Hi all I am Dave, I am not new to this site but I do not post as I have very little to offer in the way of experience of the Visa process.
I Have an AQF 111 in painting and decorating obtained in England through Australian Construction Training Services.(April 2009).
TRA 4421-11.(June 2009)
Ielts 8.5 (Sept 2009)
Applied online Visa Subclass 175.(Nov 2009)
SS WA.(March 2010)
Visa Subclass changed to 176.( April 2010).


For the last 3 years or so I have been reading posts on this site for information and so on and have found it to be excellent.
People like George Lombard who submit information at their own expense and all the moderators who continue to work hard for us.
So a Big Thank you to all of you!!.

I only have one complaint!
Over the years I have noticed a big change in the people posting on this site.
The people are the same as me looking for information about how to get to Australia but with one fundamental difference, they are not British, half cannot speak or write English either so this leads me to think they cannot read English as the site title says British Expats.
It is so frustrating to try and find relevant information now as the posts get hijacked by people who do not understand.
I have looked at a fair few of the people's qualifications and quite a lot are computer based so why can't they build a web site and get it hosted and use it.

Sorry for the rant

Don't you think that's a bit harsh? We're ALL in the same boat here - researching emigration, applying for emigration or have completed it. Yes, the name of the site *is* British Expats, and as is mentioned in the "Cultural Understanding" post that is pinned at the top of the forum, it is primarily aimed at Brits, but that doesn't mean that others aren't welcome. I actually think it's good to have input from other people who are in the same situation but in different parts of the world. It's positive to have different people's experiences and perspectives. Plus, since we're all looking at moving to a foreign country, I think it would stand us in good stead to be helpful and polite to people who are not British! As for the English comprehension/language, I know plenty of Brits that have worse language skills (unfortunately!)!!

If you're having problems locating a particular topic/thread, you could use the search bar or make a post, and I'm fairly sure there will be someone that will be happy to help find the info that you need

You'll fit in well here, good luck with the move ...

What a selfish attitude - those non-Brits are not deliberately hijacking posts!

Translation: " I dislike better-educated, non English-speaking minorities and hope to avoid most of this type by emigrating to Australia."

Good luck in your future endeavours, mate.

Agree me with poster first before David.

Worlds not to coming what.

Sorts all takes it.

Wil me in ostalia can git free job.

but they do and they can be bloody rude too
do a quick search for bermudashorts the good lady tries to help and just gets abuse mostly from our friends on the sub continent

Some people really should read Sue's post on Cultural Understanding in the Immi forum. The site doesn't need to be strictly a "British Expats" site - in fact it would be a much poorer place if it was but some of the non-English speakers on here these days to need to read the rules, and also listen to some of the requests the mods/Admin make of them.
The OP mentioned the constant "whats your timeline"questions. They annoy us as much as everyone else. This isn't a timeline site and if people do want to share them we just ask that they put them in their signature. However some posters ignore this and ask over and over again for people to share the minute details of when each document was submitted. The situation in the Immi forum is better than it was, in that the questions aren't lost so much now amongst the timeline queries, but it would still be useful if people would read the Rules and the usage guidelines in Immigration before they launch themselves in feet first

What, like this? :-

There are rules

I know - I'm shocked too LOL

Oh fook

...........we are doomed.

I think someone did read them once......

Oh gawd its gonna be fun trying to get you through IELTS next year isn't it