joanneroberts19

Yeah drop me a PM and we can arrange to meet some time. My 8 year old isn't an avid fan of football but he enjoys a kick around with guys his age.

I can't speak for Sydney but I arrived in Melbourne on June 6th, visited the office that afternoon and received my registration on Friday 8th. Not sure whether it will be that quick if you go to a different office to that which you applied to, it should be ok in principal as all your wife's details will be on their database.

They didn't contact my references but I couldn't say that they never do. Could you not provide them with the details of a new referee.

We brought a brand new tent, never used, new microwave, tools, drawers and other stuff, just took it all out of original wrappings. And my son's birthday presents were in gift bags and clearly labelled. We received our container last month and had no problems with customs and paid no tax.

Hi Michelle, You will need to ask the NMC to send a Certificate of Good Standing direct to AHPRA, your PIN renewal will not be enough. You can request this online or over the phone and they will send you a form to fill in and return with payment, think it cost around £30 from what I remember. Don't do it too early though as it needs to arrive after your application, mine went missing and I had to get another done. You will also need a CV written to their guidelines, which you can find online, and this will need signing by your current manager to certify it to be true and correct. They also need to provide you with a statement of employment, guidelines also on their website, which states the dates you've worked there in what position, whether full time or part time and sickness record. It is a nursing specific CV, they are not interested in what you did before, it just wants to know what skills you have and what experience of nursing you have gained in your field. As for the medical, don't worry at all. I too am overweight, though I had lost weight for the move. The doctor said weight is never an issue as long as you are fit and healthy.The medical consisted of weight/height, urine sample, quick physical exam and as a nurse you need a chest xray and blood tests (For TB, HIV, Hepatitis etc.) The cost was £330 but I think it can vary slightly from one clinic to another. I would suggest getting your AHPRA sorted first as it can take a while, once you receive your letter of intention to register from them (you take this to their office on arrival in Oz with your documents to complete registration) you have 12 months to complete from the date on the letter or you will need to reapply. I used a nursing recruitment agent (Naiman Clarke) who guided me through the whole process and they have a migration agent working there who provides his service free of charge. Using your own migration agent can cost a lot of money. The recruitment agents don't charge you, they charge the employer who eventually gives you a job a finders fee. Just be aware that the employer may then insist you work for them for a minimum term of 1-2 years and this may be put into your contract. This might not sound like a big deal now but if you get here and hate the place, or the job, you are tied to them unless you pay the money back. My employer asked for a 2 year commitment as a matter of goodwill but it is not in my contract therefore I cannot be held to it as it was only a verbal agreement. I'm not sure about PR as we came on a 457, which is the route the recruitment agents will push you towards as it is the quickest way for them to gain their money. I think it is based on a points system, points for your age, years experience in you field, English Language ability etc. That can be another reason for taking the IELTs as the result can give you more points. Anyway, hope that was all of some use to you. Good luck with it all, and don't hesitate to ask anything or PM me if you want any help.

I had no end of trouble with AHPRA, it eventually took 9 months for my registration to come through. As other posts above state, they are a law unto themselves, and apparently the rules can vary depending on which state you send your paperwork to. I had to sit the IELTs exam as I couldn't get a letter from my school and my GCSE certificates wouldn't suffice even though they stated my schools name and I got an A grade in English Language. Yet others on here have had their certificates accepted. I used a public notary to certify my documents, you can find them online and as already mentioned they usually work from offices in towns. Mine was a retired solicitor who worked from his old office, he would just arrange to meet me there at a time suitable to me. He charged between £80-£100 to notarise the documents depending on how many I took. I would suggest maybe getting two copies of everything to save time later if you need them again. I had to visit three times in all at the total cost of £260 and that could have been avoided if I'd known everything I needed in the first place and got two copies. I sent my application in April 20122, my first delay was that the credit card details I gave for payment must have been entered wrong by AHPRA as I double checked it before sending the paperwork and there was more than sufficient funds to cover the payment, but they said the card was declined. However instead of contacting me to tell me this they waited until I emailed to ask why I had not received confirmation of my application being received and when would they take payment. This was 4 weeks after the payment was "declined". I then waited again for another month when they said my GCSE certificates were not proof of English Language ability so had to wait a further month to sit the IELTs, a week to receive the results myself and another month for AHPRA to confirm and accept the result. They then contacted me to say the University Transcript of my Nurse Training, which they'd had for 6 months by then, did not include the number of hours studied on the subject of Mental Health. At this point I began to think I would never register however the Uni were very good and ammended the transcript and resent it. Just as I thought they couldn't possibly need anything else they than requested a letter of Good Standing from the NMC. This had been sent to them, and obviously lost, 6 months prior also. The NMC reissued the statement and I eventually got approval on 4th January 2012. Even then the catalogue of errors didn't end. They sent me a letter of intention to register that is valid for 12 months, which you the present with your documents at the AHPRA office of choice on arrival in Oz to complete registration. This letter has to be provided when applying for your visa so sent it along, only to discover AHPRA had put the date of issue as January 2011, not 2012 as it should have stated, therefore my registration had lapsed before it began. A quick phonecall by my agent got it sorted and a new letter issued however. The last error they made was after I arrived here in Melbourne. I presented at the office, gave all my documents which they copied. They asked for my new Australian contact details including job offer documents and a few days later I got an email to say my registration was complete and I was now able to work. Some weeks later I got a call from my mum in the UK as she is dealing with my mail over there to say AHPRA had posted my Registration Certificate and card to my old UK address. Unbelievable!

Hi, I am a nurse working in Austrlia. We arrived on 6th June this year. I applied for my 457 visa on 12th April, had my medical on 17th April and the visa was approved on 1st May. Joanne

I have GCSE certificates which state my secondary school name but AHPRA said that was not proof that I was taught and assessed in the English language for 5 years as the certificate does not say how long I attended the school. I even have an A grade in GCSE Englush Language but that wasn't enough so I would check with AHPRA on that one before paying to have the certificates certified as unless they've changed the rules they will not suffice. And sending insufficient or incorrect information will delay your application as every time they have a query your paperwork goes to the bottom of the pile. I know this through experience of the English language issue and then my uni transcript was missing evidence that I had studied Mental Health during my training. These two errors resulted in my registration taking 9 months to approve.

Hi Michelle, I am a nurse and I moved out to Melbourne in June. You do not need to take the IELTs exam if you can get a letter off your secondary school stating that you were taught and assessed in English. I couldn't get that as my secondary school is no longer open so had to take the exam. You will need a medical for the 457 as you intend to work as a nurse, but unlike the PR visas, your husband and any other dependents will not need a medical. Once you start work on a 457 you need to remain working for the employer who is sponsoring your visa, therefore if you lose your job you need to find not only another employer but one who is prepared to sponsor you. An agency who offers work on a casual basis would not do that. Also check the terms of employment and job offer as many who offer sponsorship will expect a minimum term of employment of 1-2 years. Sounds nothing now but if you get here and hate the place or the job you may struggle to get out of the contract without paying. Nursing jobs are still around unlike in the UK but there are not as many vacancies as there used to be or the agencies would like you to think so be prepared that it may take a while. Also make sure all your paperwork is in order before sending it to AHPRA as they are very strict and will delay your application every time they find something wrong or missing. Good luck with everything and don't hesitate to message me if you need any advice as I have only just done it myself so know what you're going through. Joanne.

Hi, we are a couple both aged 39 with a boy aged 8 and a girl aged 6. We came to Australia on 6th June and moved to Berwick. The hardest part for us is the loneliness, so we are hoping to find other families with similar aged children to meet up with and share experiences. Joanne and Lee :cool: