westwoodwizard

Marisawright: I have applied to the Queensland College of Teachers from the United States. I am a secondary Math teacher. If I am successful in my registration, here is my question for you. In reference to your post which I quoted above, do you feel math is an area in Queensland where there could be enough demand to make an offer to a teacher offshore and agree to sponsor under the TSS 482? In the media, there are articles that refer to math as a shortage area and even mention that Australian schools do recruit teachers from overseas so I get confused because I have read both perspectives. Anyway...any insight would be appreciated. I can always enter the country as a university student and complete another degree but it is an additional and very huge expense to take the university route.

Much of it seems to be the typical migration from South/Southeast Asia and Africa to any major English speaking Western country..i.e.USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK where migrants will usually experience an immediate change/improvement in the physical surroundings, infrastructure, environmental quality, etc. and an emotional "upliftment" as they can put pictures on Facebook bragging about their new lives to their friends and family "stuck" back home. So, from that perspective, I guess grass might be greener in some ways at least superficially. As for migration from one Western country to another, I am more hesistant to see the grass being greener because many of the problems are similar such as the econoic challenges facing the USA...countries like Australia lagged a bit behind in experiencing those problems but from what I understand the job market in Australia has also become challenging as employers there want to cut back on their labor costs just like their American counterparts. And socially and culturally speaking, it is not necessarily a smooth transition to move from say the USA or UK to Australia. People who make the move do realize and appreciate many of the good things back home despite some things they may not have always liked and they also realize the costs involved in making that move and disruption to stability did not result in a better life. The reality is that many people think moving will improve their lives or solve their problems and it often does not.

Okay you got me. Must admit...did not think of the "cost". But, honestly, most people seem so desperate that money seems to be no object so I was thinking more like what do you really risk by applying...but obviously you are keeping track of the invitations...I gave up a few years ago..thinking that spending so much money visa applications just to see rules change again and again...it maybe a beautiful country but whether grass is greener on the other side I have no idea anymore...Also...I apologize for calling the question "dumb".

What? What nonsense of a question are you posing? How does "applying" hurt you? If it does not work out, then continue whatever it is logical for you to do maybe work for a few years and re-apply. Dumb question...not even a real question.

Visit the individual websites for each university you are interested. All of the information is posted online for what you need to submit with your application. As far as priority, I guess you better apply soon if you are looking for February 2018 assuming they still accept your application. If not, you apply for the next session. It is not complicated.

Yes indeed the observed teaching requirement is a question mark but I guess the thing is if you have any doubts can't you get those 45 days you need in your current program? If not, then you are back to my initial response which is just apply and hope they accept whatever you do have for observed teaching.

What advice are you seeking? File your application and you will eventually receive a decision just like any other applicant. You always have a "chance"...

Your question is a bit counterproductive. Get whatever documentation the college/university are willing to provide you with respect to the supervised teaching practice and submit it to the AITSL for their assessment along with all of the other required documents and application materials. Your question does no make sense about whether you can go ahead with immigration or not. You can only know that by getting the skills assessed by AITSL and you will know eventually once they have decided on the skills assessment. Nobody can tell you what AITSL will decide.

Without a long explanation, the 189 and 190 are not likely for me. My only hope is the 457 and yes I know that is changing into something else but I will assume that the new temporary program will have room for secondary mathematics teachers assuming there is a demand. So that said, does anybody know whether there is hope for me as a secondary mathematics teacher to get a 457 for a state school in Brisbane (assuming I am successful with QCT registration with American qualifications)? Also, I do not want to just get there for a short while and leave...I hope to stay...

Thank you for your post. 1. What are those supposedly "high standards"? I will be applying for registration with the QCT based on my American qualifications and I have yet to see anything special or unique? 2. I understand you came from the UK but the sentiments you shared about teaching in the UK is what I feel about teaching in the United States. I am hoping that if I do manage to ultimately land in the Queensland teaching mathematics that it will be as you describe. I keep reading that they need secondary mathematics teachers which is often taught by people not qualified in mathematics?

Hi Marie, Thank you very much and your post does help. My wife's sister and family are in Brisbane and have been there for so many years that we just want to all be closer. I did check out wootube briefly and will definitely watch some of his videos. I can see why he is popular. I will consider Regional Queensland because you are certainly right that would open up options. I wonder if Toowoomba would qualify as "rural". I like that area because it is still close to Brisbane and yet classified as part of Regional Queensland.

Please reply...I really need insight!! To make a long story as short as possible, my wife and I applied for the Family Sponsored 176 stream back in 2009 but did so amidst all of the changes. Eventually, DIAC capped and ceased. We waited and waited and hoped. Well, with the passage of time any chance of the 189 is out the door for us because of losing points due to age. I am a math teacher and I think I can register myself successfully with the Queensland College of Teachers. Let us assume that is true. I have communicated with Education Queensland and they say for the right candidate especially in Mathematics they would consider sponsoring a teacher for a work visa. What I did not ask them about was age discrimination because obviously they are going to say that they do not discriminate against age....but...anybody here think that a 45 year old American math teacher from the United States would be ruled out because of age?

How are "American Experience" and "American" education viewed?

You are pretty much spot on and something my wife who though she has always loved Australia has been saying something similar to me recently. Her sister's family and all of their friends who we find lovely people moved to Australia between the 1970's and into the early 1990's maybe at the latest. It was a different time and they certainly have had good times. And indeed the hosts do have a tendency to overemphasize the advantages and on top of that we are on a holiday whenever we visit and our goal is to have fun and relax so we are not really seeing it through the lens of would we actually want to live there. I will not deny that I still think of the possibility of living there but more and more it seems like maybe we should just be happy that we have family over there and make frequent trips to visit.

Each visit to my wife's family in Queensland and we love it. It really is a wonderful place and I do believe generally that those who are well settled there do seem much happier than people in the United States. That said, even if we gave it another go on the visa front, do you see any issues with being in our forties in terms of employment...i.e.even if there are vacancies...is age discrimination an issue in Australia the way it is in the United States when it comes to employment? And why did things change so much in Australia in terms of the economy that it sounds pretty much like the United States? Same issues of stagnant wages, layoffs, increase in part time labor while decreasing full time labor, etc? I thought that is what made Australia different is the country's attitudes of wanting a better overall society versus everybody just chasing after the Almighty Dollar.

I get the sense from all of these comments that for a family with children that migration to Australia is risky. My wife's sister has been well settled in Australia with her husband's family for more than 40 years. We tried to get there on the 176 back in 2009 but then DIAC made changes, our application never got allocated and then the 176 was capped and ceased so now we start from scratch but both of us are now in our early 40's. We could get there either through the 189 with her as an accountant but she would just barely get 60 points and apparently accountants are only getting invitations with 70 points. I might be successful registering as a math teacher in Queensland but then finding employment and somebody to sponsor on the soon to be terminated 457 visa could be challenging. I say all this because even if we can pull off a miracle with obtaining a visa that would allow us to live and work in Australia, many of you paint a bleak picture about employment and basically being able to survive there and it may not be worth the risk of selling our assets in the United States and incurring the huge moving costs only to realize that grass is not necessarily greener in Australia as I once may have thought.

Why worry about things you do not control and ultimately migration is a voluntary choice since I assume the nation of Australia is not trying to pull you you away forcibly from wherever you are now...so if you choose to migrate you do so at your own risk (that is one way of looking at it at least since your question appears to be based on the fear of something negative).

Question 1: Is the announcement that the current 457 visa scheme will be replaced by a new visa scheme in March 2018 going to impact secondary math teachers? I understand that skills list will be reduced for sure. Question 2: I keep reading that QLD has a demands for Math Teachers but when I search for Brisbane metro not much ever comes up. Let me guess...Regional QLD has the demand?

40 weeks and still waiting...we submitted our refund request as soon as they announced it and made the forms available.

I did like your comment. I will add one twist to it though as I thought about it a bit more. What would you say to a person who believes a "different life" might lead to a "better life"?

The way Australian immigration has been in flux in the sense of first the major changes with Priority Processing and then operating on a one year cycle in terms of making changes, "letting go" would not necessarily be bad advice. We were screwed with the Family Sponsored 176 Offshore by waiting and waiting until the Cap and Cease in September 2015. With the years passed by, we lost points on age. My wife can still get the 60 points as an accountant under 189 but it turns out you now need 70 though apparently in 2013-2014 60 was good enough. Same with me. Could have got in as a teacher under 189 without needing the points for experience. But, age is now a material difference in our points. Now, I come to learn that teacher and accountant might both be removed off the SOL for 2016-2017 and that is only when our EOI will be completed in time for. Yikes!! Hence..the 457 route is my way in if I can pull it off but as you said getting in will require making some contacts. It will not come from just filling out an application. There is always the student route but not upto shelling out that kind of money for two years in order to get there. Might have been a good idea years ago but at that time I never thought about going abroad for my education.

What is the deal with the PTE and the noisy environment? Is it not obvious that the test requires people to be able to listen and speak without distractions the most obvious being the fact that it makes no sense to take such a test with others in the same room who are also speaking and listening at the same time. Obviously this could impact the ability to listen to what is being said. So what am I missing? Test takers are not complaining to Pearson demanding that the test be given in private rooms?

Why are secondary teachers flagged for removal for 2016-2017?

I am now after your post. Previously, I thought I would have to do it through a 489 to achieve the points. But, I took another look at it appears I could pull it off under the 189 or 190. I would still probably need spouse's partner skill 5 points. The only thing is, by the time I get the assessment and English test done, I am looking at Fiscal Year 2016-2017. I noticed that Secondary Teacher and Accountant have been flagged for removal. Does anybody feel that both of these will be removed?

1. We were originally Family Sponsored 176 Offshore file back in early 2009..then came priority processing...we still hoped that it would be allocated within 5 or 6 years...no can do...Cap and Cease in September 2015. With the passing of time and change in age category, our options are so limited. It took time to figure this out and we figured Accountant through my spouse on 189 is a possibility...but now we come to learn that the occupation ceiling was already lowered from 10,000 to 5000 and maybe lower next fiscal year. It seems like it takes so much time just to get the skills assessed, documentation, etc together...by the time we are ready for the EOI...something will materially change that makes our new path unlikely... 2. Understood. 3. My spouse is the main applicant. We will get 5 points (partner skills) for my skills assessed as a secondary teacher. Even though I am not the main applicant, could the demand for secondary teachers thus my qualifications as a partner be considered by DIBP when they look at the EOI with 60 points from my spouse's application as a factor to weigh in deciding who to invite (even with an automated system in place). 4. So if you are not invited by the time the new skills list comes out for fiscal year 2016-2017 and Management Accountant is removed (hypothetically speaking), does that mean you cannot be invited during fiscal year 2016-2017?