print and usually you only encounter a fee if you do something wrong ie. Go over drawn etc. But out here the 50 page fee broacher will be given to you 1st with a 2 page brochure explaining the service. And crikey don’t even dare to have a look at how much money you have in the bank as chances are the act of looking means your 35 cents less well off than before you looked! The banks out here make a fortune in fees and the Ozzies like lemmings complain about it but do nothing about it.

The common excuse you will hear from an Australian is ‘ oh yeah, they are just collecting extra revenue, that because there is only 20 million of us in a huge country, that’s why we pay through the nose for everything’ permits, fee’s, fines etc… What they forget to take into account, there maybe one third the number of people but they are mostly only in a few areas, and the road infrastructure is diabolical and expenditure on everything is a pittance compared to the uk. You would think having a third of the revenue of the uk would be plenty but they don’t get a third, where the UK gets budget numbers in the 100’s of billions, here it might just make it into a few billion and in aussie dollars at that. God knows where why 20 million people only manages to get about 100th of the revenue of 60 million.

That’s it, I won’t mention they are the world’s worst drivers, beating most of Europe, and I’ve seen how the French and Italians drive and they have nothing on the Aussies. Here a motorway of only a measly 100-110 kph means drive at 80 when its single lane and as soon a it opens up to double lanes speed up to exactly the speed limit and stop anyone from overtaking. The number of deaths on the roads is amazing and they blame the speed limits so keep lowering them. If your used to driving in the uk then be prepared to drive like an 80 year old granny out here. I wish I was generalizing here but I’m afraid I’m not. They all drive like nancys and that’s a fact, dangerous, oblivious, drunken, inconsiderate you have no idea how bad they drive… And you have to see them in a multistory carpark to believe it, give me 30 minutes in a multistory with a video camera and I’d make a million on ‘you’ve been framed’

Anyway Blurred, I think what I was trying to say was if your thinking of coming here for good, find some way to *Live* here properly for 6 months or more 1st before giving up on the UK. Experience it all warts and all, I don’t mean to put you off, but be sure 1st, don’t just go cos the ‘Grass is always greener’. Maybe move somewhere nicer in the UK 1st. I wish I had……

tiredwithtwins

ouch!
but good on you for being so honest........hope it all comes better for you soon.

sue

Tiawamutu

Are there any positives aspects of living over there arkon?

nik

Wow!!! So why are you still there?