Gavilon18

Thanks everyone.

Hi, all - hopefully a quick one to check my understanding. My Occupation appears on the skilled occupation for both 190 and 491 (Finance Manager). Looking at most states there are restrictions on the 190/491 visas that exclude this from their specific requirements. I can't see anything on the Victoria migration pages to suggest that there are any restrictions that would prevent me from applying - priority sectors certainly but no exclusions. Have I missed something? As a second point if I were to submit a ROI for a 190 would it also be considered for a 491? My understanding was that South Australia did this last year? I should serve as a warning to anyone who is thinking of applying but putting it off - over the last year my options have gone from Western Australia / SA / Victoria to pretty much a fingers crossed on Victoria as the year rolled on. Basically do it now if you are thinking about it!! I did look at the Global Talent stream as I do fit into 'Senior management of universities and institutions of higher learning such as vice-chancellors, presidents, deans and heads of school or their international equivalents' but I have on global recognition unfortunately

Have spoken to a couple just to get a view on the best approach so far. if you are fixed on WA then I’d definitely suggest looking at what your husbands situation can give you.

You’re at an identical position to me, I’ve been advised to forget about a 189 and go for a 491 or 190. The only options seem to be South Australia, NT or Victoria for a 491 or Victoria for the 190. im in the process of assessing the job market for newly arrived FDs/CFOs before putting the application in

Hi, sorry to hijacker’s the thread but it’s fairly relevant. specifically in SA does anyone know how the foreign surplus works on a land and new build package? I’ve found lots of references to the surplus bring on land. But can’t find a clear answer on whether this is just terminology for the whole build or if it just so applied to the land transaction, and/or how this alters if you buy the land on its own and in a separate transaction take on the builder/ build cost. TiA

I had an initial consultation with DUC yesterday and when I mentioned that I was interested in WA or SA, ideally WA but VISA options pretty much non existent there, the response was apply for SA as you will get the VISA but as its a moral obligation and not a legal obligation to reside there you can just go to WA. As there is a chance of the visa being a 491 and therefore a need to convert to PR I'd be a bit nervous on taking this course of action

Thank you for the response. That was my thoughts/fear on the 189, I just won't be competitive enough points wise. And yes, the IELTS is first on the list before even touching the application. I use a lot of 'correct' or structured English in my job and a small sample of practice tests online give me confidence that I will at least get sufficient points for proficient but the aim is obviously superior. Its then 100% an agent led application, with the right strategy I think 75 points is achievable which looks like it may be enough on a 190 for WA.

Evening all, Would it be worth pursuing a 190 application with 65 or 70 points for WA? I've worked out points wise I get 15 for age, 20 for language skills (subject to IELTS), 10 for work experience, 15 for qualifications, 5 for partner skills and 5 for nomination - giving me 70. I may struggle to get sufficient evidence for a skills assessment for more than the last 5 years due to working for large multinationals and no remaining contacts in them, overall I have 12 years at the level in the role description, 19 years of finance experience overall. I'd be applying as a Finance Manager, although I can't quite work out if I would be eligible for the vanilla 190 route or if it falls into the graduate stream, in which point I would fall down on not having any Australian experience The other option potentially is for a 189 as a general accountant where I would lose the 5 nomination points but would still be able to get 65-70 points depending on the evidence I can get for my experience. Kinda realised it's now or never for looking at getting a visa, nothing like seeing an age cut-off to make you realise that you're getting on in years :-(

I'm not so sure on the solicitors point - I know a good population of people who have a law degree and LPC qualifications spread back from 2003 to 2010 and who have really struggled to get a good training contract, most have gone into different industries. Things will be improving since 2010, but unless you are in the South East there is likely to be a lot of pent up supply chasing roles. In general the South East is doing good, the rest of the UK notably slower. Not a dead market by any means but its not like in the early 2000's. I'm also a little sceptical on the UKs performance in the next few years, our recovery has been based on govt support for mortgages and PPI. Take the PPI out of the equation in a couple of years and consumer spending pretty much disappears - I work for a consumer financing arm of a bank and our medium term plans look a lot tougher now than they did 6 months ago. Not trying to put a downer on plans to move back, but scratch beneath the headlines and things aren't as rosey as they might appear so be prepared for a tough landing - in exactly the same way as you would if you were looking to move UK to Aus.

Thanks everyone for the replies, I'm a little stuck for applying before next year with some personal things going on so will have to keep my fingers crossed that we get another 12 months on the SOL, happy to spend a few hundred on IELETS and skills assessment but can't start the formal application process just yet. Interesting comments on the experience validity, have seen the description of finance manager vs. accountant and agree that my job title suggests the former - indeed if the type of job you could go for was dependent on this then I would be going for the finance manager (albeit not on the SOL currently), however my job descriptions that I will be using as the basis of my skills assessment are bang on for accountant (excluding the auditing which it seems like I don't need to bother with regardless of how close or not it is). I've taken on board the RMA point for this, having first thought that the skills verification would be the simple bit! Oh and Ozmaniac, next you'll be telling me that I've been wasting my team researching Australia through watching Home and Away or Neighbours - they must surely be representative of the Aussie way of life??!! Thanks again for everyone replying, I'll be back once the application starts next year.

Hi all, So right at the beginning of the journey and adventure, timescales for emigrating are mid 2016 – on the face of it loads of time :wink:. Possible destinations are Perth (due to knowing a few people in the area) or Brisbane-ish, dunno why but a gut feeling tells me that in the next couple of years Queensland will be a better bet for employment. I completely get that the market is tough out there, but I’ve navigated a dead South Wales market successfully and up for the challenge – plus things can change around in 18 months. Kinda just wanted to say hi really, will be a fairly passive member for a while but I’m sure that once the process begins in earnest you’ll see more of me. I do however have a few questions that hopefully people can chime in with their opinions. Should start by saying I’m an accountant, ACA qualified in 2006 with a full employment history since then – 1 year post qualification with PwC (auditor), 2 years with a local manufacturing firm in South Wales, 4 years with GE and now at Barclays (1 year and counting) (all as a financial controller). I would be looking at a 189 or 190 visa. Sooo, skills assessment looks fairly straightforward and I can get to 8 years post qualification experience as of the end of September this year but question 1 – would auditing be a closely related experience for a general accountant? Question 2 also on employment history, I have listed my employers deliberately – a potential issue could be in getting the confirmation of employment from PwC, GE and Barclays. Their policy on references is that they will confirm dates and job title, but very little else – I’m sure others have worked for companies with similar policies so interested in how they found HR when requesting these - would a job description suffice? Question 3: Due to the skills assessment I need to sit IELETs, do these have an expiry date like the medicals and PCC or could I sit these now? I guess the same question applies to the skills assessment (I'd be going via ICAA/ICAAN)? Finally for now…. Looking at the points on offer I can get between 60 and 80 (depending on whether I include my current and PwC employment and IELETS score) and as of now I can see Accountancy on the skills list for Queensland. If I was to go for a sponsored visa in QLD do the points matter or is it a case of anyone meeting the minimum requirements are considered equally? In an ideal world I wouldn’t be asking for a reference from my current employers for the visas I would rather they didn’t know that I may be leaving (on a base level bonuses will be funding the move and first few months post landing so need to maintain an illusion of staying). Actually I lied – one more! I have seen adverts for ‘Down Under Live’ in Birmingham in October, did anyone go to these events during their journey and are they worthwhile visiting? Off to enjoy a cold Fosters now and fire up the BBQ, getting into the spirit early :cool: Thanks for reading, look forward to pestering you all more down the line Gav

Thanks everyone, thats what I had read via Google and good to get some confirmation.

Hi all, First post so go easy please - hopefully this is in the correct sub-forum! Currently going through an IVF cycle and looking to emigrate to Aus at the middle of 2016 (fingers crossed accountants remain on the SOL or at least the CSOL!). If the IVF is unsuccesful then we ould be looking at adoption - either in the UK before emigrating or after landing in Aus, just wondering if anyone has had experiences of either and has any advice or things we should be looking out for in terms of potential pitfalls? I guess my initial thoughts would be on whether we would be able to emigrate as soon as an adoption is finalised in the UK, or if we adopted in Australia whether we would need Australian references or if they can come from the UK? Grateful for any shared experiences or advice. Thanks, G