Hi Gary
Welcome to Poms in Oz (and Louise and the girls, of course.)
Hun, there is nothing cheeky about asking for help if you feel you need it.
Whether or not to use an Agent is a very personal decision. A lot of people handle their own applications and if they have the right sort of temperament and aptitude for swotting evrything up, they usually managge OK on their own.
Others are less cofident (and/or too busy to be able to do a PILE of research) and they prefr to have an Agent guiding them through the whole process.
The skills assessment is often more difficult than the visa-application itself. Some people use Agents for the skills assessment and then do the rest by themselves, which can sometimes save some money.
The best thing is to ring several agents and see which ones you warm to and which ones not because it is essential touse an Agent whom you feel comfortable with. Most of them are happy to have an initial chat on the phone free of charge, to help you to get started. But it is certainly not compulsory to use an Agent by any means.
One thing that is militating considering using an Agent just at the minute is that some fairly dramatic alterations to the legislation are due to be implemented on 1 September 2007. These changes will skew the Points Test in favour of some applicants but they will also skew it against some other applicants, who may be left short on points as a result.
Have you discovered the DIAC website yet? If not, it is here:
http://www.immi.gov.au/
Shout if you have more queries at any time. There will always be someone around who can help pretty quickly.
Cheers
Gill