CharmedP3

I'm posting this on behalf of my employer. We are a Perth based engineering company (http://www.ces-au.com.au) who are enjoying fantastic growth. We are currently in the process of setting up a new Melbourne based office and we are recruiting for a Sales & Operations Manager. http://www.seek.com.au/Job/31994482?_ga=1.167450302.1899288347.1475815245 Ideally looking for someone already in Australia however for the right candidate we are able to offer 457 sponsorship however in order to be considered for sponsorship you must meet all of the criteria in the seek ad above. I don't really get on poms in oz a great deal these days, so probably won't check back on this post so please don't reply or ask questions here thanks... just apply if interested.. thanks :-)

Hi, I work for a Rockingham (WA) based recruitment agency and we are looking for an Auto Electrician for our client who is based near Mandurah. As they have had some difficulty finding a good auto electrician with strong diagnostic skills, they are now considering sponsoring someone on a 457 visa which is why I have extended our job ad to come post on here. I'm copying and pasting our add which is also on numerous facebook groups as well as our own page and gumtree. If you are an auto electrician who is ideally already over here we would love to hear from you. Please note we CANNOT (due to the urgency of filling this position) offer sponsorship to candidates not already here. We also do not normally offer 457 sponsorship... this is strictly a one off deal due to the rarity of Auto Electricians!!! For more job postings like us on Facebook or if you are an employer looking for good candidates give us a call on 08 9529 1700 Seek Support are looking for an Auto Electrician for a fast paced workshop based near Mandurah, The job requires a good knowledge on a variety of small and large vehicles including some plant equipment. You will need to be a strong team player and have the ability to use your initiative. The hours are Monday to Friday 8am until 5.30pm, and along with great rates of pay, an excellent workingenvironment it also comes with a vehicle and mobile phone for the right candidate. Our client may consider taking over the sponsorship of 457 visa holders ALREADY in WA and looking for a new sponsor. Candidates who are not already in Australia will not be considered for this role unfortunately. Apply to Tracy jobs@seeksupport.com.au

We came over last January with just $13000 (after flights, shipping etc)..we bought a car and had bond/rent expenses as to be expect and sure it's not always been easy but it's been manageable!! And yes DO able!!!

Thank God she is OK Kelly... what was the allergic reaction to btw? Definitely get private cover...but I would suggest not just for ambulance cover...we have family cover with MBF that covers all variety of things including ambulance...but one good thing (with kids) is the NO GAP Dental until they're 25, which means I won't have to fork a penny out on any dental work they may need in the future.....which could save me a fortune if they ever need braces!!! I've also had my monies worth out of my cover already as I needed new glasses, have had chiropractic treatment and podiatry treatment and it's kept those costs down alot too! Costs us $47 PW for a decent family cover.

When do you arrive or are you already here now? Can you test drive both and see which feels right for you?

Hi Kelly I have no personal experience...but a group of us on facebook were just having this convo today so I've copied and pasted some of the responses for you below:

There probably is a way to find her..she will have some sort of history somewhere that would give away her whereabouts..I used to do something like that for a living....however we were doing this for large financial institutions...not individuals. Point is there ARE ways and means of finding her... maybe a Private Investigator? Might cost you a few £££ but... if you could demonstrate you'd exhausted ALL avenues trying to find her then IF you don't find her,maybe this may be grounds to allow you to sell up without her. Obviously she hasn't paid a penny towards the mortgage in the past few years so there must be some sort of "leeway" there.... Have you tried speaking to an estate agent about it...they must have come across this sort of thing before and some smaller agents may even have their own solicitor in the office... I reckon the solicitors you've spoken to aren't interested as you're not technically "employing" them to DO anything at this stage.... Good Luck

Does it actually work for you then ? 'Cos I can't get it to work at all....just buffers all the time....

had to laugh..... 'cos I agree they sure do train them young..... A few weeks back my kindy aged daughters' class were making fathers day presents and the EA asked her what daddy's interests are (like he has time...he's always working)... anyway her reply???? "He likes the Dockers......" yeah sure...my hubby hasn't watched a single game since we arrived in Aus and hasn't expressed any interest in the game ..... WHERE DO they get it from hey ROFL!!!! Good on ya for taking a keen interest in getting to understand the things your kids will soon be taking an interest in

Agreed it's definitely easier for all the reasons stated below. Additionally some recent migrants to WA have had problems getting their drivers licences because they didn't get the stickers in their passports and the licensing agency wouldn't accept the letter... apparently this was the WRONG type of letter for them to issue a driving license!!! If you send your passports off today you may well have them back by the weekend!

Kind of surreal.... as we had waited so long for our visa, once it was granted we didn't really waste much time and flew out 6 weeks later. We flew out mid January, so not only were we preparing to pack up our entire lives, we were also trying to give the kids a "normal" christmas!!! Things were pretty hectic so most of the time we were too busy to think about it too much, but occasionally you'd think "jeez.... it's real...we're actually doing this" and "jeez what are we doing...are we mad"..... and sometimes I still had to pinch myself and part of my still couldn't believe we were finally doing this, until we stepped on the plane.

I'm so sorry you've experienced such awful treatment in your time here. Do you think it's a localised problem with the specific area you are living in? Have you looked elsewhere in WA? I can't speak personally on the subject of racism or mixed race families, but our neighbours (from the UK) are mixed race and have 3 wonderful children and as far as I know have not experienced any of the type of attitude towards them that you have in the time since they arrived in WA earlier this year. ( I say as far as I know, as they only moved in across the road from us last month). The boys who attend the same school as my children are very settled and happy and have alot of friends. I have seen a few other mixed raced families here, (who have mutual friends in common) along with indian, sudanese and many other races of families living here in our suburb and they are all happily settled and experiencing non of the problems you have. I think some aussies can be likened to the "OAPS of the UK" in their terminology... my own mother refers to black or asian people as coloured and I HATE it and always tell her off... she says it's her age (80) and that's how she grew up and that she isn't being offensive... doesn't mean she is racist, just means she is a bit blummin ignorant and maybe that's some of what you're experiencing?? Some say that Australia is about 20 years behind the rest of world with some things..... and in others they're still about 40 years behind.. I hope your experiences don't have a lasting effect on your family and that the kids, wherever they are find some lovely friends who deserve their friendship.

Oh the feeling last a long time.... I still sit here some days, nearly 9 months of living in Oz and think "****...we got our visas and bloody LIVE here...awesome! So bloody pleased for ya.... congratulations!!!!!!! :jiggy:

How much extra work would he have to do that might ordinarily have attracted o/t payments? Can he negotiate that he will do "x" amount of hours on top of basic hours as part of his promotion but anything over "x" amount of hours in addition to this attracts payment? Also you'll need to think about the car allowance as this will be deemed a fringeable benefit by the tax office, so you need to check how this will effect his pay packet also!! The $6ph extra may sound nice, but he may be paying for it elsewhere as well as all the extra hours he will be expected to do... One more thing to note is his relationship "with the lads".... they may no longer see him as one of them... is he prepared for that? I guess it depends how important those relationships are to him!!!

Lissa one of our PIO members has just made the move from Port Kennedy to Melbourne about two weeks ago (his user name John Gillifan). Maybe you could send him a PM? Or if by any chance Lissa you are who I think you are, then you are on my facebook friends and you'll find John on my friends list and you can msg him via FB. Good luck with whatever you decide

Not picked up the accent ourselves, but definitely find ourselves using some of the words or sayings. Our 4 year old daughter is already sounding like a little aussie.. we arrived here in January and in Feb she started kindy and it didn't take long to hear the difference... our 10 year old daughter hasn't picked up the accent, but she has picked up the (annoying?) habit of making everything she says a question !! lol

Great read.... you arrive just a couple of weeks after us.... we too can't believe how fast the last 6 months have gone. Good to hear you feel settled and have made new friends...it really helps doesn't it.... Now you'll be counting down to your first Aussie Christmas (it'll be strange enjoying christmas in the sunshine lol) and then you're visitors next year....

Congratulations.....

Hi Muriel Before we came out we compiled a list of companies in the area we figured would be ost suitable (in his case, the Kwinana Ind Est up on the Naval Base was ideal)... he made sure his CV was bang up to date, he had also compiled a little photographic portfolio of the work he'd been doing in the previous 12 months - created a PDF of it and stuck it on a USB stick. He had hiis certificates and passport (with visa) with him and basically went out prepared to go knocking on lots of doors. As it happens that wasn't necessary since he got offered a job on the spot at the first place he went. Prior to leaving the UK he had emailed most of these same companies enquiring about work, letting them know when he was arriving and attaching his CV and portfolio etc. Only a couple of them bothered to respond....just to say "yeah thanks, come see us when you get here" I imagine that's quite common in the trades. We looked up holiday rentals in Secret Harbour to find somewhere short term for when we arrived. I would normally recommend the landlord/lady, but as we have had some post rental issues with them (we went on to rent for 3 months from them) I don't feel I CAN recommend them but that's not to say anyone else would have problems with a short term rental from this person. Are you planning on coming to SH then? I can certainly recommend it lol. We love it here....so close to the beach, good schools etc :biggrin:

today, we left a very cold and wintry England to start our new lives in WA and I can honestly say we are so happy with the way things are panning out for us. Sure the first few weeks we had some rocky moments and it felt like we were just hemorrhaging money and everything seemed expensive. However; hubby got a job 4 days after we arrived and started a week later and is still there and doing well. He worked some bloody long hours some weeks 12 hr days 7 days a week (his choice, it wasn't expected but the chance of the overtime was there, so he took it)... These days he generally works 10 hours a day and half a day Saturday and that suits us. We rent a lovely house in Secret Harbour, have made loads of new friends and are experiencing the lifestyle we hoped we would have by making this move and certainly one, we couldn't have hoped to have in the UK. We've looked into buying, but atm the mortgage repayments are far higher than we rent for, so whilst we could afford the repayments, we wouldn't be able to "DO" anything, so we are holding off on getting back on the property ladder for a while longer. Kids have settled in well and making new friends all the time. We've just been on holiday to Sydney and Canberra to visit family and friends and whilst it was nice to have gone to Sydney and surrounds again, I am so glad we changed plans halfway through the visa process and decided to go to WA.... Sydney has changed so much in 10 years and it was just TOO fast paced for us now...lovely to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. I am definitely up for this slower pace of life that WA offers!!! I've learnt to shop around and get to know what represents good value (in the supermarkets etc) and now things don't seem so expensive anymore. I'm not working at the moment...the plan was to take a year off until our youngest starts pre-primary...but I'm starting to get itchy feet and fancy dipping my toes back into the workforce again...so am starting to look for p/t work but I am lucky that hubbys salary IS enough for a family of 4 to live off quite nicely, so no panic for me to find work. So my advice to anyone having doubts about whether to give up their UK life for the unknown or wondering if they can manage on one salary etc is to just give it a go... yeah the road will be rocky from time to time...but if you are prepared to put effort in then you can live the life you dream :smile:

The place my hubby works has quite a few of the guys sponsered on 457's.... might be worth giving them a shot. I will pm you the details....

Kelly I'm so pleased you've reached a decision that works for your family. Look forward to welcoming you to WA soon xxx

WOW... congratulations.....when are you due? Kelly, I would say after everything you went through waiting for that visa, it would be a shame if you didn't give it a go. If it doesn't work out, then you can return to the UK and say well at least we tried. If you don't, you'll always wonder "what if". I can honestly say this feels like the best thing we ever did. Sure some things are expensive...some things aren't...but you get used to things and soon learn where to shop. Our standard of living far exceeds anything we could have dreamed of in the UK. We've been here almost 6 months now and are just so content and happy with our lives. We have a really good circle of friends and I really value the friendships made. I know you weren't over keen on these parts.... but did like it up NOR... can't compare as we haven't made it up there yet... but I would give it a go... 1 or 2 years. Your eldest son will adjust pretty quickly.... I'm guessing his doubts are partly driven by hormones??? Your 8 year old will be FINE..... he will soon forget about spiders all the time...sure he will see some from time to time but it won't take long to realise they are not absolutely everywhere. I hope you and yours can come to a happy decision soon xxx

Yep we flew Singapore in Jan and our travel agent sorted out the extra baggage allowance for us at the time of booking... he just faxed copies of our visa grant letter to the airline... However..when we checked in we were told we were well over the limit of 20 kg. Thankfully I had taken the booking confirmation with me that clearly showed the extra allowance and the check in guy just said "that's fine" when he saw the confirmation!