robfromdublin

Personally I reckon you would be much better off putting money into income protection insurance rather than health insurance. Health insurance gives you the ability to avoid queues for elective procedures and have a nicer room in which you stay in hospital, but for anything serious you will get just as good care in the public system in Australia. I've never really understood the 'peace of mind' approach because the public system will give you the care you need for free. All health insurance does is give you the option to have it in a nicer hospital for more money. However, income protection will give you true peace of mind because let's say you get sick and can't work. Suddenly you will be reliant on whatever sick leave you've built up and then Centrelink for income, which will probably be a much lower income than you currently have. If you have good income protection insurance then you'll have guaranteed money coming through the door and that is true peace of mind. Imagine having chemotherapy in a nice private hospital but then having to sell your house because you can't work to afford the mortgage??

I agree with others. You're not doing yourself any favours by calling it a temporary visa. Technically it might be but the 820 makes you eligible for lots of PR entitlements, so I would definitely avoid use of the word temporary. Best of luck

Can you get work as a cardiologist in Australia? If so, you'll be earning lots of money as doctors (and particularly consultants) in Australia are some of the best paid in the world. Obviously the security situation in Pakistan is relevant but, seriously, why are you asking others to suggest reasons for leaving? Everyone's reasons are unique to their situation. If you can't think of any reason to leave Pakistan then don't.

To offer a counter view, I am a senior scientist leading a team of scientists/engineers for an environmental consultancy. I do not have a PhD but I do have an M.Sc. which got me my first job in a research institute in the UK. Granted, not having a PhD in academia is very unusual (as was having a permanent job straight out of my masters) but in my current role it certainly is not required. Many people in my industry do have it though and there are a few advantages. In my view, those advantages do not outweigh the time invested in it. I stress that this is in my industry. Whether it is worth it for you depends on why you want to do it. Is it purely to get the type of job you want? Is it possible to get that job without a PhD? You will need to talk to people in the industry to figure that out. However, people do PhDs for many reasons. Perhaps you would like the status associated with one, or the intellectual challenge, or simply the joy of discovery. If it were only for jobs then there wouldn't be so many people doing them. I would imagine only a portion of people completing PhDs need one for their work.

I just jumped on your charity's website and see that you've been nominated for a Pride of Australia medal! It's really good to know that there are fundamentally decent people in the world, especially after what's happened this week in the states. Thanks for the reminder, it's actually made me a little emotional! I can't help with any advice on your dilemma but have sent your charity a small donation. All the best with your decision x

Founded an award-winning charity while going through the toughest time of your life thousands of miles away from the majority of your support network? I think a lot of employers would think pretty highly of you...

Yep. As long as you've filled in the correct reference number there should be no issues with linking the 1195 to your application

I did. Send it by registered post so you know when it is received.

I went to a doc and he assessed me. Blood tests may have been involved (I think) but I'm not sure. They looked at my records from memory, or at least contacted my gastro consultant, and then provided me with a sealed letter that was to be submitted (unopened) with my application. That was for the partner visa though, and I can't remember what I had to do for the 457. Sorry for the lack of detail but it wasn't particularly onerous. At the time I was on pentasa and azathioprine and there were no issues with the visa going through. I was in remission but had recently had a flare.

I don't think anyone other than a MARA agent is going to put their neck out and say you'll be fine BUT I had a similar level of disease, similar treatment options and similar flare frequency and I was fine for my partner visa app 5 years ago. There would be less of a hurdle for a 457 because it's temporary. If it was me I'd get the steroids and just go through the process.

I should mentally add 2 hours to the time, because that is exactly how far QLD is out of sync in my opinion, but I find it difficult when my work hours are 830 to 5! If I could swing a workday from 7am to 330pm then that would be sweet. The construction industry works those hours and they have it absolutely 'nailed'

Very sorry to hear about your dad, Antipodista. It's a terrible time you're going through. If you do make the decision to go back then I hope you give it all you've got. The prize at the end could be a happy marriage and ensuring your kids don't go through a divorce at a young age. It sounds like it'll be a lot of work to get there but it's a worthy goal. All the best

Your thesis is that bonus should be based on more than just financial performance of the company, and they often are (but not often enough in my opinion). There might be targets about gender diversity, OH&S, or any other number of key performance indicators like any other job. If the bonus is based entirely on financial performance, they cut costs, and a low-paid worker causes a problem like this then you would certainly have a point. But none of those facts are known yet. It is drawing a long bow to say that this CEOs bonus should not be awarded because an accident happened. I'm not saying this is the case, but what if this woman had been in the role for a year and had doubled the maintenance schedule, reduced OH&S incidents and increased pay for all by increasing revenue? Should she be punished for the irresponsible actions of her predecessor? What if she employed the best maintenance company available and it was that company that screwed up? She should be punished? I totally agree that CEOs should act like ship's captains and take all responsibility regardless, but at least determine what the facts are first.

In fairness, the bonus refers to a different time period to when the accident took place so I have no issue with this. Most employees get paid for the time they are in work regardless of whether they do something sackable on their last day. If you work for 3 weeks of the month and then headbutt the boss you'll still get paid for those 3 weeks. Plus there is no known cause of the accident just yet so assigning blame is not appropriate. I agree though, that CEOs generally are overpaid. How many people buy shares directly and exercise their voting rights though?

Best of luck with it!

So I finally got round to putting in this complaint last week, and yesterday I received a call from the manager of the team in the Brisbane DIBP office. He apologised and said the official in question had been spoken to, which is all I wanted out of my complaint. He wasn't able to be concrete, but it looks like I might get in for the Australia Day ceremony at BCC, which would be slightly ahead of the expected schedule. I sat the test mid August

If it gets to it, check whether any pay offer is inclusive or exclusive of superannuation. They will often quote inclusive to make it sound higher. Also ask about relocation expenses, although if they won't sponsor then it's unlikely you'll get those. Otherwise it's like any other interview so normal questions apply

My advice is to go back because if you feel like this now then you may well feel much worse when you have responsibilities (wife, kids) and cannot simply book the next flight back. Enjoy the rest of your time, get citizenship if you want, do all the things you want to in the region and then get back home and build a life.

There is a clear responsibility to inform DIBP that the relationship has ended, which will result in the visa being cancelled. If both parties continue to pretend to DIBP that the relationship is ongoing then they might get away with it and get PR, or DIBP might find out and impose penalties. You won't get anyone on a public forum to advise that you should keep quiet and hope for the best, but you now know your options. Sorry, your friends' options

What a great update to read. You are clearly working through everything and doing all the right things. And telling his parents was a great step. The 2 posters above have given you a couple of additional things to think about but from what you've written it sounds like you're over the initial shock and are working hard to get a good outcome. Well done! I hope you're feeling 10 feet tall and strutting around like superwoman!

Not gonna help you with your homework

My opinion is that you are a twelve year old girl with social adjustment issues. Is that right or wrong?

Seriously? Opinions can of course be wrong. If you need to be protected from criticism then how do you get through life?

I am pointing out the logical failings in his opinion. I'm not saying at all that he can't express them. Just because you are free to express an opinion doesn't mean you are immune from criticism.

How the hell is a woman marrying another woman affecting your freedom of speech? That's ridiculous. For thousands of years man thought the world was flat. Just because something has been thought of for thousands of years doesn't make it right. How long was slavery acceptable?