Clareevans

Hi,
We're literally just starting out on our journey to move to Australia - we're based in Edinburgh and after talking seriously about the big move 5 years ago, stayed put for a few more years, then decided more recently that you really only do live once and we should stop talking about it and just give it a go!

My husband is a social worker (degree qualified 11 years ago and working in adult care, children with disabilities and more latterly with CAMHS) and so we're about to apply for a 189 visa.
We're going to attend a seminar run by the Visa Bureau tomorrow, which I'm hoping will give us more information, but we have so many questions, and would love to hear from anyone with any advice.

We are married, have 3 children aged, 14,11 and 7, so are hoping to be able to secure some kind of employment before we go, and that's IF we manage to secure a visa.

I'm a self-employed bookkeeper, and interested in completely retraining over there, possibly studying, and hopefully working part-time to fund this.

Are there any social workers on here who have made the move? How have you gotten on, how and when did you apply for jobs, and have you got any advice?

Also, we've got the big school questions too - our 14 year old is about to move into 4th year, which means exams for her next year. She's super keen to try something new, but I don't know a huge amount about schooling over there. My younger 2 are slightly easier, as my 11 year old would likely move into a lower year, and this would suit him well.

Anyway, for fear of this post getting longer and longer, I'll leave it there for now - any stories, advice, information etc etc would be so much appreciated. We're drawn to NSW at the moment, but very open to moving anywhere on the east coast tbh.

Bermudashorts

You are probably better advised to ask questions about jobs and schooling in the main Australia forum. This is the immigration area, purely about getting a visa and fewer people read in here. The general visa process is much the same regardless of occupation, so you don't need to find other social workers for visa questions, not unless they are getting right into the details anwyay.

quoll

Social workers tend to fall into two camps, those who think the practice in Aus is criminal and others who think it is the best thing since sliced bread. I've been away a long while but there was a shed load who found ACT to be less than idyllic (the sw practices not the place) and who left in droves. They didn't have the qualifications to be registered to practice elsewhere either so were really hung out to dry. Hopefully things have sharpened up since then.

I must say that back in the day when we had UK sws arrive into the system it was a breath of fresh air because there was (gasp) consultation with all stakeholders etc that didn't last long however and the good ones left. As I said, hopefully it has improved in the last few years. CP is always looking out for fresh meat.