Hi guys

Me and DH are new to the forum. We are just starting the adventure that means an eventual move to Aus in the next few years.

DH is on the wanted list for jobs and as he has family over there, we will be looking at getting a sponserd skills visa.

While all that is great for him, what I'd do while there is the puzzle.

Over here, I am a benefits assessor. While not classed as a skilled job, it is quiet specialist. Have been doing this job for almost 6 years now.
Basically for those that aren't sure what the job is, I process benefit applications for Housing benefit for those who can't afford to pay the entire amout of their rent/council tax. (not the place to rant about those who should but that's a TOTALLY different story )

So my question is this. I know from doing some digging that Aus doesn't do housing benefit as such, but I feel that the skills I have had from dealing with the sort of claims I do, would be good to put to any simular jobs. I realise aus does have some kind of benefit system to help people out of work and with benefits for children but, and this is the big but, do these jobs come up often, if at all. Family assist and human services seem to be the area im looking at.

If these jobs dont come up, are there any jobs simular that I may be able to transfer my skills across to?

Sorry guys if none of this makes much sense, just getting a feel for things
xx

Best place to look: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/corporate/careers/

Not sure if you need to be a citizen or not to work there though!

Australia does have rent assistance paid to low income families. It is administered by Centrelink along with many other payments. This might be similar to what you do? http://www.centrelink.gov.au/interne...assistance.htm

Wow that is my job, well almost to a t!!

Thanks guys!

Now if I can get a job doing that that would make the move far less stressful for me, however do they come up??

You would need to be a citizen to work for Centrelink, or any other federal government agency/department. State government departments don't always have that requirement.

Damn, thats a few years before I can go back to what I do now then!

Suppose I could transfer my skills across to customer services again, though a long time since ive been in a call centre!

Commonwealth jobs are often, not always, located in Canberra. Maybe you should consider living there if Centrelink is mostly located in Canberra?

Have a look at some of the State Governments rather than the Federal one which controls Centrelink. Might by worth checking out each State's Dept which deals with Community welfare, Housing etc You need PR to work for most of them, but not the citizenship required for Centrelink.

eg http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/gateway/

Thanks, that site looks really positive.

Sorry for having to ask this (newby!) but what does PR mean?

Permanent Residency. Something you can get on entry if you have the right type of visa, otherwise you would have to do what I did and come on a temporary visa and apply for PR after an alloted time frame (2 years when I did it).

Yeah with hubbys skilled visa we will be coming in on a pr so thats ok then.

If you settle here then you qualify for Citizenship after a while too; four years in my case (from entry, not from when I got PR). Since I only got citizenship in August, I'm guessing it's still 4 years, but could change by the time you qualify.

Worth getting if you intend to travel in and out the country, otherwise you'll need a Resident's Return Visa after a certain period of time just to get back into Aus!

The Benefits industry here seems pretty big, so I'm prety confident there will be jobs.

Well that's some good news, not saying my job is the best in the world but after doing it for 6 years, would be nice to know all my training and skills are put to use in SOME way.

Sad thing is will be DH job that dictates where we live to start with so may end up settling to the right job comes up!

The other possibility is to consider working for a Housing Association and doing assessments for their lists.

You have talked about the job you do but do you actually have any qualifications like a diploma or degree related to the job?

That will make a big difference over here. Most jobs working with people will require specific qualifications.