LukeM

Further to that - I noticed you mention you would like to work with children with disabilities. Most Universities have majors available that you can take, in the area of special education for working with children with disabilities in varying age groups. I'm aware UQ has one, and I've heard of a good one at Griffith, though it's also possible to do your Undergrad and then do a postgrad diploma or masters that specialises in 'special education'. There's heaps of options. A friend of mine is also working part time as a teacher aide in a local high school while doing her undergrad Secondary Ed. degree at Uni, teacher aides work with students with disabilities in the classroom alongside the teachers. Some cases (particularly in private schools) you need to be qualified to a certain level and have experience but sometimes you'll find schools willing to punt on undergrads (sometimes more a case of who you know, rather than what you know, as with many things in Australia)

Hi Karalianne. Do you have your A Levels? If so, you don't need to do anything extra (i.e. you won't need to go to school or a vocational college to 'top-up' your qualifications) in order to go to University. All Universities in Brisbane (that I'm aware of) offer degrees in education (for example Early Childhood Education, Primary, Secondary, Middle Years) I, myself, was 18 when I moved to Brisbane in 2010, just after finishing my A Levels. I currently study Secondary Education here. If you haven't taken or are not currently taking A Levels in the UK, TAFE courses are a great option - highly practical and good employment outcomes. If you'd like any further advice, reply here or PM me Hope that helps.

Hi ikgc I don't think the procedure is any different in VIC to QLD. I had my citizenship test in November. When I initially tried to apply for the early ceremony, they told me that I had to wait until I had confirmation of enrolment for Semester 1, 2014. I finally got hold of that info yesterday and I emailed it to the Ceremony team and they have just responded this morning to say that I will have my ceremony in the first week of March and that I'll get a letter with all the info in February. At least for the QLD Ceremony team, it took them less than 24 hours to respond every time I have emailed them. I have had to send them: - Completed urgent ceremony application form - A copy of my confirmation of enrolment for Semester 1, 2014. - A copy of my invoice for fees for Semester 1, 2014. I hope that helps (if you have had any trouble organising your early ceremony, as I may have mis-read your post). Best of luck getting it sorted if you haven't yet, and if you have, congrats and hope the ceremony goes well/went well for you.

Brisbane = boring? We have Top Shop now. So those who come here and plan to do nothing different to what they did with their old lives will be one step closer to proper satisfaction. Onya! :biggrin: And while ya at it Coles sells Marmite, it's just called Our Mate. Hehehe No - seriously... It's fine. I like it.

Can't we just print more money? Or press a big restart button and set everything back to zero and start from scratch? :biggrin: <long pause> How nice would that be?

Ben, I completed a Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT in the UK along with an A level in Media Studies, and AS Levels in Psychology and Music Technology. I got a place at University with no issues. The Tertiary Admissions Centre for the state you'll be living in will have to assess it though. Interesting to know that they're still running those diplomas... the College I went to dropped the Diploma in IT (after I think 4 years, and after being one of the first to ever offer it). So do you have any other subjects other than your Level 3 Diploma?

Be careful about warranty stuff. Your 1 year limited warranty may be void if you buy it in Australia and take it to the UK. And Apple's warranty is pretty good i.e. if you bust the earpods, you can return them to Apple free of charge in exchange for a brand new pair. Aside from that you'd also have to risk using an adapter or buy a new wall charger. A minor issue but a cost none the less. I would just wait to be honest. Plus some things may be incompatible as there may be different frequency bands for 4G for example, if you are worried about that kinda stuff (it is a huge improvement on 3G if you can get it in your area! But then again 3G connections in the UK to me seem to be faster than cabled connections in Australia! Ridiculous) Your call but if it was me, for an iPhone, I'd wait til you're back there to avoid any issues. Having said that I got my iPhone 4 unlocked in Australia and used it in the UK for 3 weeks with no issues... But then I didn't break anything/wasn't moving back so I don't know the full extent.

I'm curious as to exactly how you go about making your own bacon now! This is probably one of the more unusual threads I've come across in my time on PiO! :biggrin:

Cert IV is considered same level as a Diploma. Your daughter could: - Complete year 12 at a local high school. - Take a Tertiary Prep course through TAFE or a College. - Do the Diploma or Cert IV as previously noted. There isn't really a way in unless you've got the equivalent of year 12/A Levels, unless you have some (fairly extensive) work experience behind you. Best people to contact are usually the Tertiary Admissions Centre for the State you're heading to. I would go to them instead of a University any day, in hindsight. They were able to provide me much more valuable insight (as they hold information on entry requirements and courses for all Universities within the State). Best of luck.

I don't think we're living in the same city Fryertuck! Certainly not my experience with Brisbane (about it being 'boring', that is!) I'd agree it's useful to have a job already lined up for when you come over here though, that's a given for any cross-continental move really. Best of luck for your future endeavors though, it's not for everyone. Hope you find happiness in your next adventure.

Hi Beeps I have met Ian a number of times - he is a nice guy. I wouldn't have been in contact with him though for well over a year, but here's his website: http://iangoredrivertraining.com.au Free introductory lesson with the Keys 2 Drive scheme is available too. Hope that helps. Also you'll have to check out and see with your child's school whether they do it or not but many high schools at some point offer/organize defensive driving day courses for their students in that age group (year 11/12).

Yeah 'roaches are quite common down the Gold Coast. Not so much in Bris though. I've stayed in Surfers a few times, always find the darn things in the apartments/hotels and out on the streets at night! Just give 'em a good kick up the butt!

Some people have too much free time on their hands, and he probably had been drinking! Interesting thread. I guess casual work is easier to come by because there's no ties - they can just hire and fire you whenever they feel they want or need to! Regarding your wasps post earlier I'd say that it is no more or less common in Australia to be bitten or stung by wasps than it is anywhere else in the world. I got unlucky recently. Some had decided to call our mail box outside home. I put my hand in there. There was some in among the mail. So I paid the price for fondling them unexpectedly. :embarrassed:

Are you sure about this Sammy1? I've heard about this one before - I know if you're on a PR visa and you were offered a CSP and you're studying and then part way in to your degree you become a Citizen you can just take the documentation to a student centre at the University and change your details there (so then you're eligible for HECS). I have heard that if you're offered a place and you're classified as an international student and have been offered a full-fee paying place, you'd have to re-apply through the Tertiary Admissions Centre for the state you reside in in order to obtain a CSP. I could be totally wrong but someone told me that before that it's a process that requires re-application to obtain a CSP.

I didn't... but I remember we spent 3 weeks here for a holiday, did a little travelling... let me tell you what others have said is true: going on holiday is nothing like living here. So no matter what you do, regardless of if you just chuck all your stuff in a bag and move here on a whim or if you spend months trawling the country corner to corner, you've got absolutely no idea what a new life in a new country is like until you experience it. Life, full stop, is one big lottery really.

Further to the groceries thing - if you have things that you like, when they go on special, stock up!!! And if there's an Aldi near you, it's dirt cheap here still.

Hey charl For groceries, you'll find that the prices will vary based on location by a few cents (rather than the retailer) so it may be worth having a look around when you're out and about, taking some notes on things you normally buy and seeing whether there's any variation (in the same retailer but their store up the road). For example where I live, the Coles down the road is more expensive than the Coles in the next major town (goods have to travel less distance from the distribution centres/warehouses). The Sunny coast is great - I've not been in ages. I assume you mean by the cheap appliances that you've been buying in kmart? I remember the $9 kettles and toasters... They probably still work! But we don't have them anymore. But I was impressed by (even though they did feel cheap) the way that they worked very well and didn't even begin to fall apart! Not so good is the kmart cheap cutlery though. The handles fall off when you do the dishes.

What did you do, JUSTDOIT? I emailed them my stuff and the next day they emailed back saying they want the 2014 stuff "nearer the end of January". Do they know how annoying they are?! :arghh: Why can't they just take it now and sort it out so it's off my mind?! Are you doing summer semester maybe?

Hey charl Can't help personally, but have you thought about making a post in the Younger Ones section of these forums if you haven't done so yet? May garner more responses there too.

Been in Brisbane since 2010. Sometimes it's not what you know but who you know. Really rings true for me. All I had was a Diploma (from the UK) and no work experience in the field. I had a small health organization take a chance on me (because my mum worked for them already) and from there after being made redundant after only a few months (heh it was only a small organization!) I've been able to secure contract, part time and casual work with the same company on and off since the end of 2010. Maybe I've just been lucky. Things are quite slow at the moment though. Normally we'd be looking at taking on 6-7 contractors for the peak season but this year we're only taking 4.

Hi JaneSmith Do you have some form of diagnosis from a psychiatrist or other mental health services for your son? There's more likely to be more support in a UK school without it anyway, but I reckon it'd be hard to reap the full benefits of any available support without. Rules may have changed since I was in school for sure. This is something that I'd advise you to have and to get if you haven't done so already. A doctor's letter stating the diagnosis from a registered professional in this area will do, and you should definitely make the effort to contact the school(s) you are considering for your son in the area you're moving to in order to find out what support they offer. You can most likely get certain diagnostic tests done in most schools to assess eligibility for certain arrangements anyway I believe (certainly this was the case when I was in school in the UK), where they'd assess basic reading and writing skills (particularly for things like extra time in formal examinations including SATs and GCSEs). There's bound to be heaps of message boards like this for parents like yourself with a son who has AS - just have a Google around. Hope that helps.

Hey JUSTDOIT What did you include in the form that they gave you where you had to write a statement detailing your reasons for the request? I've got the confirmation of enrollment letter and I can easily go grab my invoices online. Hopefully shouldn't be too much of an issue. :biggrin:

It is if you can't afford to pay upfront for another semester... Sure, it's more a 'personal' thing and the forms do indeed say that it's not classed as a valid reason but I've read about people doing it and our CO told us we could apply... My question was merely what documentation could or should be provided to support the application. Deferring for a semester isn't an option as that would delay my graduation by more than a year. So if I could get an earlier ceremony that would be ideal.

Backpackers are a good place to go for temporary accommodation until you can find a rental, especially if on a WHV.

I'm anti-Vodafone. Worst telco in Australia by far for coverage, data speeds. Pick Optus, Virgin (or anything that runs on the Optus network) or Telstra and you should be fine. Ignore a and avoid the "vodafail"