Quoll

Put everything you think you could possibly need on the bed with your pack and then discard half of it. You will be lugging that 23kg around for a long time so (and I venture to disagree with the poster above) things like books are irrelevant (take a kindle though if you have one!). In reality, there is nothing that a passport and a credit card wont cure so dont worry if you forget something (other than passport and credit card) you can always replace it. Take a camera to record your adventure, some sort of online access - laptop/tablet/notebook or whatever you use (keep it small and light), layers of light clothing, good waterproof, shoes you can walk miles in, an unlocked phone (so you can use an Aus sim). If you are wanting to work then take copies of references, degree transcripts, etc Have a good time and dont forget to call your mum at regular intervals!

Go where you get the best next opportunity! You are lucky that you can cast your net quite wide and still be within cooee of Edinburgh so if you have a super offer in Glasgow or elsewhere quite close then go for it. I dont think you can ever go back to exactly what you had, just move on to the next best offer in life!

It really doesnt matter. Go when the stars are in alignment for you. The only time to begin to worry is when they are 16 and you need to get them into year 11 otherwise it doestn matter at all.

I'd be inclined to finish what you have started rather than mucking around with RPL and an extra year for honours in Australia - do the 3 years and get it all out of the way. Permanent residents have to pay up front although you do get the domestic rates. I find it hard to believe that anyone - other than in the business of making money - would be recommending a move part way through a degree course. A UK degree is very portable and would be easily equivalent of an Aus degree when considering work or further study.

Oops - on my mobile but can't edit - your child turning 10 in March 2013 will be year 4 this year (2012) but could possibly be year 3 if immature

Turning 7 in October this year a child would be in year1 in 2012 Turning 10 in March this year a child would be in year 5 in 2012 but would be one of the younger ones so, if immature, could be in year 4

Good to hear that things have fallen into place for you all and that you are now in a place you "belong" - isnt that a fabulous feeling?! Hope things continue to go well!

She wont be repeating anything, it's a foreign country with its own education systems. It all depends on her age. If she is 17 then, yes, she would be better to go to TAFE although TAFE scores are generally lower than if you get your year 12 through a HS (the cohort is often quite disaffected and often prior failures). If she is 16 then aim for year 11 starting in Feb, it wont matter if she is a little bit older than her cohort

Quite a different role for teacher aides/assistants in Australia. They are usually untrained, unqualified, poorly paid and often short term contract workers. All you really need is a first aid certificate and a clean police record. That said, they are in high demand as a lot of mums want school hours and it is very much a case of "who you know" to get your foot in the door. Many positions are tied to a particular child with a disability (could be nappy changing or behaviour management or learning disability etc) so they are not very secure as the kids may move, their needs be reassessed or the school decide to support in a different way. Some states are encouraging a cert iii in integration studies for their high needs kids support roles but generally anyone can do it.

Her UK year level is totally irrelevant - how old is she? She should plan to arrive to start year 11 at the beginning of the academic year (Feb) -so that will be when she is just 16 or just about to turn 16 (cut off dates depend on the state). Year 10 is a non event year in reality, what really counts are year 12 results and she needs to do the full two year course to end up with a half decent year 12 score. If you can, she would be better off finishing A levels before she comes - they travel well to Aus and she would require lower grades to get into equivalent uni courses in Aus than she would in UK.

Lakes Entrance is around 3-4 hours from Melbourne, it's very much a holiday resort (think Whitby with sunshine). Gippsland is a huge area and there are many towns in it so it all depends on where you get a job as to which town is going to meet your needs.

Excellent point - there are some folk who have been restricted to a particular jurisdiction because one parent "takes the child to kindy on a Thursday" and that area might be a living nightmare for the custodial parent (especially if it is the "other's" home town with all their rellies and friends gathered around them!)

That is always one solution:biglaugh:

Nope a father is a father and the unmarried ones have just the same voice as the married ones providing there is no doubt about who is the father.

It's even more restrictive than that - you may not be able to leave the jurisdiction so, as in the case of some women who have been on here, they have been unable to leave the small town they live in (often with the spouse's family and friendship network) because of the spouse's connection to the child. That really is a prison sentence if you arent able to move beyond the town limits and find a life somewhere else in the state even.

Nope, not an option unfortunately

Generally 16 for care and protection purposes but they will ask a child's opinion when they get into their teens - doesnt stop the family court making their 50/50 decision though. My comment about GCSEs was more to do with education than a child's wishes about who to reside with and you are planning on being away for the period which would impact their education significantly if you stayed the entire time in Aus and then planned to return.

If in doubt, cover your back! If you have any doubts at all then get this tied up with a concrete agreement, although how an Aus court would view it is another matter altogether, I dont know whether anyone has ever had the foresight to get an agreement in writing which has then been presented to an Aus court in case of a dispute of custody. Coming back with your daughter at 16 if it all goes pear shaped is going to be a very difficult proposition for her given the GCSE roundabout and all its timings. Good luck with it!

That's very sad, I would hope that someone tells your wife so she is forewarned. It doesnt mean that she wouldnt go but maybe you should man up and come to an agreement about what will happen just in case it all goes pear shaped (chances are that it wont, of course!). I know if I were in this situation and my DH had this sort of information and deliberately didnt tell me I would be mightily ticked off!!!

The chances of her being able to leave that soon are, quite honestly, very slim. If she isnt able to leave then it might be a good idea for her to be supported here by someone strong - does she have a brother/father/big strong chap who could come over and give her a hand because if her ex is a bully then he will continue to bully his way through the courts no doubt. Sadly, as you will see by reading through this thread - the Aus courts are even less likely to let a child leave if one parent says no - and he could be the biggest drop kick in the universe and the courts will come down on his side. Your friend is going to need a real Rotweiller of a solicitor and she may have to pay through the nose for it so her friends might have to do some fund raising. She might also try the domestic violence crisis services for support and if they dont do it directly they may well be able to give her a few clues on who to go to.

LOL just playing devils advocate - doesnt matter what age he is, so many parents move their kids here at all ages - you see the ones who drag their 16 year olds kicking and screaming away from all they know and love. Age is, in essence, irrelevant in this case - people do it all the time in reverse and no one bats an eyelid just pats them on the back and tells them to go for it, they are doing it for the better life blah blah blah. There is nothing inherently better about Australia, it is just a parent's itch for adventure that brings them here, usually. Often an opportunity not to be missed but rarely is it about the kids although that is the usual catch cry. At 3 your lad probably has a strong connection to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, whatever - do you think it is a good move to take him away from them? Attachment is very strong to little kids some times and it can take them a long while to get over that loss. Once they do get over it they can have a real sense of isolation because they dont have grandma to come and see them at school on grandparents day, watch them swim in carnivals, dance in shows, see them win certificates at school, cry with them when their pets die etc It is an isolating life no matter how many acquaintances you have - at least for a generation then they begin to make their own families, the oldies die off and they become the elders with their own kids and you become the grandparents. Would you really condemn someone you love to living in a place which makes them chronically miserable and depressed and deny them the support of extended family if they decide they need it? I sincerely hope not. You are right, I am here against my will, I hate it with a passion because I am trapped but I am a strong woman and have made the least worst choice and got on with it with some semblance of compromise which sees me go home once or twice a year to retain my sanity. Doesnt mean I have to like it and it certainly doesnt mean I stay silent when I see other women being trapped in an even meaner situation ie having their kids used as pawns against them in a nasty little game of power to get their own way (I say women, as it usually is the women although there are occasional chaps who are trapped because of their wife's intransigence - apologies to those blokes who are also doing it tough). So, in a nutshell, saying you wouldnt go back because your 5 year old (for arguments sake) loved his life here just wont fly - most 5 year olds couldnt give a toss if they were in Towcester or Tuggeranong just as long as mum and dad were happy and the people that love them are in their lives.