Quoll

Talk to one of the agents who specialises in medical issues. General rule of thumb, if a child has a disability which requires the support of an aide in the classroom or a special unit then you're much less likely to get a visa. If your child can cope independently in mainstream education then you should be fine. The diagnosis isn't the issue, it's the level of impairment as a result of the diagnosis. Get all his assessments up to date - Cognitive, skill level, functional behaviour, receptive and expressive language plus the assessment documentation for the diagnosis.

Ah, so you will be temporary, I can't see you getting a permanent visa for a move at the end of this year.. Public school fees around $6k each pa. The other not-so-bonus about temporary visas is that you aren't guaranteed a place in the priority enrolment area school either. You may get one but if the schools are full the Dept can offer you a place somewhere else. If you're teaching at a private school you might want to check if they charge international fees or local fees but they'd probably offer a discount. Be aware, too, that temporary visas are just that, there's no guarantee that they will become permanent, that a risk you take and if you want to take that risk with kids approaching GCSE then you may want to consider a back up plan.

Don't joke about that! There is a "tent city" in Brisbane because people can't get housing! You won't be able to start finding accommodation before you arrive but you should book your Airbnb now because there will be big pressure on them over the summer. Book for a couple of months at least.

Which state? If you're going to NSW which has the latest cut off at 31 July they'll potentially be the youngest but many of their age will have chosen not to start school that young and will be in the year below. If you're going to Vic then they'll be one of the older ones as cut off is end April as is ACT and SA. WA, Qld, and NT have cut off 30 June. You'd think we'd have it all the same huh, but, no. Please stop thinking that they will have already done the year plus - it's a foreign country with completely different education systems. They've never done that year in Australia. If you're not planning to go back to UK, the UK system is going to be irrelevant. You don't, say, however if you have a permanent or temporary visa - if its temporary then you'll be up for several thousand dollars a year in school fees, especially in NSW.

Schools are obliged to find places for kids in their priority enrolment area - not like UK. Usual rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't want to live in a suburb you wouldn't want your child to go to a school in that suburb. If you're happy to live there, the kids will probably be just fine in the local school.

You realise that school attendance is mandatory for kids under 17? Nobody minds the odd month while you get settled but almost 6 months is a bit much. Once you've got a place to live, you can enrol kids at any time and allowing them to make friends in the community is a good way to cope with the long holiday boredom. They'll feel more comfortable at the start of a new school year having a few mates too. They won't be "repeating" anything, they're moving to a foreign country to engage with their social cohort.

The year level will depend on the state you go to and their birth dates. Kids are usually placed with their social cohort - the cut off dates are pretty well adhered to unless you can prove profound giftedness across the board - academically, socially and emotionally. Not much point in having cut off dates if you dont adhere to them - and Australia generally doesnt much like tall poppies. You may find, though that it might be more than a nominal year - my grandson, for example is year 5 in UK but when he started year 5 in UK he would have just been finishing up year 3 here in Australia - dont get hung up on the year names. If you are on a temporary visa so you can prove that they will be returning to UK and their birth dates are very close to the cut off you might get a bit of leeway - probably more likely in private schools. I would suggest, though, that if you have a kid who is heading towards GCSE and you know you are going back, send them back to board with family so they can get a year in before they start their GCSE and give them time to catch up. You wont find 13 year olds in year 9 here nor 11 year olds in year 7 however you may well find 15 year olds in year 9 and 13 year olds in year 7 - the social cohort is important! You're moving to a foreign country so you arent moving them down a year, they've never done that year in Australia before. However, UK education is generally well ahead of Australian education at the same age and, yes, if they go back to UK then they will have missed out on quite a bit but we have reports of returnees who say that UK schools are really good about getting kids back up to speed. The focus in Australia is probably going to be different - more independent learning and less rote stuff, fewer tests and possibly less overall stress.

It is your responsibility as a citizen to be able to verify your citizenship easily. None of us like paying for it but then, perhaps you dont want to be a citizen - are you living in Australia or overseas? Again, if overseas that's the penalty you pay for not living onshore. You can always rescind your citizenship and travel on e-visas, much cheaper

Britain is thinking about doing it soon too I understand - and about time too!

With all due respects, how very inconsiderate (of all the passengers behind) and irresponsible of you. It's one of the responsibilities you take on as a citizen. OK you may get away with it once because you "didn't know" but one day you could come a cropper. Man up and get your passport!

You'd be arriving with very little, $290k is going to get you nowhere if you have to take fares, sending belongings, setting up, buying cars etc. When we returned, including 2 cars, new insurances, general set up - into our own home with no mortgage we did not see much change from $100k and we aren't extravagant by any means - and that was 4 years ago. There were only 2 of us too. I seriously think you'd struggle if that's all you've got I'm not hearing great things about health down in Tas from my paramedic niece but Toots will know better what the situation would be for the slightly older folk in Tas. I don't reckon it's that great where I am either but with private health cover it doesn't take forever (colonoscopy on Medicare here estimated to be 18 months by my specialist who did the job in a week plus several thousand gap). How would your grandparents be for accessing a Centrelink pension here? They'll have to have done a good while in Australia the last time around but, even then, it's a benefit and not luxury living. If you weren't happy before, none of that has changed. For a couple of oldies (I'm their age) getting back into the community is bloody hard work once you get back, personally I find a sense of community lacking but maybe in smaller places there's more of it - but those places aren't real hubs for employment so swings and roundabouts. Bottom line you say you don't really want to go - then don't.

Your neighbourhood Buy Nothing page? They can drive you to the airport in it

So good to hear a couple of positive "it was the right move" stories. When it works it is a fantastic thing and kudos to you both for being to negotiate for what you need, it sounded like both of you might have faced hopeless cases so points to your OHs for hearing what you were saying and having the strength to face the new adventure. And dont worry about the negative comments - on here we often find that cognitive dissonance brings out the worst in people LOL.

Amaysim look to have a really good roaming package if you fancy moving over to them. They use Optus towers. Or buy a PAYG sim in UK when you land.

I thought this was a visa that employers are able to use if they can prove that they can't find an Australian to do a specific job for a short period not a generic application process. He should enter on that visa, not arrive then hope to find something. Usual rule of thumb is that your bridging visa has the same conditions as the visa you are bridging from so if you're a tourist you stay a tourist. But talk to an agent they'll tell you if it's reasonable or not.

Start looking when you've got your rental. People usually get homes where there are properties available, that you can afford, close enough for the work commute, close to services you may require and in a neighbourhood that doesn't fill you with horror. The schools reflect the suburb so if you couldn't bear to live in the suburb you wouldn't want your kid in the school. All kids living within the school's priority enrolment area are guaranteed a place regardless of when they arrive. If you fancy a school and you're out of their area they may agree to take you if they have vacancies but they're not obliged to. Government schooling is going to cost you $4k pa (I mentioned in one of your other posts) on a temporary visa. If you don't like the gov system and you're Catholic, there's usually a parallel Catholic system. Schools are going to be the least of your problems. Your 4 year old can apply for a part time kindergarten place but I'm not sure that a place in either a school or community kindergarten is guaranteed. They will start full time school at the beginning of the year they are 5 or will turn 5 by 30 June.

Just as a supplementary, you are aware that you'll have to pay$4k for your kids' education? They waived it for 2023 but I see no waiver for 2024

Dont forget the area around Canberra either.

I think you are putting the cart before the horse here. Get your visa first, then think about jobs but be prepared to move to go without a job in the first instance. You decide on your timescale - whether you are going to quit or go on a sabbatical for example then, with your visa in your hand, you might be more attractive to employers. There is not much point in them looking at you if you dont even have a visa.

Most people don't come with a job, they get the visa, start applying then budget for several months out of work. If you're applying to private schools then they are more likely to offer a position for you to walk into. The government system certainly used to have a process whereby they may offer you something in a hard to fill place rural or remote, you do your time there, then you can start applying for plum positions in popular places to live and if you've done your rural servitude then you get preference for those positions. I assume they still have this process - they have to have an incentive scheme to fill positions in places where people dont really want to live. To begin with though they may expect you to do time on casual relief before you can get a longer term contract. School vacancies are usually announced in the July /August for commencement end January, starting at other times of the year are usually short term contracts to see them through until the general placement round for the next year. Just a word on private schools though, if your kids have things that require weekend travel you may find that private schools might also demand your weekend time as many have Saturday activities. On the plus side with private schools, you're more likely to get some longevity of contract. It used to be the case that states suggested you come with enough savings to accommodate 6 months out of work although teachers, once registered can generally pick up casual relief to see you through.

Be aware that if you go for a 482 in NSW your kids won't be entitled to a free school education, you will be up for around $12k pa for the pair of them each year. As to having your kids in the school that you teach in - generally not too desirable and government schools dont like to keep teachers in one school for too long, they are all about mobility. All schools have a priority enrolment area so the kids will be offered places in the local school based on where you decide to live - if you go private then that is a whole different ball game, fees will be much higher but a a teacher you could well get some discount and they may be accepted together. I dont know where you got the idea that most are single sex schools - not so, most are co-ed although there are a few single sex, probably more so in the private system. As the others have said, I would have listed Sydney as the last place for a horse loving family. Even Canberra has better options for horse lovers and you will find that many Australian sporting parents travel huge distances to enable their kids to compete. I had friends whose kids would travel to Sydney and beyond for competitions from Canberra. Being the parent of a sporty child requires very deep pockets and that would be doubly so for horse people @Bulya may be able to help you there.. To confirm 3 year degree plus University based PGCE is fine for qualifications. Just aim for a job - put your hat in the ring for whatever you think you could be considered for. Generally they do like local experience and you will see that selection criteria often include local sensitivities and areas of focus but in general Maths is quite in demand as Maths graduates find they can be more gainfully employed out in the public service or other industries and they dont stay long in teaching

If it aint broke, dont fix it I reckon. You say mid 40s, be aware that Australia is a pretty ageist society and by the time you turn 50 people begin to look a bit askance and wonder when you are going to retire (not that anyone can afford it these days given the cost of living hikes!). If your DH is prepared to do FIFO again he would probably make a reasonable living but whether that is what you/he want out of life at this stage is another matter. Assume you dont have kids because uprooting them could be more of an issue. I am always bemused by the "leisure activities being curtailed" thing - I find that just as true here in Australia where the rain is harder and wetter (drowned rat in 15 seconds, no worries) and the heat can be more debilitating than just wearing a decent parka. But each to their own. In almost 10 years in Cambridge I can count on my fingers how many days curtailed my activities whereas back here in Canberra in 4 years there have been significantly more - even things like getting up at 6am to go for a walk because I would fry if I left the house at 10 and it hasnt even been hot in the scheme of things since we've been back. Yes, you are financially going to go backwards, any overseas move does that to you - even us - we came back to our own home which is mortgage free but sending stuff, paying fares, re-establishing things like insurances, buying a new car, repairing the house the dollars rather haemorrhaged, I hate to think by how much but tens of thousands. And we didn't have to give up jobs because we were retired, we had a steady superannuation income and didnt need to find new jobs etc Nor did we have to pay housing bonds, new insurances (except health) or any of the more usual set up costs. You are going to need a home which is a really fair chunk out of any pay packet these days, you might have to go a while without getting work to tide you over, you'll have to get a car or two - it'll mount up but if you are well heeled you should be able to cope with that and just assume you are going to lose $100k in the process which you might never see again. If you are confident you can weather that and recoup more then you should be fine. Good luck with your decision, remember the grass isnt greener and the damn stuff still needs mowing!

Apply from U.K. now. Visa 101

Nope, same rationale as before. Otherwise people would be having Australian babies left right and centre just to stay in the country. Doesn’t work like that.

Just dont take your (grand) kids to a Westfield in Brisbane.