thelowsinAus

Thanks for all replies to this post. Here are the present points that we are on . No points for age or English Language as a UK passport is only equivalent to 6's. 15 for overseas employment 5 for Australian employment 10 for education/Diploma 10 for other factors. Obviously the IELTS seems to be the only way to go at present, as this would give us 20 points for 8's. My wife did attempt the IELTS within the UK before we were accepted on the 457, to try and enter on a PR Visa. After 3 attempts at the exam she gave up, reaching an average 7 across all 4 subjects. She did not have a happy experience undertaking the exams, so is reluctant to go down that route once more. Having said that, unless the system changes before 2016 it seems we have no options!! Skilled Visa - Pass mark 60 points Age Select age 18-24 years (25) 25-32 years (30) 33-39 years (25) 40-44 years (15) English IELTS 8 on each of 4 components Superior English (20) IELTS 7 on each of 4 components Proficient English (10) Overseas Employment (Employment outside Australia within the last 10 years in nominated occupation before receiving invite for EOI) Select Employment Time Minimum 3 years (5) Minimum 5 years (10) Minimum 8 years (15) Australian Employment (Employment in Skilled occupation in Australia within the last 10 years before receiving invite for EOI) Select Employment Time Minimum 1 year (5) Minimum 3 years (10) Minimum 5 years (15) Minimum 8 years (20) Professional Year Completed a professional year in Australia in nominated skilled occupation for at least 12 months within the last 4 years before receiving invite for EOI (5) Educational Qualifications Doctorate Award by Australian RTO or overseas recognised RTO (20) Bachelor degree from Australian RTO or Bachelor qualification from recognised RTO overseas (15) Diploma from Australian RTO (10) Trade certificate from Australian RTO (10) Skills assessment for overseas qualification (10) Australia Study Completed a Degree, Diploma, or trade qualification from Australian registered RTO completed in 16 calendar months; totalling minimum 2 years academic study; instructed in English on a valid study visa (5) Credentialled Community Language NAATI accreditation for interpreting a foreign language (5) Studying and living in Regional Australia If you have studied in a Regional area for at least 2 academic years (5) Partner skills If your partner is included in your application and has the following: (5) • Meets Age criteria • Has evidence of English ability • Has positive skills assessment at the time of invitation of EOI SC190 Skilled Nominated visa (State/Territory government nomination) If you have applied for SC 190 skilled nominated visa and you have been nominated by a state or territory government for the visa application and the minister has accepted the nomination (5) SC489 Designated Area Sponsorship Designated Area sponsorship If you have applied for SC 489 (provisional visa and being sponsored by and eligible relative living in a designated area (10) Total Points: 40

Hi guys, We've been living here in Bris now for nearly two years on the 457 and we were looking forward to my Wife's company offering PR sponsorship in November. It has now transpired they will not support sponsorship and so looks like we will have to go through the process ourselves! Could someone clarify the points system, as all calculators we have accessed seem to suggest we do not have enough points to apply for Skilled independent Visa subclass 189 . My wife works as a Nurse and before the points system changed she automatically received 60 points for her skilled profession, but now with the points calculators it seems this does not apply?? A little confused, so before we send in any EOI we would like to make sure we are eligible. Thanks for now. R

The guys at Global have explained the implications thoroughly, so at present we are leaving the pension in the UK in a sipps to allow us to move it across quickly as and when we decide it will be worth moving it. Thanks for your input below :-)

We are in Queensland outside of Brisbane. Know what you mean about different names etc/ Did try and purchase Plumbers mate (putty)for a friends toilet, but eventually found out it's called wax!. Steep learning curve but fun trying to find out!!

hi guys, Any decorators on here who have happily carried on trading in Aus? I've just arrived and still waiting for my tools to arrive. One issue is I used the Brushmate brush storage in the UK but sadly had to leave my supply of fluid behind as it was not allowed on the container. I can't for the life of me find any suppliers of the trade 20 within Aus!! I did get a quote from one supplier but I'm not sure he actually understood what I was on about and quoted $48 per unit!!! Is it a case over here to go back to tried and trusted ways of kettle and water!!?? Any assistance would be helpful. I also still have to jump through more hoops to prove I'm a qualified decorator ( C&G certs not enough) to get my white card etc. More money!! At least the sun is shining!!:xmas23: Rich

Hi guys, As we are in the process of organising removals, sorting accommodation, schools for the kids house let, etc etc, we have also been contacted by Global Qrops Ltd through Anglo Pacific ( who we are not moving with). They have given us, or me so far an analysis report on my pensions in relation to transfer to Aus. All very well until you see the sums and fees involved in transfers etc which generate thousands for the company along with there counterparts. Has anyone had dealings with these guys and is it a rip off? or just more money to say goodbye to? Not something we have really taken notice of as we are far too busy organising our lives! Any info as to whether these sort of things are a good idea or just leave well alone till we are settled in Aus. Cheers. Rich.

Big thanks for this info. We've had Anglo round and White's so far. Found White's more knowledgable but I've just read a review regarding White's and the client had lots of breakages?? It certainly is a minefield! JM are due round in a couple of weeks along with Crown who our friends used and recommended as there guys get bonuses for no breakages!!. Told Anglo rep this and he said what a good idea!!Will keep you posted on this one. Oh also was told by Anglo rep we were 150cuft over a 20ft Container but looking up stats for a 20ft we are actually 50cuft Under what he quoted???? Who to trust?

Hi guys, We are finally at the stage of preparing our goods for transit to Aus. Now there seems to be a lot of discrepancy, especially with the removal firms as to what you can and can't take. Also goods that may flag up at customs for the quarantine boys to extrude as many $75 out of you to fumigate items as they can:mad:. I am a decorator by trade and so would like to take all my paint brushes ( wooden handles hog hair bristle) and my cotton twill dust sheets ( cleaned professionally before we go) but I'm hearing different stories from different agents, so just wondered if anyone has managed to take said items across with any hassle or whether I should just start again when I get to Aus. I have also been told that printer cartridges are forbidden due to Al Qaeda trying to make bombs out of them! Is this true?? Anyway still chucking out and selling stuff I always thought may come in handy!!:biggrin: Cheers, Rich.

Hi Maddie, My wife has finally trudged through the other side of what is the quagmire of AHPRA protocol! With regards certs. She sent off certified copies of her O' and A level certificates ( at school a long long time ago! ). This seemed to be enough along with her training syllabus from the NMC of which you do have to pay £35 for the privilege! We did finally get a letter from the school ( which had changed it's name from her school days!) stating her schooling was taken in English and hours taken, but it was not needed in the end. Good luck with the application and my only advice would be keep on top of them!! We eventually kept pestering them with phone calls to find out where the process was ( add credit to skype account it's cheaper for phone calls) in relation to completion and whether any other information was required. We wish we had done this from the beginning, as it seemed to move the process on a lot quicker:biggrin: Once again good luck. Rich

Hi Guys, We are finally through the painful process of dealing with the AHPRA huraagh!! Now for the e457. As it is a bank holiday in Aus this weekend I very much doubt we will get a reply to one of our questions so hopefully someone on here may well know. We will have 3 children entering the school system in Aus and one of the questions relating to this is "classroom situations". They require: Name of course: Name of institution providing course and total length of course in weeks, for duration of stay. None of these we can answer as we do not know which school they will be attending or the curriculum as it is in Aus. I have contacted a school we have made enquiries to but won't here anything for a while. Does anyone have an idea as to the Length of term times annually and any details in relation to the curriculum?? Worth a shot:wink: Thanks in advance if anyone has info.

Well Just to add the latest instalment. After much hounding of the AHPRA for details of what is actually happening at present they have finally informed us that after spending 4 weeks studying the NMC syllabus they have realised it is for a child care Nurse and not a general Nurse!! So they have supposedly contacted NMC to send the correct syllabus. After contacting the NMC herself. My wife discovered the AHPRA have not contacted them with regards this issue and they will now be sending the correct Syllabus to AHPRA!! God give us strength. If there ever was a case of incompetency this must rate as one of the highest order!!! Down fall of all this lack of professionalism is time-scale, as flights will no doubt be more costly the nearer to our pencilled in date gets and the fact we were hoping our kids wouldn't have to change schools twice this year, pails in to insignificance sadly. What ever next!:realmad: Here's hoping:biggrin:

Well keep your Chin up Laura, Many in the same boat! We sent our ap off last December with confirmation of receipt 19th Dec 2011. We eventually received an email stating which information they required from us, which hadn't been included in the first application. Of which included evidence of address ie Utility bill, which was included, but somehow they seemed to have lost it! Our evidence of schooling (hours) as well as N.M.C Syllabus confirmation was received by them on the 11th April. Numerous phone calls and emails have been made with a reply as to what is actually happening at present around three weeks ago. The Syllabus is being studied and they will make a decision soon!! We are now in the process of contacting once more and to let them know we will go down the complaints route, as they do specify a turn around of 4-6weeks on their website. We have even specified we need some form of reply soon as we need to know whether our children will still be in this country in September for schooling, as we did not want them to have to change schools twice in one year, but it's looking more and more likely we'll be here at Christmas:cry: So that doesn't seem to have worked:laugh: We are using Brisbane and I believe they do have a serious backlog, but can't understand why it takes 3 weeks to read a Syllabus document and make a decision. One would assume they have seen these documents a thousand times over. Any way Just keep at them so they don't forget about you and I hope your process moves on quicker than ours. I have seen some on this site who have had the 4 week turnaround so it is possible! Mainly dependant on where sent and whether all documentation is in place. Good luck.:biggrin:

Well done Rachael!! I love your approach. Wish we had carried out that approach from the start. We are still waiting..... They received our original documentation 19th Dec 2011.They managed to lose some of our paperwork and then requested more from NMC!!!.:no: They Received all our documentation updates on the 11th April 2012. Now for the hounding to start!! as we are now relying on a quick turn around of the 457 Visa as our children are moving schools in September if we stay here any longer, so we were hoping to enter Aus the end of August at the latest Grrr!!:arghh: Here's hoping:biggrin:

Thanks guys I'll ensure we get a letter from the school as well if they reply, just to cover this. We actually have already sent details from the Hospital regards training etc, but they are still asking for a syllabus which includes hours spent on the course! So hopefully once the NMC have sent this and we include the schooling details, we might be on the way back down on this roller coaster ride!!Thanks again for the info will keep you posted.

Hi Guys, Does anyone know if genuine O'level and A'level certs are good enough evidence as proof of English education? The AHPRA have queried the documentation originally sent as proof, which was the printed results statement for the O/H's A' levels, but as this was not dated to AHPRA's liking they will not accept it. We have finally found original certificates, but these are only dated on the date of examination. They do require 5 years in total of full time education and a letter from the hospital my O/H attended for her training doesn't seem to be enough either! So we are relying on the NMC to send a syllabus with regards hours spent on the course! If anyone else has sent original certs as proof and received registration that would be good news. Cheers, Rich.