carcajou

Do you mind me asking - if your daughter wants to come, and you want to come, and your husband is in an in-demand field, and your other daughter still has 5 years to go - why not then just come back?

You are right, there are usually teaching positions in mining towns, and if not something will usually pop open relatively quickly if you go on the relief circuit. Just be mindful that schools in mining towns are often TOUGH, and keep following the state of teaching in Queensland closely (ie the union contracts etc). No guarantee the transfer point system or central appointments will stay in place, that would have severe implications for you if they go, and be sure you understand the conditions on your non-practising registration and keep them up. I know someone in another state who accidentally let hers lapse, and even though she caught it quickly, they still dropped her down to graduate level and made her re-do the whole shebang (portfolio etc) before giving her full registration again.

comet555

That's a fair question. I'm equally happy in both countries and I'd like to go back someday but don't have a date in mind as of yet. We just relocated across Canada to BC about a year ago and just moved into a new house in October. We have moved a fair bit and my husband has changed jobs a bunch of times as a result. We are now 40 years old and I feel like he really needs to stay at one job for a while as it looks bad employment wise if you change places every 3 years. So we'll stay put for a while and enjoy a little stability. Once the kids are gone it's possible we will come back. I imagine if the youngest goes there too the decision would be made fairly quickly! He hasn't expressed any interest in that yet but he's only 12 so he's got time.

Also, my teaching experience too quite a hit too. I left my teaching job when we moved to Australia and then didn't teach for the 3 years while we were there. When we moved back to my hometown I couldn't get on the teaching list as they had an oversupply so it didn't take long to be away for a solid 10 years. I've just now gotten back into it here in BC so want to build up a few years before making changes.

My husband also loved Australia but he very much missed the winters and cold weather (no idea why). But he definitely loved his time in Australia and also has said he'd love to move back at some point. I feel like it's a discussion we will have once the kids are out of the house and at least in University or almost done.

I'm not overly concerned about the teaching qualifications holding up while I'm away. If they don't transfer over then I can always do something else. I'm not super picky and I love office work. I just like to do something to keep busy. In the very least I will have current teaching experience in Canada so that should help.

tomcruise

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1. Application Deadlines - it seems applications are due around November of each year. Could she apply much earlier if she finishes high school in Jan or June? Alternatively is it easy to defer studies for a year so that she would start the following January?
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Application open Aug 5th and for competitive courses (mostly medicine), it closes Sept 30. For most other courses, you can apply till Nov for 1st round offers in Dec. Late applications are allowed for many non competitive courses.
Here are TACs (Tertiary Application Centrres)
Vic ==> https://www.vtac.edu.au/
NSW ==> https://www.uac.edu.au/
Qld ==> https://www.qtac.edu.au/
SA/NT ==> https://www.satac.edu.au/
WA ==> https://www.tisc.edu.au/static/home.tisc
Tasmania ==> https://www.utas.edu.au/admissions/undergraduate
NZ ==> google Auckland/Otago/Cantebury etc
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2. Semesters - I'm assuming most students start university at the end of February. Is it relatively common for students to start in the second semester instead? I just think it would be easier for her to start along with the majority of students but arriving for term 2 would give her more time to move back to Australia.
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Yes, Feb 21st or so. Yes, a lot of courses have entry points in Sem 2 . Some Universities operate trimester systems and you can enter in Trimester 1 / Trimester 2/ Trimester 3. Having said that, quite a few professional courses have single entry in Semester 1 only.
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3. ATAR scores - I have found some grade equivalency charts from Canada to Australia. I've seen ATAR rankings mentioned a lot. I'm assuming she wouldn't be able to get one of those unless she lived in Australia. Is there a benefit to writing the american SAT test so there is another comparison?
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For Canadian graduates, there is no requirement to sit the SAT exam. The TACs have a way to convert Canadian qualifications into local equivalent that the universities understand. Don't worry too much about it.
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4. HECS loans - Since she is a citizen I know she can apply as a domestic student. Does that also mean she can get a commonwealth supported place as well (I'm not sure if that's the same thing or not)? It appears as though she can also get a HECS loan too. Are there any requirements that we need to be currently living in Australia prior to university? Since we are Canada it would be a big move for her so it's important that she be able to get a loan for her studies. Is this income tested?
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She can apply to all CSP places which only locals and NZ citizens can apply to. She will not have to pay a single cent for tuition while in Uni as she can put it to HECS and only need to start paying that off through salary deduction when she graduates and is employed with income above a thresh hold of about 42K or above. This is only for tuition. It is not applicable for accommodation which is not covered by HECS. I think it is different in Canada where one can get loans for both tuition and accommodation. Here, children of parents drawing family benefits (similar to welfare in Canada) are eligible to get accommodation assistance. It is not a loan and need not be paid back.
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5. LAW degrees - She's still figuring out what she wants to do. It's looking like law or some type of criminology degree are her favourite options. Is there much demand for either of these careers? Any good universities that would be great for this? She seems to be maintaining around a 90% average and is very motivated and focused so I'm hoping that stays the same!
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With 90% average, she will be eligible for most law schools except USyd/UNSW. Melbourne is a graduate entry Law school and one need to take LSAT for entry after bachelors. In Australia, Uni Melb and UWA operate graduate model for all professional courses while the rest are mostly undergraduate entry, except medical schools which are half undergrad and half graduate entry. For UNSW, you need to write the LAT exam. The ATAR for USyd Law is 99.5 which is quite high. For the likes of ANU/UQ, it is OP2/ATAR 97-98. For most others, it is available for much lower ATAR like 80. For a look at past intake , take a look at these stats:
https://www.uac.edu.au/assets/docume...er-round-2.pdf
https://www.qtac.edu.au/courses-inst...ankinformation
Almost all TACs have similar stats available for review
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6. Under 18 years old (issues?) - I know she won't be the first kid to go off to University but I'm wondering if there could be issues given that she will be just 17 when she goes. We would still be in Canada so she would be on her own for the most part. I do have some friends from Brisbane area I still keep in touch with on Facebook so hopefully we'll at least have an emergency contact there. I'm just thinking any government dealings like getting drivers licences, health care, etc, would there need to be parent signatures? She would turn 17 the December before she graduates (in either Jan/June) so that's why it would be preferable if she could arrive a bit later and start with her age cohort the following January.
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There would be age restrictions for some courses that require people contact e.g medicine, dentistry, physio etc. But I don't think there is an age requirement for Law school but I could be wrong. Some universities don't have age restrictions (eg UON) I believe.
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comet555

rammygirl

comet555