Hi all, just wondering if anyone else is heading to Melbourne as an advanced child protection practitioner. Got the good news from the DHS a few weeks ago and we are headin to Ballarat so delighted!!! All has been a bit frantic as they want us out there end of Oct. Working on my 457 at the minute but biggest prob is selling the house complete nightmare.
Would lov to hear from anyone else heading out for social work job. Would be great to get some info on Ballarat, complete unknown as never been to OZ before. Thinking of maybe renting in Geelong as hubbie has to find work and the kids are going to UNI and TAFE
The Grants Sharon, Paul, Mark and Paula
Hi Sharon,
I'm coming too!!
Posted to the Geelong office.
Thinking of living in the Ocean Grove area.
Like you struggling to sell the house in time... eveything is a bit of a panic.
Just applied for 457. Have you booked your flights yet? Has your OT sorted work?
Hi Liz,
Great to hear from you and its brill you are going to Geelong office which is only about 40 minutes from the Ballarat office. Will be really good to meet up when we get there.
Everything a bit hectic at the min trying to sell the house and find somewhere to live when we get there.
We have been trying to check out suburbs around Geelong as my other half may have to travel to Melbourne for work. No flights booked yet, I wonder will there be any flexibility with the start date of 24th October.
Have my 457 completed and ready to submit but was unsure if the whole family required a poice check. Have you had your x rays done yet? dont know if they have to go with the application or are requested at a later date.
Really looking forward to the move and the relocation package is brilliant. Will be interesting to see what child protection sw is like in Oz compared to Belfast (at least we can be guaranteed some sunshine!!!). Good luck with your house sale, fingers crossed we both get buyers.
Would love to meet up, .. at this stage I feel like I've a mountain to climb before we get to Oz. Like you we have to sell our house.. which is just not easy. With the pressure of the october start date deadline I feel all I can do is reduce the house price (so far reduced £15k since it went up four weeks ago!!) I'm not sure whether DHS they are flexible yet with the dates. Have you heard anything?
I believe the police check is just for you. Mine has been received and their have not mentioned otherwise.
I called the hospital today to book the medical... but have seen from the Visa people that the results need to be attached to the visa documents. The cost is £81 per person.
Like you my OH needs to find work and will too look towards Melbourne. But, I understand that they are not allowed to actually apply for jobs until we have our visa ... Have I got that right?
Canberra has recently recruited for social workers and their advertised starting salary was $70k. There relocation was $12,000 so way above what we are being offered.
So far we have been told the budget for relocation is roughly £3600 or $6300 including flight, removals, and initial accommodation. Is that the same as they have offered you?
Do you know that there is no car scheme available and that you will need to get your own when you get there.
There is another girl on Poms in Oz who also got a job with DHS. However they were really rigid in the salary package they would offer her and wouldn't recognise her experience and current salary. Like us she was trying to sell her house but unsuccessfully. She learnt about an allowance paid to those relocating called the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA). Aparently ( although I know little about this yet and am still researching) this is an tax allowance granted by the employer to compensate the employee for having to move and incur additional costs. DHS turned her down for this and this ultimately led to her turning the job down. If and when I find out more about this I will let you know.
My contact in Oz is Sharlene Gillick Human resources ... Is your the same?
Its all very exciting, but overwhelming too.
Would love to hear back from ya
Liz x
PS sorry if I rambled .... I just had alot to get out... so someone who is going through the same as us!!
Hi Liz
Great to hear from you again and please feel free to ramble as I am doing this on a constant basis to everyone in work and the family.I just feel so under pressure with the house ( we have reduced by 25K but cant go any lower).
Had an agent out to discuss rental, its seems complicated but may be our only option. I read on the Go matilda Website that the Oz Government are providing you with tax relief if you are renting a property in the Uk because of the probs with the housing market here.
Cant believe what Canberra are offering that is so much bettert than what we are getting. One of the SW in work told me they were looking, but I didnt realise the package was so good. We have been offered about £6, 200 for relocation to cover everything for four of us ( hubby Paul and my son Mark and daughter Paula) relocating teenagers is also a nightmare as I am now discovering!!!
Its a pity they are only covering two weeks rent initially, a month would have helped us all get started. I am not sure if they find us accomodation before we arrive, not really been given much info about that.
My contact in Human resources is Jacqueline Bell and I have been chatting once to the Child Protection manager on the phone, Mellissa Riddiford who seems really nice.
It would be great if there was some flexibility with the start date (might email them about that to test the waters) although I think they are sending us to Melbourne for a weeks training around that date. We couldnt be the only ones having probs selling houses. I am not sure when to give my notice to the Belfast Trust (another dilema) would be great to have a couple of weeks to settle in before we take up post.
Geting accomodation and a car sorted is going to take time to organise and would be really difficult if we were working full time!
I have my 457 completed and saved online and I think it is ok for about 28 days. Going to get the meds booked this week. I have my police check and it would be great if that was the only one required for the visa. I think your right about our OH not being able to get work until the visa is through. Have you looked at health insurance yet, it was mentioned in the initial email from DHS but with so much else to sort will probably be a while yet before I get round to it.
Really great to have someone else going through all this as well. Very exciting but some days I panic thinking about what we have to organise.
Will be worth it in the end, Keep in touch look forward to hearing from you soon
Thanks for the info on the tax allowance ... at last it brings a glimmer of hope on the housing front.
25k is a big reduction in you house price. I hope it pays off. Like you we have made a decision to go and are trying to put plans in place but in such a difficult housing market it seems at times impossible!! Maybe renting would be a good option. I will email Jacqueline Bell to see if she has any further information on this ( unless you have asked her this already?) Like you she has been dealing with our visa in Victoria.
I agree with you we can't be on our own having difficulty selling our houses.. I wonder if that’s why the tax relief scheme has suddenly come into force. I'm sure there must be some flexibility with the dates especially as things are so economically slow here.
I'm not sure yet whether we will be eligible to get a car loan through work. My CP team manager said that they didn't whereas the HR manager Sharlene (Geelong HR) told me that they did. I will ask her about that and get back to you with what ever I find out.
We are bringing two dogs with us ... at a cost of nearly 5K ( gutted!!) So our relocation allocation is going towards this. So, we are selling everything on eBay and coming with only a couple of suitcases.
What type of work is your other half looking for? Has he approached any employment agencies yet?
I think the work will be interesting out there.. even the court process especially since there are no blessed 'children's guardians' !!
Really interesting to read your posts. You are both very brave taking the secondments - but it seems like too good an opportunity not to give it a go, particularly with the relocation package.
I am a Social Worker hoping to move to Sydney in the next couple of months. Don't have a job lined up and am hoping that there will be agencies that I can sign up with when I arrive. Any suggestions? My OH has dual citizenship so will hopefully find a job first and we have family to stay with until we rent somewhere.
Have worked in Youth Offending for 7 years and learning disabilities for the last year, so not sure what job I will end up with?!?
Good luck to both of you - I will be interested to hear how things go for the pair of you!
Liz - where abouts in West Yorks are you working? I am with Calderdale MBC at present.
Best Wishes
Gaynor
__________________ Granted Permanent Spouse Visa - 28th February 2008 Flights booked for 26th October Central Coast here we come...
Have you seen a posting today by Rachael Perkins from Reed Aus? She is looking for social workers .... and I don't think that it is all CP work. I believe the do have an office in Sydney too?
Alternatively if you get your visa sorted I think you will be able to apply directly to the LA for a post.
Booked xrays today.. now £81 each.
email tax our the enquiry about the tax relief tonight, when I get the reply I will let you know.
I also emailed Jacqueline about it as well as the LAFHA and she said that she will look into this.
Haven't sold my house today.. but I seem to be able to sell most of my furniture. Thing is.. everyone wants if for nothing ... all looking for a bargain. Hope I'm not left with a house I cant sell and no furniture ti sit on!!
Hi all, just wondering if anyone else is heading to Melbourne as an advanced child protection practitioner. Got the good news from the DHS a few weeks ago and we are headin to Ballarat so delighted!!! All has been a bit frantic as they want us out there end of Oct. Working on my 457 at the minute but biggest prob is selling the house complete nightmare
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