EvieL8

Thanks so much for your replies, this information is very much appreciated! Eve

Hiya These questions have probably already been asked a million times before but here goes .... Does the AQF III need to be taken in Australia for it to be recognised by the TRA? We have been looking into a floor finsher qualification (RPL) based in the UK for my Husband (since my skills assessment came back unsuccessful :arghh: ) and we really don't want to spend £2k if it isn't going to help with our application. The company is called Australian Skills Assessments ... any views? Also, can he claim points for this qualification? From what we can see it would count as a trade qualification worth 10 points, is this correct? Any info would be very much appreciated! Eve

Hi All We have begun the long process of getting our affairs in order to apply for a visa through my job but are now considering an alternative option ..... a student visa. If we apply for student visa in my name, I will have to do a masters as I've already got a degree (this would cost in the region of $50 up to $90k from what I can see) but my Husband has not got any formal qualifications in his field so we are thinking about doing it in his name as the costs involved seem to be considerably lower. We have loads of questions and would truly appreciate any advice you can provide Here goes .... 1. My Husband is 40 (birthday in October so will be 41 this year) we think that the age limit on a student visa is under 45, is this correct? 2. Is there any possibility of this type of visa leading to permanent residence? 3. If we are able to apply for residence after the period of education, is the points test the same? e.g. we will still need 65 points to apply? 4. Is it possible to apply for a residence visa whilst we are in Australia of would we have to return to the UK? 5. Has anyone with a family (wife and two kids!) 'got in' using this route? We are hoping that the points threshold would be lower if we take this route as we are pushing it trying to get to 65 but are also considering the advantages of going for the student visa such as lower visa costs, the option of giving Oz a go before we make a definite commitment, etc. What are you views?

Hiya all I have recently taken the IELTS test and missed out on the all important 8 by 0.5 (grrrr!!) so will have to re-sit the test to try and get the 20 points for our visa but the next test available isn't until 21 Jan! I also need to get my skills assessed by the AITSL and would like to get everything moving quickly as we are hoping to lodge the application before July. Do I need to have the IELTS results before applying to the AITSL for a skills assessment? I am British with a BA degree so meet the minimum requirements, but also need the 20 points from IELTS who assesses that? Do I send the certificate off with the visa application? Any advice would be much appreciated! Eve

Hiya All Thought that I might jump into this thread to see if I can get some advice re: my results! I have received them today, after sitting the test for the first time in November and got: L9, S9, W8.5 and R7.5 ...... I need 8's in each band and was really worried about the writing test but that came back okay. I can quite confident in my answers for the reading test, checked and re-checked them before the time limit and couldn't see any mistakes but was worried that I might have written answers in the wrong format, eg. are you allowed to write 'the' before the actual answer? If a question is asking what room is to the right should I have written 'the' bathrrom or just bathroom? I definitely had the correct number of words for each answer i.e. no more than three so I'm really struggling to see where I went wrong!! Any advice would be much appreciated, Many thanks Eve PS - Good luck for the resit Mapster

Thanks for the replies ... I would just like to confirm that I did pass!! Having contacted the AITSL directly I have been advised that I would need to prove that the 3 year course is an accelerated version of the 4 year course so hopefully the letter will be enough, since it does actually state that this is the case. Fingers crossed I get a positive outcome!

Hiya all Sorry if there is already a thread covering this but can't seem to find an answer to my question! I am a primary school teacher with a 3 yr BA QTS degree. Having looked into the AITSL skills test I am aware that they do not recognise the 3 yr degree and specify that it must be a 4 yr course at degree level. I have received a draft letter from my university to send as supporting documentation for my skills assessment (if I go through with it all!) which states..... Eve was a student on the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Qualified Teacher Status course (4 – 11 years) at LHU from September 2005 to July 2009. This was a three year intensive professional course (an accelerated version of the four year course) to equip her to teach children of the primary age range. As confirmed by the University External Examiner, she has achieved a pass standard in practical teaching in her completed practices. She has followed practical courses in all the subjects of the National Curriculum and, at the completion of her course, she had been assessed against the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status as laid down by DfES Circular 02/99 and this was recorded in her Career Entry and Development Profile. Eve successfully completed the course and was awarded the Bachelor of Education (Honours) Degree with Upper Second Class Honours (2:1) in July 2009 having attained the same Qualified Teacher Status as those students who took the four year version of the course. What do you all think? Will this be enough to obtain a successful skills assessment? Any advice appreciated! Eve

Hiya! I realise that this is quite an old thread but have a question linked to the content! I need to have a skills assessment for AITSL, my degree was only three years but I did it over four as I took year out for maternity leave. Before enrolling on the QTS course, I completed a one year course in Education at a local college (which having spoken to an agent might be considered enough to cover the four years) when I spoke to the agent, she basically counted on her fingers how many years it took to gain QTS and queried my answer when I told her it was only a three year course!! Do I put the start date and end date of the course according to how long it took me to complete OR how long it should've taken? Also, any advice on how to have the Education course considered as part of the total years of study? Last question .... I work for an agency, doing primary supply and have done for three years. They are willing to provide a letter to DIAC supporting my application for points, will this be enough? Should I include a supporting letter from one of my regular schools? Thanks! Eve

Hiya all! I have already asked this question on Perth Poms but the only reply received up to now is a link to an agents website ... last updated 2010! Can any one on here help? I am totally confused about where to start with a visa application ... so I'll tell my story right from the beginning! I am a Primary School Teacher, 33 years old with family in Mandurah who are willing to sponsor us with our application. My job has come off the SOL 1 and I have been advised by an agent that I can only go to SA with my qualifications. Although I am not totally against going to SA, I would ideally like to go straight to Mandurah to be near my family and do not want to move my children (aged 8 & 5) twice. A post on PIO states that Perth has become a Regional Area and I was wondering if this would help my application? Can my family sponsor me ... will I receive points for this rather than applying for state sponsorship? This would be an ideal situation as the alternative is to apply on my husbands skills as a floor fitter (time served) but he does not have any formal qualifications so would have to take the AQF III and is also fast approaching 40 so we will lose point on his age. Any advice would be truly appreciated as we really are going around in circles at the moment! Thanks, Eve

Hiya Not sure if this is good news for me ..... haven't sumitted any apps yet, just booked IELTS test but would like to know this; I am a Primary School Teacher, not on 1st SOL list but have relatives in Perth who are willing to sponsor me, will Perth becoing a regional area help me? Can my Auntie sponsor me instead of having to go for SS (which would mean having to go to SA)? Eve

Hiya! We are at the beginning of the process, have booked out IELTS test for 5th November and will be sending the TRA my husbands skills assessment within the next week, although we think he may fail first time and need to take the AQF III to pass! My husband will be 40 on 27th October reducing the points for age from 25 to 10, which will be quite a blow to our application and increase the pressue on IETS results, etc. My question is this...... Can we lodge our application WITHOUT all of the information needed, skills, ietls, etc? If we do, will it still be lodged at that date (i.e. before he is 40) or will DIAC just send it back without lodging it / fail the application and still take the fee? What I hoping you will say is that they will accept the application and contact us to request the information, still grant the points for age and we will all live happily every after!! This situation with age has only just occured to me, really wish we had started this process earlier now :sad: Eve

Hiya! I would like to ask for a bit of advice regarding the TRA / AQF III situation .... my OH hasn't got any formal qualifications in his job which is on the SS SOL for WA and we are wondering whether it might be worth 'having a go' at the TRA skills assessment to see if he can get enough points before having to take the AQF III. We can provide references, employed details, customer feedback, evidence of work etc to the TRA. We were thinking that if he can get it first time we will save $2500 on the AQF, on the other hand if he fails it will only cost us an extra $300 which, in the grand scheme of things isn't fortune! What do other PIO people think?! Eve :biggrin:

Hiya all! Following another sleepless night I have decided to have a bit of a rant on here and hope that someone ... anyone can help me!! I have posted on this site before asking about a 176 visa for my husband as a Radiocommunications Technician but have now found that there may be another way in for us, please take the time to read this as it is quite a long winded question!! My husband currently works on the Digital Switch over contract in London installing satellite equipment (radiocommunications job on SOL). He took this job when the recession hit as there was very little work about in his previous job which was working on a self employed basis for 10 years as a floor fitter, specialising in wooden and laminates. I have now found that the SOL for WA lists 'Floor Finisher' and am wondering whether to go for this option as he does still attend clients homes for service issues regarding flooring in his current position (re-routing cables under flooring etc). He would need to get his skills assessed but we have found several forums which advise the AQF III certificate to increase the chances of a positve TRA assessment but have also found comments stating that DIAC are in dispute with the TRA as they will only accept this qualifiction if it is completed in Australia over a two year period. Can he take this assessment in the UK? Can onyone recommend a good company to contact? Even if he can, will a specialism in wooden flooring be enough? Any help would be very much appreciated! Eve xx

Hi Kev, I would be grateful if you could PM me the details of this agent so I know to avoid them! Have had some very pushy phone calls from one agent and am now wondering if it could be the same one?! Eve xx

Hiya All! I am having the same dilemma ... My application seems to be pretty straight forward, am planning on getting my skills assessed / IETLS test done myself before instructing an agent so have started to think that I might go it alone! My concern is this, I would like to go to Perth as I have family there but my job (Primary School Teacher) has been taken off the 175 list. Is there a way around this? Is there a tick box on an application form asking which state you intend to settle in? So far, I have spoken to 2 agents, one said that she could get me an extra 5 points on my application if we go to SA and the other said he was confident he could get us into WA and that they would give us the extra 5 points too! Friends of ours have just had their visa granted and they were told that they could only go to SA at the beginning of their application and have since been granted a visa going to WA. Too confusing! I would really appreciate any advice!! Eve xx