Wonderingaloud

Yes, I avoided the whole supervised practice thing but we have had UK midwives start and they have had to jump through all of those ridiculous hoops. The hospital I work has now stopped doing this because of the work and paperwork involved through APHRA, but also stopped sponsorship for UK trained RMs because there are Australian midwives in the locality. I came at a very lucky time, on an employer sponsored 457, (employer paid relocation costs) employer sponsored PR 2 years after that, and got citizenship last year just before all the big changes. Yes state sponsored is probably the way to go. I’m not sure if midwifery is on the long or short term SOL though. You’ll probably need to do IELTS for registration (I did, it was a PITA) and will also help with points for your visa if I’m not mistaken. I’m in sunny QLD, you’ll do well to get work on the sunshine coast though. Beautiful place but work is hard to come by there.

Hi, I am a midwife here in oz. Did my skills assessment a good few years ago now so can’t much help with timelines etc as it’s all changed such a lot since then. Just wanted to say good luck with it all. Which state are you looking to move to?

We’ve been here in Brisbane 7 years and love the weather. I think it’s personal preference. There are a few days a year which are crazy hot but they’re the exception not the rule IMO and we find it quite novel. It also usually means you get a massive thunderstorm in the evening and the storms here are just awesome. We don’t watch the telly on those nights, we watch the storm outside it’s fabulous. Winter is cooler, and now we are acclimatised we really feel the cold so I still get to pull out my drawer of winter warmers in June. Last year we stayed in Springbrook for a mini break over winter and had the whole red wine by the log fire/ socks and jumper thing going :-) Best of both worlds. Regardig wildlife: I have seen 2 snakes in the time we have been here. One was curled under a rock out in the bush, the second was a tiny little thing that couldn’t get away from me fast enough. The area I live in is surrounded by trees and is renowned for its wildlife but I am actually dissapointed I haven’t seen more! Though there are posts on our local Facebook page of some pretty big pythons in peoples garages etc.! We do get wallabies in our garden most nights which is pretty cool though. Took us a while to figure out what the weird looking poo was in our garden until hubby installed security cameras and we saw whole families of them hopping around. Mosquitoes by far the biggest issue for us. Have to remember the repellant, my poor little girls legs are pretty bad at the moment from playing outside at kindy. On the plus side, no wasps here like the evil British ones that are unrelentless. The Ozzie ones look monstrous, really scary, big with long legs but they just sort of hover around and mind their own business. Oh and ants. But if we keep up with the pesticide spraying every 6 months it’s all good, and anything that does beach the border is usually doing the dance of death on the tiles by the time we find it.

Can’t help with regards to the work situation but Sunshine Coast is just beautiful and I’d live there in a heartbeat if we weren’t so settled with jobs etc down on the Southside of Brisbane. Maybe we’ll retire up there one day! Hope it pans out for you. Good luck x

Thanks Ozzie Glad you and your family are settling in! Whereabouts in Brisbane are you? We are Southside (a fair way down southside mind) so a bit of a commute to the city where we work but nonetheless a lovely little part of the world. Enjoy the hot days and balmy nights! Hopefully a good thunderstorm or two as well!! All the best x

I agree with the above, choose your suburb carefully. We are roughly halfway between Brisbane and GC but we much prefer the beaches and the vibe up on Sunshine Coast. Parts of GC are like Blackpool in the sun, sort of tacky, touristy and not for us! Have heard good things about Helensvale and pacific pines, meant to be loads of poms there! It’s a bit too far south for us when we commute to Brisbane. I think you would have to drive round and get a feel for the place.

I wasn’t feeling too great at work once and when asked what the matter was, I said I thought it was just ‘trapped wind’. Following some strange looks it then took me 10 minutes to explain what that actually meant before conceding and just saying I need to fart! No one knows what tippex is, here it’s whiteout. Ordering a beer can be a challenge, not everywhere sells pints a schooner or pot is a much more common measure. Schooner is 425mls, a pot is 285mls. Manchester is bedding, and a Doona is a duvet. Capsicum is pepper, zucchini is courgette Whipper snipper is an edge trimmer/strimmer Yoghurt is pronounced the American way which winds me up!! Especially when my daughter asks for a yOHgurt, no, say it properly and you can have a yoghurt!!! Maroon is pronounced marone, which also irritates me, data is darta, American pronunciation. A rashie is a swimming top that covers your arms/back, like a waterproof jumper. JPs are so easy to find and a completely free service, they’re in all the main shopping centres or library’s throughout the week. The postman whizzes around on a motorbike to deliver post and never actually gets off it to post letters. You can buy a litre pump bottle of sun cream from supermarkets. Its quite common for a lot of people to be vitamin d deficient despite living in such a sunny place (observation from my workplace). Im sure there are plenty of others that I can’t think of!

Ok wow. I started posting on here in 2010 I think, and haven’t been back since, until now that is! Very bizarre to re read my posts from all that time ago. We’ve been in Brisbane now for almost 7 years. I’m still in the same job as when I arrived, we’ve moved suburbs and started our own little Aussie family and got our citizenship this year but other than that we are still much the same, still speak with our British accents, and still very much enjoying living our lives down under. Hands down, best thing we ever did. We still have weekends or even days that feel like we’re on holiday, still discovering new places, and the things that we loved about the place when we arrived still hold the same appeal. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the oppurtunities we have had (and still have) here. I get it’s not for everyone, and the choices people make mean different things, but for us we are financially and emotionally much better off here than we were in the UK. That’s not to say I don’t like the UK, there are some things I miss terribly, like Christmas (it’s still not right in 40 degree heat), UK television (you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone) and driving on English roads (no courtesies here!)) but I have learnt to accept the fact that you will always have nostalgia about a place you were brought up in and lived for a long time. I love the UK, and it will always be part of me, but having been back once in the last 7 years, I know this is home. The best way I can describe the experience of going back is like the UK is like black and white television (think the first part of the wizard of oz) and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s comfortable and traditional. But coming to Australia, and stepping out of the airport into the sunshine, is like the part where Judy Garland opens the door and suddenly you see the world in colour. Its like the world has come to life, it’s bright, and exciting and interesting. For us, it’s still exactly that. We aren’t bored of Australia yet. Only 2 weeks ago we went to Coochiemudlo Island for the first time, (it’s on our doorstep and cost the same as a bus trip) it was beautiful. We’ve earmarked it for future beach days out when the weather warms up. Comparatively, we feel our daughter has a far better and healthier lifestyle here than what she would have in the UK. If you are an indoorsy person, like wearing jumpers, and generally don’t like hot weather, I wouldn’t move here. It will grind you down eventually. But if you like sunny days, don’t mind sleeping partially naked (or completely) with a fan going for 9 months of the year, and can live with the odd mosquito (our one major bug bear) then this is for you! But in all seriousness, Brisbane and it’s surrounds is beautiful. There is so much to do here. We love it. Very happy to be back on the forum!

I know it sucks! Well I feel better knowing I am not the only one, but also feel like we've been forgotten... I cant even check the status because the current correspondence is with the employer and diac, not me.

Yes they are a large hospital and have /are sponsoring lots of people for PR. With it being a new system they tell me they are unsure regarding processing times etc and haven't got anything to go on (I was one of the they nominated under the new system)

Anyone else waiting for nomination approval before submitting the application? My employer submitted end of August and this was acknowledged end of September and nothing since :-( have heard it can take 5-7 months for nomination approval- though everyone else seems to have not waited anywhere near this long? Starting to get seriously fed up now!

Hi like I say my employer lodged their nomination ive no idea which office though and they havent forwarded anything to me. im just sitting here waiting with all the documents ready to go as soon as i get a green light on the approval.Yes totally agree re the skills assessment, just money making. Thanks for the info on decision ready, seems very unfair they prioritise those who have gone through an agent? Because you upload the documents electronically when you apply for the visa do they still have to be certified (justice of the peace etc?) I am a midwife, how about you? just watching the news in horror, whereabouts in oz you based? Looks like part of Brisbane due to go under soon. We live on a hill thank god. Thanks so much for your info!

Thanks LostMyWay it's nice to know there is someone in a similar situation. Which stream are you in? I am in the second stream as had to get a skills assessment as was only here for 12 months at the time of lodging the nomination. I'm not sure if that has any impact either- I thought the first stream -the transition one was supposed to be priority. Didnt get the acknowledgment letter, I was only told of it through my employer who received it. I'm wondering if I should have had one myself- but then I haven't actually applied yet so maybe that's why. My employer is a large hospital who have sponsored lots of staff over the years so chances are it wouldn't get refused, but there's still that niggle at the back of my mind... is it any faster if you submit all the documents do you think? Does is mean your application is decision ready if you do? Hating all the waiting but at least I have some idea now - hopefully hear soon! Good luck you you too.

Hi have just discovered this thread. My employer who also sponsored me for 457 lodged their nomination on August 27th. They received an acknowledgement letter about a month later and I have heard nothing since :-( anyone else in the same boat? Am waiting for approval before submitting my part of the application incase i loose $3000 but am wondering whether its worth taking a gamble on this? my 457 runs out nov 2014 so would is be a reason for waiting so long? I am not a priority? Also does anyone have any info on bridging visas (just incase it takes years) thanks