AoifesMum

Hello all, Just hoping someone can offer some advice regarding the Living Away From Home Allowance? We've heard that it is to be stopped from July 1st 2012. I've read some discussions on here about this but they haven't really related to our particular circumstances. I really don't want to sound like I'm moaning about this but I honestly can't believe the government can introduce this measure when people have based their decision to emigrate on receiving the LAFHA. We are a family of 4 on a work sponsored 457 visa (my partner is a civil engineer). We've been over since June, love the country, daughter settled in school etc. When my partner was offered the job we worked out our finances, budget etc and decided to go for it, thinking what a fab experience it would be for us all. We were not told that the LAFHA was under threat. On arriving here we found that the cost of living was way higher than anticipated, so I now work from home (15 hours per week) to make ends meet. It is not financially viable for me to work full time as we would need to pay for child care for our one year old and before/after school for our 6 year old (child care per day is $100 plus $25 per day for my daughter, minimum and we're not entitled to any help). I worked in the UK but had lots of family and grandparents to help, none of which I have here. My partner has been talking to his works about this, as it affects a number of employees there, but they've not really been very helpful. If we loose the LAFHA we will not be able to afford to live here. But we've given up jobs in the UK to come over and, with the economy the way it is over there I doubt we'll get anything there. Does anyone know the current situation with this? I just can't believe that this can be morally right. I know I am speaking from a very personal perspective and there must be reasons why this is being abolished - but how can you offer a job to someone which entails them uprooting their whole family, then simply say 'well, the goal posts have changed, sorry'? If we didn't have the baby I could work and, yes we would be a bit peeved but we'd manage, but we really are trapped as we have no capacity to make additonal income. I am really concerned about what we'll do and really angry that nobody seems to be assisting us at all! Thank God for this site as I've found out all I know about this from PIO. So, does anyone at all have any ideas? They would be sooo welcome. Also, I really don't want this thread to turn into a 'merits of scrapping the LAFHA' and a general slagging off of people who claim it. I really don't care about the rights and wrongs of the policy, just how we can salvage something from this mess. We never came over to Australia to make a pile of money, we are worse off here actually, even with the LAFHA, but I really would rather avoid having to go home to unemployment and house repossession! Apologies that this post has turned into a bit of a negative rant! Helen