iamthecreaturefromuranus

Fair point. So long as all 457's are exempt from paying any tax at all and subsidising your kids and healthcare. Only fare.

mrsgreenstar76

It astonishes me that people are whinging about the school fees. Surely you would have done research before moving over there, and so would have been aware of it? Why move to a country & then start bemoaning how they run their system?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Because its still a scam, no matter if you were aware of it in advance or not.

mrsgreenstar76

It's not a scam. They're entitled to recoup the costs of educating kids that may not end up contributing to the Australian economy. If people are so against it, why not put off migrating/return home until the kids have finished their schooling?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Sorry but it IS a scam by NSW and the ACT. If it were about recouping costs then ALL the states would do it. Even if you educate your kids privately you STILL have to pay the school fees in NSW.

mrsgreenstar76

Maybe the other states should start charging. Did someone force you to move to Australia? Did they force you to move to ACT or NSW? If the answer's no, then you've chosen to accept those fees.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

What is it about people that makes them think 457's are fair game in some way?
If all the States started charging ALL migrants for their kids education for, say the first five years they were in the country, every bastard and his dog would be up in arms about it, but because some people are on a 457 visa, others seem to think it's a marvellous idea to sting them. I don't get it.

mrsgreenstar76

457's are meant to be temporary. Hence the kids of said 457 holders are potentially never going to contribute to the Australian economy. So why should they receive a subsidised education? Yes, a lot of 457 holders move on to more permanent visas, but there are undoubtedly still a fair few that don't - i.e. they do their temporary stint over there & then leave.

moneypenny20

But that still doesn't mean it's right. For many people the only way into Aus is via the 457. Whilst 457 holders to NSW and ACT are aware of the fees, and know that even if they can't find a suitable, decent quality public school (which you can't know until you're here) and so have to choose to go private, they still have to pay either government the public fees as well doesn't make it right and doesn't mean they shouldn't attempt to change the rules for future 457 holders.

It is one of the unfairest rules going imo and I landed with 'free' education waiting for my daughters. There is no logic or reason to it and for only two out of eight states/territories confirms to me that it's just a greed tax. The governments are treating the 457 holders as second class citizens whilst taking full taxes from them and preventing them from claiming benefits. It's nothing to do with future workers, it's greed, pure and simple.

mrsgreenstar76

I quite agree. I think that education & healthcare should be free to everyone, but people have chosen to move there, and by doing so, they accept their rules. If people want it to be more like it is in their home countries, they should stay in their home countries. I'll never understand people moving to someone else's country, just to complain that they're not getting the things that they used to.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

What percentage of migrants return home in the first few years. How many of their kids don't stay in Australia? I could make a perfectly reasonable case that all migrants should pay for their kids education until they have lived in Australia for at least four years.

Seriously, the perception of many, about 457 workers, is that they are all minted, being paid vast amounts in wages and screwing the system. That's the sort of rhetoric that was bandied about during the recent justification for the removal of LAFHA for most 457's. The reality is nothing like that. Most 457's are just your 'ordinary Joe' and having some State's screw them over, primarily because they can't complain about it anyway, stinks.

moneypenny20

They're not. They're complaining that there's not a level playing field in the country. They're expecting a first world democratic country to treat their migrants fairly. In this instance, it's not complaining about things being different, people are bringing an unfair law to the notice of the public is how democracy works. They're not complaining that they can't get Tesco Finest here. (well some are but that would be in a different thread )

mrsgreenstar76

I don't know many people that think of 457 holders as 'minted'. There's no doubt that the majority would be 'ordinary Joe's', but migration isn't a necessity (with the exception of refugees). They don't have to migrate, especially if they dislike the way the states run their affairs. No one is holding a gun to their heads.

mrsgreenstar76

I'm perfectly aware of how democracy works, thank you. They're complaining 'it's not fair' about someone else's country that they have voluntarily chosen to go to. They didn't have to uproot their children & move them across to the other side of the world. It's part & parcel of what they accepted when they chose to move there.

pumpkin blossom

Another reminder that the 457 visa is temporary. That isn't the only visa the fees apply to. Student visas (children of the person studying), 485 visas. All the same. I guess they would argue that until you have pr you are expected to leave at the end of their visa.

Interestingly there was an article on the daily mail today about the money the nhs has spent treating visitors who are not actually entitled to free health care. Similar vein.