buzzy--bee

Done. You will receive an email from the depreciation company.

Depending on your budget, maybe look at Somerville, Tooradin, Baxter.

Well, Pakenham is not actually in Melbourne, it is in Gippsland which has advantages and disadvantages. Your nearest beach would probably be Frankston which would be about 45 mins? On most of the new build estates you have to drive everywhere, its the older areas that have shops you can actually walk to.

I have done Aus tax returns for a UK rental for the last few years. You can claim everything, but you have to note the exchange rate from the ATO website on the day that the expense (or income) was incurred. So I have a separate column in my spreadsheet for this. The most important thing to claim is depreciation. This saved me $4000 in tax last year alone. If you PM me your email address I will get details sent to you of how to do this.

Some of our properties have dishwashers, none have washing machines. One has a surround sound cinema system and a separate large screen TV. I would imagine this is fairly unusual.

It would be a brief course (probably online) that would train any differences between the old qualification and the new. The qualifications are updated every few years. The last 2 digits of the qualification indicate which year they were updated in. So the TAE40110 Cert IV in T&A was last updated in 2010, and is in fact being updated again right now. No RTOs are allowed to train the TAE40116 yet, but you should ensure that any RTO you sign up with includes the upgrade to TAE40116 in their fee.

Correct, and both have to be current. They go out of date every few years and you have to "upgrade".

Well, your question was about a Cert IV in T & A. With the Cert IV you can teach any VET course provided you have the Cert IV and the qualification you are teaching. Don't know anything about brand specific courses, sorry.

Cert IV allows you to teach adults in any VET (Vocational Educational and Training) course. There is only one Nail Technician course - details are here - http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/SHB30315. In order to teach that course, you would need - qualification in Cert IV T&A - qualification in Cert III Nail Technology - to keep both of the above current.

Some things I love about Melbourne: - the weather is not as bad as people who don't live here would have you believe. - It has excellent beaches and countryside easily accessible, not many places with a big city vibe have that. - it is possible to swim in the sea before you go to work. I see some people doing this most days on my commute. Yes, even in winter (nutters). - you can go skiing as a day trip. - The CBD with pavement cafes and trams feels very European. - It is frustrating that I will never have enough time or money to sample all the amazing eateries and bars here. - I have as much great live music here as I did in London. Probably more.

Unfortunately, just because a skill is on a shortage list, does not mean there is a genuine shortage and loads of vacancies. The skills shortage lists and the job markets are often on different cycles.

We came in July and would do it again. Jobs are more plentiful in July, and its not holiday season so you can concentrate on getting settled without so many distractions.

Hi Michael Will you be OK for work? Torquay and similar towns have limited work in many professions.

Why don't you book temporary accommodation now and then ship it to the accommodation address? We allow people booked into our Melbourne short-term accommodation to send possessions in advance to us.

I reckon leasing a property without seeing it first is very risky - not only are the agents photos very deceiving of the property itself, but they also do not show the factory over the back fence, or the next door neighbour with a front yard full of broken down cars.

Your short-term rental should give you a landlords reference. We do for our short-term tenants. BB

Hello Rob, good pick. Melbourne is a fantastic fun happening city with loads going on, great beaches, beautiful countryside, skiing in winter, waterskiing in summer, we have it all!

I have a furnished studio in Mordialloc near Moorabbin which we rent short-term, but it doesn't have a pool! Would you like me to send you details?

Great area often overlooked by new migrants. BB

Yes you can and we do both of those. You can depreciate almost anything from the building itself to the doormat. Could I ask you please to PM me your sons email address and I will put him in touch with the depreciation company we use. This saves us about $4000 per year in tax. You need a quantity surveyor for depreciation, not an accountant. BB

So here's the way it works. As an Australian PR you can enter NZ permanently. However at the end of your Australian visa (another 2 years in your case), it will expire and because you don't live in Australia you won't be able to get it "extended". So at that point you'll need to make sure you have a way to stay in NZ. So long as you don't leave NZ, that won't be a problem, and you'll eventually qualify for NZ citizenship. But if you leave NZ, you may not have any way to return to either country. HTH BB

errr......??? BB

Hi Dean - which part of Australia are you heading to? BB

Hi Dan There are many forums for people living in Melbourne - I can think of 4 including this one. Not sure of blogs specifically. BB

Hi Mandy Frankston suffers from a historical bad reputation, manly centred around one part of it. There are a lot of different parts of Frankston, it's a big area, and some are nice than others. It has a stunning beach and boardwalks and very easy access to the Mornington Peninsula. Frankston South is lovely. The areas adjoining the sea such as Cliff Road, Gould St and Olivers Hill have multi-million dollar properties. Frankston Heights is OK too. Karingal is OKish, not my first choice, Frankston North and The Pines are to be avoided. If you look at the Frankston High School zone map you will get an idea of some of the better bits. So in summary - live in Frankston, but pick your bit of it! BB