AllanScott

Thank you for your response. It certainly does come down to what works for you. It seems unfortunate that plumbing is a difficult trade to get in to over here with all your UK qualifications not counting for much. My husband has started the license process but it will take time and money. It is hard that what you have back in the UK counts for nothing over here. How long did it take your OH to gain his open license. In Queensland there is such a demand from TAFE to get your tickets and sustain a life while doing it. What type of business do you have if you don't mind me asking. My husband has considered going over to WA to get his license and then have it transferred to a qld license.

Hi Everyone, my family and I have only moved to the Australian east coast just 6 months ago. We are on a permanent skilled migration visa (190). I am a Plumber and Gas Engineer in the UK but know that doesn't mean very much over here. I have started the application for my Qld plumbing & draining license but it is looking like a lot of studying and almost going back to an apprenticeship stage. I was hoping that someone may have been in a similar situation before and got there license a quicker way. I am not sure if it is possible to do your license in another state and have it transferred. Any helpp or or advise would be greatly appreciated. many thanks, Allan

I have only recently moved to Australia and living in Shailer Park. My 2 kids attend Kimberley Park State school. It seems a great wee school and does accelerated learning for kids and helps kids also with special needs. I am enjoying living in Shailer park but most admit I would favour down closer to the coast in the future if things didn't work out here. The rentals are never up for long but that is only based on the last 4 months. The city is only 20 mins away and Coast about 30 mins. I do admit there are areas that I have seen that are not desirable but there are good and bad everywhere. In my opinion Daisy Hill, Shailer Park, Cornubia are all nice and have a good reputation for families. If you want to pay more then close to the city is nice too as well as the Gold Coast. Our reason for coming here was friends and can't complain so far. hope this helps.

Hi Paul, Has your mate been able to secure work ok? Does he have his qld Plumners license too? Yeah I did domestic and mostly central heating installations back home. Learning here as I go due to everything being done so different here. I hope to hear from an assessor to advise me on the next steps for the license. I sent of my resume to numerous agencies, replied to ads on gumtree and approached a few people on sites etc. I feel it is all down to luck but people keep saying it will pick up in next few months and more work will appear. If I hear of anything for commercial plumbing I will drop you a message. Cheers, Allan

Hi Paul, I have managed to get a job doing domestic plumbing. It is only a trial and been there a week. I registered with some agencies like hays, jobomas, job Rapido, career one and indeed. There are quite a few on these sites. I am still waiting on my provisional license. How long did it take you to get you qld plumbing license and what did it involve? i also put an advert on Gumtree. Cheers, Allan

No worries Laura. I will let you know how things go work wise for my husband. We had never met the couple we stayed with but now friends with them and they act like grandparent figures to our kids. Do some checks about places as its pretty expensive for hotels etc. yeah anytime, if I can help in any way I will. I know it's hard and it's the toughest thing leaving family n friends behind. Look forward to hearing from you, Susan

Hi Laura, I just replied to you other post I commented on. My 2 boys have settled great. My eldest who is now 6 went into school for the final 2 weeks and loved it. My baby who is 5 in April starts next Tuesday and is looking forward to it. Please do a not if research on the schools in the areas you hope to live in as some schools fair better than others. My boys are going to a state school but have a great reputation. The do composite classes which is not common here. The licenses etc look as if they may cost but if he has his 1&2 driving licenses he will get work. Do you have anyone you know that will be close by? we stayed with my husbands friends uncle and aunt who have been our saviour. Please keep in touch and I will help all I can. My email address is Susan-scott@hotmail.co.uk if you need any more advice, happy to help x

We are living in Shailer Park, Brisbane. It's a suburb between Brisbane City and the Gold Coast. My husband got a start with a plumbing company but it is a trial for now. You have to do 25 weeks probation before getting a contract. He finds its hard as plumbing is done very differently here. He has over 10 years UK experience. I am not working as I have 2 boys aged 6 & 4 and it is the school summer holidays here. I hope to start once the boys settle into school as my youngest is going into prep which is our primary one. I don't know about Adelaide but have noticed plenty of jobs for plumbing there. You will need to contact the relevant government agency to obtain the prov license but nothing is done in a rush. To keep your hopes up there are other types of work available such as labouring and other jobs that he can do until he gets this. hope it all works out for you but if you have any further questions I would be happy to help x

Hi Paul, I am about 30 minutes drive from the Gold Coast and only been here 9 weeks. I am a UK plumber and gas engineer with over 10 years experience. Can you tell me if you managed to get work ok and have you managed to obtain your Qld plumbing license. I have just managed to get some casual work but noticing the big difference on how things are done here. I have applied for my provisional license a couple of weeks ago but hearing it takes a while and even longer to get the full license which can be costly. any advice would be much appreciated. cheers, Allan

Hi, my husband is a UK plumber and we arrived 9 weeks ago. It is very different to the UK and seems like it will take some time to be an Aussie plumber. He has applied for his provisional plumbing license a couple of weeks ago. Waiting on them to contact us to advise what he needs to do next. There is work but depends on his experience etc. Where are you thinking of moving too?

Hi All, we got our 190 visas back in July and are making the move in 4 weeks over to Brisbane, no accommodation arranged as yet but looking at Southern suburbs at the moment. Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as we hope to get our boys into schools as soon as possible. If anyone can recommend schools and areas that would be a great help. Also liking the sound of a relocation agent too. I am a plumber/gas engineer (38) and my wife Susan (37) works in private banking/stockbroking administration. We have 2 sons 6 & 4. We stayed in the Gold Coast in July 2012 for a holiday and loved the lifestyle. I understand I need to get my plumbing license, does anyone know how to go about this? Once we arrive it would be great to come along to the get togethers and get the chance to chat with other people in the same boat. The nerves are well and truly kicking in eeeekkk

Thanks to everyone but Michael your post is a great help. Most of the feedback we have had not been positive and gave us great concern over if we were doing the right thing. I will speak to my husband and be in touch as we are yet to apply for our visa. We are not sure of our exact destination but likely NSW or QLD. Quick question....have you completed all your college work and found a job?

My husband is a plumber/gas engineer. He has completed the vetasses test but now unsure of what else he will be required to do to be able to work in oz. We are heading to NSW, not sure yet of exact part. The information we are reading on tradies is a little off putting as it appears it could take some time in additional training to convert all his experience into Australian qualifications. Anyone able to advise of the process and possible costs. We still want to follow our dream of moving over but deeply concerned as to what needs to be done. We have 2 boys of 3 & 5. I work in finance but need to settle the boys before I look for full time work. Seriously worried on how we can achieve an income while going through the additional training and length of time it will take. Any advice would be greatly appreciated:smile: Cheers, Susan

This is a great thread, really helpful. I just got my ielts results and now ready to apply to vet assess. Can you tell me what paperwork/work evidence they require and if they supply tools if you don't take your own? It seems next test in uk is 3 weeks away and am not sure if I will manage to gather everything in time depending what they require. Ay help would be much appreciated Cheers, Allan

We are from Glasgow and been told that if the score is 8's for IELTS we can lodge an independent but if 7's our only choice is state. Our preferred state is Queensland (gold coast) as we have family there but they are not offering state option to plumbers. We would be happy to try Victoria as they are offering state to plumbers. We did free assessment and scored 70 points. Agent said after IELTS & skill test we would then be able to decide. We have no medical issues and are in good health. Just want to go down best route to achieve best result. Just home 3 weeks from gold coast and would love to go back at earliest opportunity. Appreciate your advice, glad we joined this forum as it helps settle any uncertainties.