Hello Darren
Welcome to Poms in Oz.
How old are each of you and your wife respectively, please?
I think you are right about your current skills-sets. My understanding is that your wife would not count as an Accountant for the purposes of independent migration, though an employer-sponsored visa, probably in regional Australia, might be a possibility for her, I guess.
As far as Drivers of anything are concerned, the major road-haulage companies in Oz have had a heck of a job to convince the Government that there is a need to allow employer-sponsorship for Heavy Truck Drivers provided the Drivers will be engaged in the mining or construction industries in Regional Australia. They will not allow sponsorships for Furniture Removalists or ordinary Delivery Drivers. So realistically I would say that the chances of DIAC agreeing to an employer sponsored visa for a Driving Instructor could well be zero, even in Regional Oz.
Please study the ASCO Code, which is here:
http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausst...$File/asco.pdf
Driving Instructor is on Page 474 and use the page numbering in the Code itself, not what Adobe says about the page numbering. The alphabetical index of occupations and page numbers is at the back of the document.
Driving Instructor is in Major Group 6: therefore in theory it is not impossible for the ENS or (more likely) the Regional Employer Concessions under the RSMS visa:
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 119/857)
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 119/857)
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 119/857)
Theoretically it is not out of the question. Realistically, one would probably have a better chance of getting an RSMS visa for a 57 year old nurse who is willing to live and work in Darwin, however, I would suspect.
When the entry level requirements laid down in ASCO are relatively low, it is extremely difficult to convince the Regional Certifying Bodies that the employer really can't find a home-grown Aussie who could do the job instead of bringing in a migrant to do it.
If one or both of you are still comfortably under 45, one or other of you would be able to re-train for a new occupation in the UK, preferably one which is on the current MODL and is likely to remain on it:
Is your occupation in demand? - Workers - Visas & Immigration
The MODL is usually revised twice a year. The last occasion was 17th May 2008.
A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information
Alternatively, at least pick a 60 point occupation from the ASRI list, I would suggest.
If time is tight because of your age, then a Student Visa in Oz is a last-resort possibility, though that would use all of your £50,000 available capital, I suspect. Nonetheless, if you are willing to put everything into your dream, a Student visa can provide a pathway to Permanent Residency either via skilled independent migration post-graduation or via employer-sponsored migration.
Students - Visas & Immigration
Ring round some reputable registered migration agents, I would suggest. The good ones do not charge for 15 minutes or so on the phone discussing possible options with you:
Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Visa, Tax, and Financial Planning for Australia
Registered Australian Migration Agents, UK - Ian Harrop and Associates
John Mumford of the Visa Unit has a very good reputation and is said to know all about Student Visas if you are minded to consider that possibility:
Visa Unit - the emigration experts
Ask again on here before settling on any particular Agent and before paying any of them any money, I would suggest:
Best wishes
Gill
Gill