WeegieDave

Firstly, where are you currently living? If you are not in Australia recruitment agencies will not bother with you as there is no shortage of QS / Contract Administrators looking for jobs here in Australia and for recruitment agents to make money they need to place a strong candidate in the role in a short space of time. Gone are the days of shipping QS's over from abroad. We need more info to try give an informed opinion on your situation.

Yeah I fly in and out of Karratha but never really seen any contractors from the island

Do you fly into Karratha? I thought you went straight onto the island?

I'm working for a contractor doing some work for Gorgon at the moment. We are onshore on the mainland though.

If you are in WA I'm pretty sure that you can't register a relationship here so it just depends on what state you are in.

Yes, I've previously mentioned that the 'boom' was nothing more than the construction / expansion of many mine sites which required a lot of contractors to carry out the works. The mines are now all operational (with the exception of Roy Hill which will be up and running soon enough) and naturally all the contractors that were employed to do the works are now finding it a tough market out there at the moment. I can see some of the smaller less adaptable contracting companies going under within the next year or so. There will be a lot of metro infrastructure works beginning to take place over the next few years to alleviate congestion with a couple of decent sized highway upgrades having already been given the green light to progress into planning stages. Perth stadium is due to go into construction phase and the airport will be getting upgraded from next year up until 2019 with a lot of associated surrounding infrastructure works and Perth will continue to grow with projects such as the light rail will no doubt happen within a couple of years. As for mining there will be a transitional phase over the next few months where the companies such as BHP and Rio will ruthlessly cut jobs as there is a lot of people sitting around the offices and sites of these companies doing feck all and being paid well for it. I am often shocked at the amount of overkill on mine sites and people with big mouths trying to justify their jobs so I reckon BHP are doing the right thing at the moment. And of course the ore price will fluctuate depending on China but WA will continue to churn out ore to waiting ships at Port Hedland. A record quantity has been exported so far this year. People 'big up' this mining boom being over / WA is doomed thing waaay too much. It's like they want to see it collapse in a strange twisted way.

Many people leaving never intended on staying permanently but rather came to make some hay while the sun shined. I would often speak to mainly kiwis and Irish up North on the mine sites who openly admitted to just being here to make some dollar before going home and several Irish guys in my company have just left to return home or to go to London. FIFO rosters are becoming less family friendly also which is giving foreigners the urge to go back home. I think the masses leaving and who will leave within the next couple of years is a positive thing for all of the people who intend on staying here permanently. The 457 visa seems to be getting slowly but surely filtered out.

Love the photos. I've visited most of the places you captured but your photos reminds me of how beautiful WA is. So much to do and explore. Great photography work.

You made it sound quite posh there. AKA Strathy Park! Lol.

I knew you would slot right back in when you got home to Scotland Jules. It seemed the right decision for you when you went back. Good luck with the future back home :cool:

We have a few guys from QLD on our site up near Karratha at the moment. They pay for their own return flight to Perth. Costs them about 1 days wage out of a 21 day roster. They make plenty of $$$ for it to be more than worth it.

People misunderstand when talking about the mining boom being over. Record tonnage of ore has went out from Port Hedland this year so far. The mines will be fine.. Sure, the price like any mineral goes up and down whether it be iron ore, nickel, gold etc etc. The mining boom was when they were constructing mines and all the associated infrastructure which obviously employed a lot of people, a large percentage of which were on 457 visas. The mines are now operational so obviously there isn't the employment up North that there was during the construction phases. When the mines exhaust their supplies they explore other areas of land, Geologists are flat out busy then then construction phases kicks off again and there is a big demand for workers.. It's an up and down kind of business. The mines are still churning out ore at a steady pace so no need to panic and think that WA is doomed.

Me too. $16 for a pint of Hoegaarden in the Belgium Beer Cafe. The dude behind the bar did pre warm me though!

Apologies. I retract that post. Melbourne is soooo cheap compared to Perth!! :cool:

Never been to Brissie but Melbourne ain't cheap! Maybe a few years ago but not now. Was in Adelaide recently. That was a couple of bucks cheaper per pint.. Nice city too! I could live there

Granted Perth is bloody expensive for a pint but I was in Melbourne recently and the prices were just the same. Wasn't any cheaper than Perth!

Best of luck mate!

Harpo's house.. He'll be in Engerlund!'

I'm feeling a bit homesick just now. Wouldn't mind a wee trip back to see everyone!

Also you cannot work for any one employer for more than 6 months while on a WHV which can limit your employment options but as others have said, it's not as simple as just moving over and staying. You need to qualify for a permanent visa which unfortunately by the information you have given I doubt you would. You will need to check the SOL and CSOL to see if you would qualify and meet all the criteria

Yeah when I am up North many rural areas and towns only operate on Telstra. I wouldn't choose anyone else TBH. They were the saviour of me when I burnt my clutch out on a beach near the Pinnacles. I managed to get 1 bar of reception which enabled me to make a phone call to a recovery company who came and picked me and my car up. If I had been with any other provider I would have been screwed!!

Definitely Tesltra. You may be lucky to get 4G coverage in Baldivas but you will defo get 3G

You can't go wrong with Telstra. Good all round coverage. You can get cheaper such as Vodafone but you get what you pay for.

Yeah I always buy my Dewalt work boots from eBay as they don't stick them over here. All the safety boots in Aus are big clumsy things!

eBay