Eera

I just use a Kenwood with a dough hook; works fine every time.  Our oven has a proving setting, but generally it's warm enough on the kitchen bench anyway (sometimes the tropics has its benefits)

I use Lauke brand

http://www.laucke.com.au/Catalog/breadmixes

Apparently Woolies have stopped stocking them but Coles still does.

From what I'm reading, providing you didn't rescind your British citizenship when you took out Australian, you are still a citizen with full right of abode in the UK and you don't need a visa of any sort, is that what you're asking?

If your partner was born in the UK with at least one UK citizen parent, in all likelihood he is a full citizen already as well.  UK immigration has an online checklist called "Am I a UK citizen?" (or something similar) if he's unsure.  Again, unless his citizenship was rescinded, or there are circumstances other than those I'm reading in your post then there's no barriers to you going back to the UK.

13 minutes ago, Bobj said:

 

Oh, I don't know, Seaforth has 2 "general" stores and a bowls club...Sarina Beach has 2 motels and a fuel station/fast food takeaway...

 

Sarina itself has a giant bronze toad equipped with wifi.  Dead hi-tech up this way...

You talking absolute beachfront or just walkable distance?  Be prepared to be smashed with insurance costs outside the south-west corner as companies see cyclone zone and either refuse to cover you or put premiums ridiculously high; the nearer to the water you are, generally the worse it gets.

Humidity is going to be a major issue in the areas you are looking at if you really can't cope with it; here in Mackay currently it's about 34C but with a relative humidity of 70-80%.  It's the worst I ever remember.  However, you learn to adapt or just get on with it.  The flipside is that for about half the year the weather is absolutely gorgeous with endless sunny days around 24 C and no humidity at all.

There's going to be plus and minuses for all the areas you look at.  I have an 8 year old and a 5 yo who are happy at school and there are many sports clubs for yours to join.  While there is a surf club, there's not actually any surf - the barrier reef gets in the way.  Cafes, yes, but whether you find them walkable would depend on where you end up living.  If you are used to big-city living and want the same sort of things, regional qld probably won't supply them.  However, we aren't exactly in the middle of nowhere either, and providing you don't want a symphony orchestra and a Prada shop on your doorstep, regional areas may work for you.

Happy to answer any queries if you want to PM me

Electrical switch trips out if something goes wrong.  The only time we've ever had an issue was when husband was welding through a power board which he was using as an extension from a 15 amp socket.  That got a bit melty.

We had a circuit that was tripping once, which was a pain as we had to go around unplugging everything on that circuit until we found the appliance responsible, but other than that the breakers seem to work fine. 

Doesn't apply to personal instruments unless they contain more than 10kg of regulated wood.  Will be an issue if you want to sell one though.  I have two rosewood guitars though have no intention of selling them.

This link has a good summary: https://reverb.com/au/news/new-cites-regulations-for-all-rosewood-species

If you're set on studying Eng Geo as a standalone course, Australia is not the country to be doing it; there's only 1 university that offers it outright (Monash), though a couple combine it with geotechnics (UNSW do, from memory UQ also did and might still do) or hide it in degrees like engineering and environmental geology. You need to find the appropriate university course and then see if they offer scholarships and how to apply for them directly.

You will get a far wider choice of universities that offer it in the UK - as an official subject it originated there (actually at my Alma mater, Portsmouth, which has just celebrated it's 50th year or something offering the course) - and it's been taken up with enthusiasm by others.

I bought a packet of "pommes" in Woolies yesterday.  They seem to be the same as croquettes from what I remember.  They are in a yellow box with the frozen chips

1 hour ago, Parley said:

I'm sure you would love it your tenants pay for refurbishment and redecoration of your property.

Can't imagine many tenants falling for that though knowing how expensive carpet and painting is.

Would be a lot cheaper for them to move.

Maybe, but they asked to remove a carpet less than two years old and to paint a neutral home with red feature walls.  I could have refused but I figured I'd let them make it more homely.  And from experience I can tell you that renters are put off by bright colours so it's a condition that they restore the place to the same colour scheme when they move out (they've been there for four years now and have just renewed for another year.  Obviously they don't feel *that* hard done by).

I've allowed my tenants to replace carpet with wood veneer before, but they paid for it as there was nothing wrong with the carpet.  Same with paint; I'm happy for my tenants to decorate as they see fit, as long as it's done to a high standard and they pay for it (and if it's a bright colour, they return the place to neutral at the end of the tenancy).  If it really bothers you, approach the landlord, pay for it and be prepared to pay to return the place to as it was at the time you rented.

Queensland has legislation that rentals must be fitted with an RCD, but as far as I'm aware NSW doesn't have anything mandating this.

A mate of mine used to run a youth hostel in Central Queensland; he picked up a few decent cars for next to nothing from backpackers who had bought them to travel in and were looking to offload them before flying home; he got a Pajero fourby with a boot full of camping gear for $3500 one time.  If you're in a YHA  you may have some luck that way.

I brought my mountain bike over with virtually no prep; gave it a scrub down including the types, picked the obvious bits of grass out of the grease in the SPDs and that was pretty much it.  They had a look at it but it got in fine.

Bear in mind too that often insurers don't cover the cost of termite damage; if you (for instance) lost your roof in a storm and the assessor picks up evidence of termites they may not pay out.

When we sold my grandparent's house after they died as a part of the sale contract we had to replace the termite-affected timbers.  You are in a position of negotiation but it depends on how receptive the vendors are.

I'm the other way around: totally unaffected apart from when one little thing reminds me of the South Downs.  I don't tend to miss friends - pragmatic enough to realise they've moved on just as I have - it's the actual area for some reason.

Little things trigger me off; watching River Cottage is one of them, and when Portillo was on a train through the area I grew up I burst into tears at the dinner table.  Not so much that I'd contemplate returning, more nostalgia for the areas where I lived when I had no worries in the world.

As a rough guide, I paid $85 per day for long day care (commercial nursery), and currently $7.50 an hour for family day care.  I'm not eligible for child care benefit as it's means tested, but I get 50% child care rebate up to $7500 per year per child, then I pay full fee (tends to kick in about mid-May and last until the end of financial year)and you have to meet certain requirements for either work hours or study.  There's some changes going to be put in place with the rebate within the next couple of years.

After school care is $25 for a three hour session including pick-up from school, the scheme I will be going to is also eligible for CCB/CCR, but some aren't.  The amount you will end up paying is largely dependent on the pressure in your area.  I know someone in Sydney who pays nearly $150 per day!
 

When I worked in International Students in an academic registry we had a big fat book published by the British Council which converted every qualification from every other country into the equivalent UK qualification.  They'd have the same sort of thing in Australia so don't worry too much; the university will have done it a million times before.

Yep.  Rolex has made all sorts of styles including ticking hands, and even battery models.  I have one that dates from the early 80s which has some of the features that you're told to look for as fakes: rolled steel in the wrist band and a small cyclops window are the two most notable.  It's just how they made them 30 years ago and has been assessed as genuine by a dealer as I had my doubts.

But anyway, to get back to the question by the OP.  If you were to get it sent by post, you'd have to prove that it was owned by you and not just bought recently as Customs would hold on to it until you payed the assessed GST.  I'd just wear it.

It's only us in Queensland who have to go through the rort that is RPEQ, and then it's if you are providing engineering advice; technically you need it, however, if you have someone in your company who can sign off as RPEQ if requested then you can get away without it.  Chartership is a different matter - CPEng may be requested but it's normally phrased as "eligible for, or working towards" and possessing it on application is normally only a condition of employment in senior positions.  RPEQ is granted by the Board of Professional Engineers in Queensland, not Engineers Australia - EA assess whether you meet the criteria for RPEQ in certain engineering professions, but not all (for example, AusIMM decides it for mining geotechnics, there are few other assessing bodies).

It's a horribly confusing system that is not implemented in most of the states.  If you are eligible for chartership you should not have any problems.

There was talk a couple of years ago about implementing a similar system in other states; you'd get an RPEV in Victoria, for example.  I don't know whether that eventuated. 

Why not just wear them and have them as named items on insurance?  My everyday watch is an Omega Speedmaster which goes with me whenever I travel; never been a hassle at all.

No.  Pyongyang knows full well that it only takes one strike by the US and the whole country is effectively obliterated.

We are going to Japan in the new year, of all the things that concern me it rates well below getting boarding for the cat.

Went where I was offered a job, simple as that.  Ended up in regional Queensland which in hindsight I should have looked in the first place (hate cities).  Been here 13 years, married a bloke who also escaped the city and two kids later...

On 7/26/2017 at 09:51, Indianinoz said:

Hello,

I'm thinking of opening a child care in Sydney or surrounding region from home. Some questions:
1) Which formal qualifications do I require? How long does it take to complete these? How expensive are these courses? Any internship required?
2) How many children is 1 child care specialist allowed to cater to?
3) Currently I'm renting a flat(unit). Is this OK to start childcare or do I need to buy/rent a special home which caters to the requirements of child care?
4) What is the approx revenue per child? And approx cost of running this business?
5) How expensive is insurance for child care?
6) Do the rules for child care differ from state to state?
7) Any other thing I should bear in mind?

Thanks much!

I'll answer based on the advice of my best friend who has her own family daycare business.  You may find criteria are different in various locations and schemes, as previously advised, check out what any particular scheme says as they are the ones to give you the best advice.

1)The formal qualifications you need largely depend on the scheme; mine expect their carer to be working towards Cert 3 in child care, though they don't need it to start.  They require regular first aid certification with anaphylaxis response. Plus blue card

2)One carer is allowed 4 kids who are not of school age, and an additional three who attend school as after-hours and holiday care.  Note any child of your own counts as one of these spot up to the age of 13.  Also note that any child that comes into the house such as school friend counts towards these numbers and if you have a spot inspection and they find more children than you are authorised to have there, they will come down on you.

3) Many landlords will not allow childcare to be set up in their homes; my insurance specifically forbids it.  Plus, you're in a flat.  Not the ideal situation to have up to 7 kids stomping around.  Your home needs a safety check and you basically have to pretty much do risk assessments for everything in it.

4) You can set that yourself.  Price I pay is $7.50 per hour, per child.  CCR / CCB subsidises that, and there's normally a family levy which the scheme takes.  Cost depends on how much stuff you want to buy.

5) Get quotes.  It will vary from area to area.

6) Yes.

7) Much as people think, it is not easy money.  Certainly the scheme mine are in, the carers are expected on a daily basis to have targets for the children (sharing, imagination, etc) and the write a report for each child.  Daily.  there is also of masses of paperwork to deal with; risk assessments for everything, forms for every excursion, dealing with parents who can be pretty obnoxious. Your home is not your own and becomes a workplace, and you have to take into consideration nuisance complaints (especially in a rental unit!)

The British government has a step by step thing to fill in which will give you an indication:
https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen

You've never had to renounce British citizenship to gain Australian.  There's limited reasons why they would - such as a yen to enter politics or avoid national service - and it's not something that would have been done automatically.