nycplanner

Yes, they are. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, correct word use, etc. -- all of that matters and they will deduct points if you've made those kinds of errors. I've been told you can write in all capital letters but I would get someone at the testing centre to confirm that. If you struggle with writing and perhaps testing in general, I think getting a tutor would be a great idea. At the very least I would recommend purchasing a few books to familiarize yourself with the format. I found Cambridge IELTS 8 (and all the books in that series) to be very helpful since I think they use actual tests that they've administered in the past. If the writing part worries you, try some of the sample writing questions first and see what you come up with. Time yourself to make sure you're able to complete the task in the allotted amount of time (about 20 minutes for the first question, 40 minutes for the second question). Good luck and let us know how you go.

I've been to my share of places. I'm not saying UK drivers are the worst in the world, I'm just saying they're not the best. Anyway...totally off topic...

Some of the worst drivers I have ever seen have been on my trips to the UK... makes me wonder if they know how even the pedals work. Just saying.

I had a US licence, not a UK one. North American licences only have one part - the photo card. I don't know how it works with UK licences, but our licences don't show the initial date of issue.

Demerit points are placed on your driving record but not on your actual licence card. So if you have points on your Australian licence but decide to go to France on holiday and rent a car there, they wouldn't know anything about your Australian driving record and points since they have no way of checking your record. I'm not sure how it works with licence suspensions though. If they take away the physical licence card, then there's nothing that can be done.

It might. I'm not suggesting you circumvent the law in any way whatsoever, however they have no way of checking on the status of your driver's licence in the UK as there is no central database that every country has access to. When I exchanged my overseas licence for an Australian one, I was initially given a probationary licence because the licence card didn't have the initial date when the licence was issued overseas (only the date the card had been issued) - since I had just renewed it, it had only been valid for three months. So I was issued a probationary licence until I could show proof that I had held a full licence for at least three years. When I asked the person behind the counter if they couldn't just check the status of the licence with the issuing authority, she said that they didn't have the ability to do this and only accept whatever documentation you bring in. (Which seems pretty trusting on their part given how easy it is to make fradulent documents, but anyway...)

You don't need to worry about a speeding ticket affecting your visa and you definitely don't need to declare it to the Australian government. They're only concerned with criminal charges that involve a prison term of more than 12 months. As someone else mentioned earlier though, speeding is a huge deal here. In Victoria, you can get a ticket for going as little as 3 km over the speed limit. A friend of mine (from overseas) drove from Sydney to Melbourne about a month ago. Coming from the States where there is a larger leeway (usually up to 9-10 mph over, at least on freeways) and being unaware of how strict speeding enforcement is here, he was going close to 120 km/h in a 100 zone. He was eventually pulled over and given a fine of just over $500. If he had not been driving a rental car (and had an overseas licence) they would have impounded the car and suspended his licence on the spot.

My partner and I tried registering our relationship in Victoria but they wouldn't permit it as neither of us had lived in the state for more than 12 months. Just FYI. As for de facto evidence, generally speaking the more the better. Some things that would work include: - mail to each of you sent to the same address (not necessarily with both your names on one envelope) - wedding invitations to the both of you - shared travel itineraries (train/bus/plane tickets, hotel reservations) - photos of the two of you, even if it includes other people - payslips/tax forms in each of your names with address info Try to include at least one piece of evidence for each quarter.

Both of you need to have resided in Victoria for at least 12 months to register your relationship with the state.

This is true. However (and I don't know if this is true in other states), in Victoria, you can only register a relationship if both parties have been "ordinarily resident" in the state for 12 months or more.

You may already be aware of this, but if you and your partner were to get married, the 12 month requirement wouldn't apply.

The requirement is that you must have been together for 12 months before the date you apply for the visa. If the new evidence is based on proving the relationship beyond the date on which you apply for the visa, it won't be taken into consideration.

I don't think you'll be able to appeal the decision if it's rejected because you haven't been together for 12 months before the date of application.

Things are great! Summer's definitely arrived - it was 40 yesterday! We paid $400/week for our Airbnb spot here (also 1 bed/1 bath) so I think your rental seems reasonable.

We used Airbnb and I highly recommend it. Our rental was exactly as advertised and Airbnb is a pretty legit site so if, for some reason, something goes wrong, they'll be able to handle it for you.

$52,000/year ends up being a little over $800/week after taxes. http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ For a family of three, that will be very difficult indeed. Median rent for a house in Brisbane is just under $400/week (according to this: http://www.news.com.au/money/property/rental-squeeze-hits-in-australian-capital-cities/story-e6frfmd0-1226249371833 ), so you would have $400/week to live on, including food, utilities and transport costs.

Happy New Year May gang and congrats Roys!!

I would provide both the joint bank account statements and the shared address info (presumably a lease with both your names on it). That should be sufficient, but I would prepare additional documentation such as photos, shared travel itineraries, wedding invitations with both names, etc., in case you're asked for it.

Nelson Bay is pretty far from Sydney - I don't think that's what the OP is looking for. If you're looking for short-term rentals, have a look on Airbnb - we used it for our first rental here (in Melb) and it's a lot more secure than sites like Gumtree etc. Agree with Rupert though - if you're coming down here for a visit, definitely do some touring around if you can. We didn't end up doing a reccie - it was too expensive and like Rupert said, spending a couple weeks somewhere isn't going to give you a good enough indication as to whether or not you're going to like living there. But that's just my opinion of course!

Definitely closer to 6 weeks and I would add another 2 weeks if you live outside the US (unless you opt to have them Fedex the PCC to you).

Unfortunately no - you need to have an occupation on SOL 1 to be able to apply for a 189. If it's on SOL 2 then you'll need state sponsorship.

PCC = Police Clearance Certificate You need to get one from every country in which you've lived for one year or more. See here for more info: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/

Not sure if the same is true at the embassies but you can go to a DIAC office to get a visa label put in - but it's no longer free. They now charge $70 per passport.

PR visas are not "extended". They expire after the initial five-year period and a Resident Return Visa must be obtained if they want to re-enter as permanent residents. RRVs can be granted for less than five years (3 months or 1 year) if they have compelling and compassionate reasons for their absence from Australia and if they can provide proof of cultural/business/personal/financial ties to Australia. http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/155/eligibility.htm From what you've said, it seems unlikely that they would qualify for an RRV.

Have you thought about applying for a Working Holiday Visa? You're still young enough to qualify and it would allow you to live in Australia for up to a year. It would be a good way to test it out and see if you want to move to Australia on a more permanent basis, then you can figure it out from there.