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Hi you guys sound like us we spent 6 years in Oz and have been back for 6 years. I guess u feel like us that there is little future here, I would definitely give it a crack ur not too old to move and if u can get a visa go for it! we are 42 and hoping to be back Oct/ nov

The UK's approach to Covid was to basically do nothing, then spend the rest of the year scrambling to manage the consequences of that decision. Case numbers spiralled, hospitals filled up and cancer treatments etc were delayed/cancelled as you say. The reason conquering covid is more important than any other consideration, is because defeating it means normal life resumes and focus returns to all other matters. Australia is a good example of that - Covid is more or less eliminated as as such, cancer treatments are going ahead as normal, the economy is ticking along nicely and people are mostly living normal lives. Compare to the UK where dealing with covid wasn't prioritised and you see cancer treatement postponed, mental health issues from long-term lockdowns, economy struggling, hospitals overwhelmed etc. The evidence is increasingly clear that coutnries that went for elimination have better performing economies and those that did not (the UK) have noticed this and are starting to implement Australia style policies (albeit far too late). Australia has done very well, partly due to a rapid response and partly due to luck. Separately, the reason colds and flu disappeared last year is beacuse of personal hygiene, mask wearing, social distancing, lcokdowns etc. Like Covid, other viral and bacterial infections were unable to spread through the population, so colds and flus 'disappeared'. It shows the approach worked. What we're seeing now, with normal life resuming, is an uptick in colds and flus as people intermingle again, offering the opportunity for colds and flus to spread. I would't be at all surprised if Flu deaths in the elderly rose significantly this year due to delays in vaccination, to prioritise covid vaccinations. I should note that those deaths would still pale in comparison to Covid running rampant as covid is NOT flu. On the last point, the reason we dont quarantine people with colds and flus is because the mortality rate is so low. As brutal as it sounds, its not the deaths per se that led to lockdowns and closed borders, it was the potential for the health system to collapse under the weight of covid hospitalisations, which would have led to additinoal deaths unrelated to covid (one you mentioned, lack of cancer treatment but also other 'minor' health issues that hospitals deal with, but couldnt if overwhlemed with covid). So yes people die from flu, but not to the level that overwhelms the health system, rarely in healthy people (unlike covid) and as MArrisa says, flu doesnt have long-term health consequences.

I would just caution, go back and read your posts from when you were in Australia, gritting your teeth and sticking it out until you could get your citizenship because you couldn't wait to get home. Make sure those reasons aren't still there!

Hi LucaLeon, when was the last time you and your partner were in Australia? Are you concerned about the age cut-off for any potential visa application or are you concerned about your job prospects in Australia? I suggest you do a bit of job market research before making any decisions.

Actually, as per discussion with my lawyer, DHA is considering many factors. Besides from salary, there are other things like nature of business, genuine of position, cash flow, BAS statement, ratio - number of Australian(Citizen/PR) compare to non-Australian(temporary visa holder), nationality of applicant (I just guess, but this can be as well, I think they try to diverse the community as you might know that the majority of individual skilled visa (189/190) are taken by only certain nationalities) In conclusion, I just want to say that lower salary doesn’t mean nomination will be refused. The job is to make DHA satisfy with the paperworks and nomination application. Also, I don’t think it is possible to just tell your boss to increase salary for the nomination to be approved ?? They control all financial stuff, don’t they ?? If salary is not reasonable, DHA might suspect that you are buying a PR as well ?? From my research around here, most refusal reason is unstable financial status like DHA don’t trust that the business will be able to pay that salary in next 2 years. I haven’t seen any case of salary too low before (but I’m sure there were before) My case, as my opinion, I think it is very weak (low salary - I cannot tell but it is very low - you might not believe that my nomination is approved if I told you my number - I still think that CO might pressed the wrong button, simple programmer task without complexity or specialise in the field, small company, etc.) but my nomination was approved in 3 days. It depends on your agent experiences as well. I suggest that just let your company submit it and wait. If it is refused, there are some options like submit nomination again or appeal with AAT.

Yes and yes. So cold you just can't get warm, and then you take paracetamol, and you start sweating. Headache. Lymph nodes sore. Bones ache. Everything aches. Feels very like mild flu. Nothing you can't deal with though. My MIL had no side effects.

The first option is to see if you can get RRV. If not, then you might need to do the entire process again but with your age, it might be tricky considering Australia is closed atm and only a few offshore applications are being prioritized. The age clock only stops by the time you received the invite from DIBP.

Great to hear Nora!

Hey Melbourne! We just received the letters to sit the test/interview at the Melbourne CBD office for 19 of March Finally! I will check if I can schedule it before. Hang in there! After a year of applying we finally hear from the Department. Cheers N

Your son sounds very similar to my son at that age. He is in his twenties now so my advice may be out of date. However at the time getting a place in a State Special Needs School was easier than for my other son who went to the local Catholic primary school. I chose special school rather than mainstream because of his needs and it was the right decision. I remember having plenty of choice and simply chose the school suited my son best. There were schools that specialise according to need, e.g. autism, physical disabilities, SDS (Special Development Schools). At the time there were no private special needs schools but this might have changed. You might have to apply for NDIS. Google this.

I have just sold out my Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Made a nice profit of over $80K AUD. Not bad for what everyone was telling me are useless coins worth nothing. Now i need to wait for the huge crash where they go to zero that @newjez keeps predicting.

Same here in Qld, certainly not my cup of tea. I wouldnt want to move from one housing estate across the world to another full of pom;s,lol Cal x

I don't think so Paul .. for me it's more like the States. Hubby thought Tassie was like Wales though

Hi All Applied Citizenship 19/01/2020 Current citizenship Egypt Local Council Cardinia Shire, Victoria Invitation 04/02/2021 Test Date 12/03/2021 rescheduled 08/02/2021 Approval 08/02/2021 Ceremony Awaiting TBA easy test, friendly interview. good practice materials are: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LMC2KR02T5Q07OPjct4fo?si=dm5jMYH9SvCwjrug1MCKDw https://www.easydrivingtest.com.au/citizenship-test Cheers, Emil

Perth is a lot like that actually. England with sunshine that is. If you lived somewhere nice on the South Coast, with decent beaches it could be comparable. Shopping in Joondalup you could be in central Manchester or Liverpool if you closed your eyes and listened to the accents

I would say top of the list is make sure your partner wants to come and isn't just doing it to make you happy.

Can’t somebody list the 10?

Very true. People here are unlikely to abuse it, but there are bots scraping websites all the time for unprotected email addresses, which then get sold to scammers. Can a moderator delete it? (Note they'd also need to delete it from the quotes made by yourself and Wanderer).

Not sure it's wise to post your email all over the forum - you may very well get a lot of unsolicited mail

What has Kerry O'Brien contributed? .............................chirp,,,,chirp ....chirp....(crickets)....

To summarise Ken’s post in very simple terms: if you take the lump sum while still resident in Australia and it’s been deposited in your bank account, it’s just cash and there’s no UK tax liability. If you wait until you’ve left Australia and then claim the lump sum, the Inland Revenue will grab about 30% of it. If you turn it into a small pension then it is tax free in Australia but taxed as income in the UK

A number of years ago I attended a friend's wedding in Kerala, India. It was June during the buildup to monsoon. The heat and humidity was horrendous. I vowed I'd never whinge about the weather in Australia or anywhere else again .................. but of course I did.

I thought that 10 am was a pretty universal time to check out, OZ, UK, Spain, wherever I've been.

Finally after a long wait .. got my grant today. 186DE/ Software Engineer, NSW, Onshore applied on : 06 March 2020 s56 request : 06 aug 2020 s56 submitted: 17aug 2020 Granted: 20 Nov 2020 I know waiting is killing. Hope all is well. all the best!!!

Not sure I agree, we travel quite a lot and always ask if we can have a late check out if we aren’t in a hurry. Some places it’s obviously not going to be viable, so not worth asking, but we more often than not get at least an hour extra. My son just stayed in the Rydges hotel in Brisbane and was given a 1pm check out when he asked for a late check out, and at no extra cost. Dont ask don’t get.