Zoot

Freecycle, Ziilch, Trash Nothing, Facebook community noticeboards and buy swap sell for your area, also a facebook group called something like Free Melbourne. Stuff being offered regularly. If you belong to a religious or sporting group ask around many people have stuff they no longer need but too good to junk.

Yeah seemed a bit odd to me too. Even if old passport had long expired I understood that a child of PR parents or citizenship parents automatically got PR. Would have Oz birth certificate etc. This sounded so strange and if it is indeed a change that could affect many other people in that their kids would need to apply for citizenship when they became adults.

This is one for the migration agents. On my local community noticeboard a lady posted that they had attempted to get passports for the family (previous passports having expired many years before) but they were advised that their now adult children would need to obtain a citizenship certificate in their own right before they could apply for a passport this despite having an Australian birth certificate and an Australian passport as children. Apparently this is a new ruling. Is anyone able to shed any light on this?

If you go for a house or a freestanding unit you have a much better chance than if its a flat. Ads generally say no pets if they definitely don't want pets but other than that just ask. I got a rental with cats as did my sister. If you see there are lots of dogs and cats in the area it makes it much harder to justify saying no. People can be destructive as much as pets can be so dont let some anti pet landlords put you off.

Where are you going to be working? Pakenham and Clyde are very far out if you need to commute to the city daily. What are you looking for in a suburb? Near to train, shops, sporting facilities? Are you looking for new developments, old established areas? So many variables. I live in the outer east suburbs of Melbourne. Its green and leafy with lots of bird life. I reckon its pretty safe. Of course there are good and bad bits but I have walked my streets at 3am and never felt unsafe. In the west of Melbourne there have been a lot of new developments which means young families.

Probably easier to look at your local buy swap sell facebook group, op shop, freecycle or something like that. Get the basics cheaply or even better free then when your stuff arrives pass it on. I have heard it works out very expensive and there are often minimal rental periods. At least if you own the stuff even if it is older if your shipment is delayed for any reason you wont have to worry about extending a contract on furniture. Op shops have heaps of plates and cutlery, some do furniture and basic appliances too.

If you have a good job in the UK then stick with it. Even if you went regional to a city like Adelaide your job opportunities are going to be extremely limited, it is much easier for companies to fly someone in from Melbourne or Sydney who has already established their reputation in Australia and who is connected. Even if you are the greatest IT expert that ever lived unless you can convince a company of that and they offer you a role in line with your expertise you will have to take whatever employment is offered to satisfy the work component of the visa (do you want fries with that ?). As far as i understand you are also not able to consult so you couldn't live in a regional town but do consulting work for a corporate in Sydney you have to work in that town which further limits your alternatives. Even if you were prepared to do that after 2 years will your knowledge and skills still be viable.

Look at meetup groups. There are all sorts of groups and you may find you can find a few for your different interests.

Basically you need to say why qld, what is it about qld that you and your family are looking for. So show you have looked at house prices, schools for kids (even if you havent actually written to schools just some info you have showing you have looked at schools), any community type groups you are active in and would be looking to get involved with in oz. Job wise show that even if you cant get work in your specific field you have researched alternatives. Places you may find work and where you would then be thinking of living. If you have made contact with any companies or professional groups include that. If your kids are interested in something specific e.g sport or music the research you have done regarding opportunities for that in qld.

Is it cold - yes - biggest problem is the houses are not insulated and often only have a small wall heater in one room. So even though the temps are maybe not as low as you get in the UK you really feel the cold as you cant warm the house. Stayed in one place in Adelaide that despite piling duvets blankets and looking like the Michelin man to go to bed I still couldnt get warm. Obviously if you live in the hills it is cooler than down nearer to the beach. The heat can be horrific - temps in excess of 40 degrees - you may get a week or two of that or a day or two depending on the year. The very problem then that makes the house so cold in winter kicks in for summer and then the house is too hot as the sun bakes down and warms everything up. So if you like Adelaide then go for it but realise that the temps do the up and down and work around it - stay inside if hot etc - dont let the weather put you off it is a lovely city.

Probably the easiest would be to look at properties further out with a larger block - obviously need room for the four legged family. Not all rentals that are pet friendly say pet friendly on the advert so just a matter of asking at the open for inspection or when you see the property advertised. The landlord has the option to say yes or no but the way I see it if you are someone who wouldnt take care of a property having animals wont make any difference and in some cases makes you a better tenant as you want things to be safe for your pets. Council have restrictions on the number of pets you can have some do the 3 cat 2 dog thing or 2 cat 3 dog etc - it makes no sense really as in my area the neighbouring council allows 3 cats 2 dogs and my council 3 dogs 2 cats. They will usually require a pet bond for the property. When you check out areas see if there are already heaps of pets around makes it more difficult to say no. Already cats in area, already dogs barking, being taking for walks etc etc. Never heard of muzzling of rotweilers - may be a local council rule so check with various councils to see what they say, which will also help you pick an area.

Done - sent an email to the minister.

Try op shops, gumtree, also look on freecycle and zilch

What about trying freecycle or zilch?

I understand exactly what you mean regarding the 475 - I had regional sponsorship to South Australia and battled stupidly for work and that wasnt because I had no skills or was so specialised that there was only one employer on the planet I could work for. I think an added issue is that employers are not familiar with the regional sponsored visa - they understand PR - no restrictions, student visa (limited working hours) and even WHV but a visa where there are no restrictions on the type of work or hours of work but only the geographical area of work freaks them out and with all the worry about employing people with no work rights then they rather go for the easy win. I wish I could suggest something to help - only thing I can think of is trying for general office work for you just as a stop gap. I imagine in your role as a groomer your must have done basic office stuff even if just filing a bit of invoicing etc and try talk that up to see if you can get something. Many people dont understand how difficult it is when you are restricted on area - cant work there not regional or cant do that not enough hours it needs to be full time etc. What about looking for work with pet shops or vets even boarding kennels - maybe someone there would be able to help. It is amazing how many people say that they know electricians / plumbers / builders etc that are turning away work so why are you struggling but bet they never tell you about those who cant get work. Hope you get some break through soon.