peeka

Hi I am 21 years old and have been staying with my aunt and uncle on the Gold Coast. I would like to extend my stay in Australia but to be eligible for a second year working/holiday visa I am required to work regionally for 3 months / 88 days. Unfortunately I don't drive (still learning!) but I am willing to travel to any destination at my own cost. I am hard working and available immediately. If you have any work that is eligible could you please pm me Many thanks Emily

Have a look at the State Sponsored visa - if your skills are required this could be the 'quickest' route for you. I wouldn't pay an agent to help gain you sponsorship - its rare that they have any more contacts than what you would and employment agencies!

My OH was assessed by AIM - they were very good and completed our assessment in 4 weeks (in 2009). We had to provide 5 years evidence of the following:- - organisation structures showing reporting line to CEO - organisation structures showing direct reports - position descriptions for himself - positions descriptions for all direct reports - degree certificate - transcript of modules covered during degree (obtained from university) OH had changed companies in that 5 years (having been with other 10 years!) so we had two companies to demonstrate arghhhhhh My advice would be to collate everything in one go before submitting !! Good luck

Maybe worth contacting recruitment agencies and also companies direct.

I would make contact with the company you owe the money to and offer to pay them back - this will clear the debt (I am sure they will accept a credit card payment). Not sure but I guess it would be similar to the UK where they would confirm the outstanding monies have been paid - ask them for a letter to confirm ? and then contact the credit agency about removing - not sure how this works but they would be able to advise you.

You will find petrol prices here go up and down daily - although never as expensive as the UK! Unleaded vary's from $1.20 to $1.49 depending on the day you fill.......you soon work out when it will drop and when it will go higher !!

You can apply but bear in mind to activate your 475 you will need to arrive in Australia - I would recommend you do this as a back up, just in case you don't get the PR !!

My son goes to Kings Christian College (Reedy Creek) - moved him there from Pacific Pines State school and wowwww what a difference! Fab school with a good reputation, grades have improved and he is currently on school camp at Tangalooma !! He is 16 so slightly older than yours. Kings is disciplined - I like that in a school but appreciate everyone is different. They are excellent communicators and do follow up on things (schools in the UK are even pants at that!) Deputy Head is firm but fair....her hubby is a pom !! Can't comment on Somerset as I don't know anything about this school - other than Kings play against them in inter-sport !

I am Type II diabetic but was insulin controlled - I had the usual bloods and urine tests, however I had to have a letter from my GP (if you have a specialist even better!) confirming my diabetes, medication and last couple of blood level testing that had taken place. Maybe worth getting your GP to do cholestrol testing and anything else that can be linked to diabetes so you can have a record of these at hand also. My random blood sugars were 8.4 at the time (a little high!) and I was passed !!! Don't worry - if your sugars are controlled you will be fine.

I agree with haunted1234 - I think you would find it very difficult to get a sponsor for Childcare positions - there are heaps of people that gain qualifications here and whilst there are umptee kindy's I can't see there being a shortage of staff at any level.

Support can be done from a distance, baby-sitting can't !! We support OH's children using a variety of communications, we have organised birthday lunches, small treats, surprises etc for them and managed it thousands of miles away. We even keep in contact with the schools on updates etc. We send child support on a monthly basis and still manage to put funds aside for them ready when they need the help with their driving lessons, first car etc. You can do all of this with your son and new grandchild......photo's, scrapbooks, postcards are fab! You mum is being unfair so try not to let her influence a change in your decision - as you said before your son is happy with your move and that's what counts.

Make contact with agencies also - they may offer you some advice on tweaking your resume to look 'ozzy'. For some unknown reason.....employers like to see that you have Australian experience before taking you serious and therefore you may have to apply for any kind of role just to get that on your resume. Good luck

I've sent you a PM

I originally come from West Yorkshire and probably wouldn't recommend this as a 'nice' are anymore. We emigrated from Scarborough, North Yorkshire which is beautiful.....although depending on jobs you would be looking for this may not be ideal due to the current economic climate. Surrounding areas to Scarborough are York, Malton, Pickering. Further East you have Hull and its surrounding areas. Again, they all have their good and bad. The police in the UK are now offering a free online service to locate number of crime and types of crime in area - www.upmystreet.com

My son is 15 and banks with St George - they offer an Easycash type account. Gives him access to online and phone banking and also able to draw money from an ATM.

We send money back each month - Westpac to Halifax. Charges are:- $10 for the transfer from Westpac and 10GBP to receive into the Halifax.

It is the 'experience' you need to demonstrate as well as qualification - they certainly wouldn't reject you because of your youthful age Gaining employer sponsorship can prove difficult, state sponsorship is a little easier. Perhaps (as previously suggested) would be to come on a working holiday visa and check things out.

Check out www.immi.gov.au

You are limited to working 20 hours p/week during term time. During the holidays you can work any amount of hours.

Maybe worth having a chat with immigration - in exceptional circumstances they may allow you to stay......if you are eligible and want to consider apply for another type of visa. What does your husband do?

You may also find that Debenhams don't deliver certain things here.....even some of their shoes they won't despatch !! If you are coming to live here.....then why not live Australian and get used to what this country has to offer.

You may want to consider signing up for the CIPD equivalent here - Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI). You can also attend networking events and would recommend these as often it is about 'who you know'. From experience here, gas and oil company generally seek people who already have experience in this field - really difficult to get into (as is mining) without this. www.seek.com.au would give you an idea of any jobs that maybe available.

We made the move with my two children. OH has two children from his previous marriage and left them in the UK with their mum - we both wrote them letters so we could read to them when we explained the reasons why we were moving, constantly telling them we love them and this decision had nothing to do with them etc etc. We wrote it down to help us to the words, to ensure we were saying the right things and help us control our tears.....it was one of the hardest things my husband will ever face. Skype is a wonderful thing - we ensure the kids were set up with it, bought them a new PC etc etc so there were no excuses of keeping in touch. Yep, we have hard times with the kids via Skype.... but hopefully one day the kids will visit (their mum doesn't help the situation). Although OH misses the kids more than words can ever describe he doesn't regret moving to Australia. I guess what I am saying.....write your mum a letter - tell her how you feel, the reasons why this decision is important to you, confirm your sons support for your move and most importantly tell her how much you love her. She will come round, but you may have to give her time. Good luck x

We rent our property out in the UK and have no issues with insurance during empty periods. We use the AA as they offered us the best quote and friendliest service from a distance.

We paid for our medical records - our GP's charged us 10GBP each as an administration fee. It is free to 'see' your records but they have the right to charge for the printing/admin etc. We have never used them but it was useful for me as I am a diabetic so I had the history of my blood sugars. Dental - no need as they just examine your teeth and make notes. My advice would be to ensure you have a check up and any treatment completed before coming here. Opticians - useful to bring a report so when you get your eyes checked they can know of any changes within your eyes. We brought ours and was useful.