Fisher1

18 hours ago, simmo said:

the growing population probably does have a bearing on it TBH

But the main problem is underfunding.

On 03/08/2018 at 23:45, newjez said:

State of the art MRI, but don't seem capable of sending an email.

His first operation ten years ago was the subject of a paper as it was the first of it's kind in the UK. Brilliant surgeon, (name was Mr Mohamed, but we won't go there), performed a magical operation, but the dvd camera broke down so they couldn't film it.

Typical.

41 minutes ago, Rallyman said:

What’s your problem ? 

I wished NJ son a speedy recovery and simply asked him why he thought it was taking longer to see a doctor now than 10 years ago. 

You need to go for a lie down old chap it’s all getting too much for you 

No you didnt, actually. You added the suggestion that the wait was possibly the result of a growing population. If you check all the stats you'll find that the NHS is underfunded a d has been for years.

On 31/07/2018 at 20:44, newjez said:

Well for us, it's been a year since visiting the gp about my son's kidney problems to getting a date for surgery. It's just a game we are learning to play. It's seems half the battle is getting a referral for a diagnosis. If we had been more pushy from the start we probably would have got an early result.

It will have been four months since seeing the surgeon that he has his surgery, and that is for an urgent case. I do not remember it being anything like this ten years ago. 

Weve been saying for ages that its about getting that first referral ...once you're in the care is great. 

On 24/11/2017 at 17:47, bristolman said:

Here we go lol. We have had fantastic care from the NHS, can't complain at all. No system is perfect of course but it's certainly the best system we have needed to use. 

You may well have had excellent care from the N H S but not everyone does- it really seems to depend where you  live.  It was really difficult to get a gp appointment when I left 11 months ago,  but I understand it is even worse now.  

On 22/07/2018 at 08:38, KazBaker said:

Hi Fisher 1,

I went to see a clinical psycologist about my son’s issue. With the initial assessment he understood that it is because of language delay. Also genetical matter exist as me also started talking after 4 as my mom said to me. 

So 1 Auguest i will recieve the final report from the clinical psycologist. In the mean time we have been training my son and he is getting better and better. My point of view is we did not pay enough attention to our child which leads to under development. It was my fault in deed.

Now finger cross for 1Auguest.

God help me !

Hi, sorry only just seen this, Ive been off the net for a few days. I'm glad you're getting it sorted, sure it will be fine ... and I wouldn't be too hard on yourself ... some kids just take longer. I was an early years teacher for a long time and had lots of kids with language development issues - can't remember any that didnt  catch up with help. 

1 hour ago, Theevans said:

I'm currently in the process of trying to find the best price for shipping items from our home in the UK to Newcastle, NSW. We have a 3 bedroom home, and will be taking some furniture, but not all. One double bed and mattress, one single bed (no mattress), 2 dressers, one sofa, 2 bikes, books, pictures, toys and a few kitchen bits (stand mixer and food processor, nothing bulky)

We've been quoted over £4k for sole use of a 20ft container, which is quite a lot more than I'd expected. (I personally don't think we we need sole use of container, we'd be happy to share, and certainly unlikely to fill a 20ft)

I'm wondering what other people's experiences have been - who did you use, and what size were you quoted. Any recommendations much appreciated. We're looking to have our items shipped the last week in September, so time is pretty tight, although do-able!

 

Hi

We used PSS. We shipped a double bed, a sofa bed, small sideboard, kitchen table +four chairs, bookcase, ikea chair and footrest, a large box of shoes and sundry boxes of books, kitchen equipment, bedding and personal items. We also had a sewing machine, a large tool box with tools, and a printer plus about twenty framed pictures of various sizes, a dinner service for eight, a washing machine and masses of cultery, We paid £2,800 and the insurance (we used a different firm, much cheaper) was about £150. Our quote was cheaper than yours because it went as a part load, which meant we had to wait for the container to fill. The load was packed for us and collected on the same day, and arrived in Sydney about ten weeks later. the problem was with the wait for customs - a further seven weeks. This was not the fault of PSS but we did feel they could have warned us of the possibility of a longer wait ... They estimated 10-12 weeks overall. Otherwise we were very happy with the whole move. our things were well packed and were delivered to our address about 60 miles from Sydney at no extra cost - the only additional cost was payment for customs check which was about $150 cant remember exactly so it cant have been that bad! We had only one breakage ... A single wine glass, which we thought was amazing.  Hope this helps. 

12 minutes ago, KazBaker said:

Hi Friends,

As requested by immi we had gone through medical and me and my wife’s medical were cleared but my son’s has been deferred due to be further assessment. We received a reference letter from BVMS that i have to see a specialist who is a Paediatrics or clinical psycologist assesseing child’s “Cognitive development”. My son is 3 and half years old. The main issue they found is that my son is not speaking in full sentence while he is talking but in a broken words he responses. He is also able to understand the command, act and eye contact and emotions etc.

as a parents we don’t feel having any problem at all. 

Now my question is if we go through the nominated specialist, would we be able to over come the visa situation? Or will be hang around ? What could be the outcome?

please help !

Parents don't always realise if their child has a bit of a delay in their language development because they know them so well and they are used to the way their child speaks. I'm wondering if your son goes to nursery school, and if so, what they make of it? I'd be checking his hearing as well. Was he intimidated by the unfamiliar situation or did he respond in his usual way? Try not to worry too much, many kids have language delays of one kind and another and they can usually be sorted out with a bit of extra help.

On ‎13‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 21:55, stokie123 said:

Hi Everyone,

We finally decided at the beginning of this year, after years of discussion, to emigrate to Australia (Melbourne). Since then it’s been an absolute roller coaster of emotions. All the key motivations to emigrating are still there and I've spent the past 6 months creating cost analysis for moving and living, we have money saved, we have jobs lined up etc and we have friends and family Melbourne waiting to support us when we arrive. However, it’s been so so hard getting to this point. Visas, jobs, research, removals, schools etc - its been so exhausting and we had many moments where we thought the whole thing might fall through. Our lives have literally been taken over with it. Our family (none of whom live in the UK) all support us now but getting to that point was really hard as they all took it really badly to begin with. We still get the guilt trips now even though they know that long term it’s the best thing for us as a family. I've also had to go to court to get an order allowing us to move with my daughter (her father is absent) which has been really draining and costly. 

Our move date is approaching (September) and I'm mentally/emotionally exhausted and have run out of any enthusiasm or excitement for the move. I'm just filled now with dread and anxiety that something is going to go wrong or the children won’t settle or we won’t like it! 

I guess my reason for posting is to find out whether anyone else felt like this? Is this normal for such a big move? I've lived in 4 different countries in my life but this is the first move abroad with children (10 years and 3 years) so it'd made me far more anxious.  

Would love to hear your own thoughts and stories. 

Thank you!

S

Hi,   I'm in my sixties and have been here ten months, having moved out with my husband to join our daughter - who is our only child - and our small grandchildren. Some days I bounce along thinking "we did it! Aren't we clever, we live here!"  Other days I'm looking on rightmove at property in the UK … I miss my old friends, family and town desperately sometimes, then other times I feel great. That's life when you move to another country … I'm lucky, I've been here before, although the distances involved were nothing like as far … but then, if you can't pop out for coffee with a mate, it doesn't make that much difference whether its one or twelve thousand miles. I think it takes a year to feel anything like normal after a big move, but maybe that's just me - although I'm sure everyone finds it challenging. I'm reminded of a quote from Helen Keller "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing".   

You've done the hard work, the form filling, the endless ands ifs and buts have been sorted … go for it - and the very best of luck with the move.

2 minutes ago, sualg said:

So i arrived in Sydney in Oct last year.

Im just filling out my tax return and wondered what are the regulations regarding things i can claim back against my tax bill. I work full time as a employee from a single location.

1) ive had to buy a load of new shirts, suits, shoes can i offset any of that against my bill?

2) ive had to buy a laptop can i claim that back?

3) some days i work from home , can i claim a percentage of my broadband

4) anything else i should consider?

 

It might be worthwhile getting an accountant to do your first tax return?  Also, consider where you came from - is there a double taxation agreement, i.e. you can't be charged twice for the same income. If you arrived in October from e.g. the UK you would probably be classed as UK resident for the whole tax year, but might be able to claim split year taxation … I daresay you already know all this, but just in case you don't you need to check it all very carefully. I've just done my UK tax return together with an application for split year taxation and it was quite complicated - again I'd use an accountant.  Hope this helps!

1 hour ago, Jodeofoz said:

And you're reading it..

And so are you.

1 hour ago, ramot said:

Didn’t actually know it was an old thread from 2012 till I opened it, that’s why I posted the fact straight away. No need for  sarcastic comments

Neither did I - it popped up in new posts, so naturally I thought I was reading … a new post. 

22 hours ago, Nemesis said:

Still very much alive and kicking, both when the thread was written in 2012, and today!

Really? I was sure he was dead … just shows you … what it shows you I'm not quite sure ...

21 hours ago, Bulya said:

Don’t come here, natives are dangerous 

haha too late, I'm already here 

On ‎26‎/‎07‎/‎2012 at 00:57, jem32 said:

Hi

 

I for one have never been depressed by written words or vocal comments from someone I do not know.

 

Maybe that's why I usually submit posts with a sense of humour ( think that's how you spell it)

 

I know it a serious site with great info but a lot of people take it very serious it's not University Challenge and I don't think you will find Bamber Gascoigne on here either.

 

 

If you can't laugh at yourself it's because your perfect like me.

 

 

Jason tubby d

Erm I don't think  you'll find Bamber Gascoigne anywhere … I'm pretty sure he's gone to the big television quiz in the sky ...

On ‎07‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 10:58, gafuk said:

Its hard mentally sometimes, " have I done the right thing " This week it's 80 degress in uk and pouring down in Perth !

Apart from that, we decided to have a few weeks off to recover from the stresses of the weeks/months leading up to our migration. Those weeks were a blur and nothing to do with the alcohol. With our house sale, disposal of stuff we were not taking, leaving party to arrange, sorting the stuff we were sending in the container, trying to visit friends and relatives and just not having time to do everything. Even up until 2 am the night before we flew sorting our baggage weights and even then the taxi came to pick us up at 8 am and were not ready and were 10 minutes late. In honesty that would be no surprise for me but my wife is mega organised and she struggled. So yes I would say plan a long way in advance and perhaps don't book the first available flight like we did. Try and get your friends and relatives set up with email, skype, watsapp etc so you can keep in touch.

You are leaving a lot behind that you will miss a little when you get here.

But it's been 4 weeks and we are living in Perth with our Daughter. Our son has been over from Melbourne so the stress was all worth it as they are the reason we came. We have eventually bought a car ( they are twice the price by the way) and just had offer accepted on a block of land that we are going to build on. We are not retiring and now we've had a few weeks off to complete the paperwork we are starting to look for jobs. Yet to see how Australia views the 60 + as far as being job candidates. One thing we have done is get our seniors cards as soon as we could. They are great !  free travel , discounts in many cafe's and restaurants etc , even money of driving license and rates plus lots of other perks, just for being old !! . First time I've been happy about it.   Read up on it and get one asap .

The Perth sky is nearly always big and blue, the sea is turquoise and the sand... sandy coloured. But we have left behind everything we know and are used to. We are starting fresh and at our age we wonder whether we will get to the comfy stage we had in the UK. But I can hug my daughter every day,  talk to my son who is now in the same half of the world as me, if any of us have a problem we can all be together within a few hours and that makes it all worth while.

The waiting room can be frustrating and the journey is emotional even when you eventually get here but it is well worth the wait. Good luck to everyone and keep looking to your future with your kids. This forum will be a great help , thanks.

Hi Gafuk,   I laughed when I read this - I'm super organised too and I struggled. We were still shredding old paperwork the day we had planned to leave our house - had arranged to stay the night with neighbours and leave the following morning … nightmare day, we should have given ourselves a few days in a hotel to finish off the last bits and pieces calmly.

1 hour ago, David Leask said:

 

Hi Sheena,
Yes, you have to be offshore (out of the country) when the 143 visa is granted. It’s the act of entering the country that triggers the visa. I think it really screws the system up if you stay onshore when it’s granted.
The visa won’t be granted until you pay the second vac. By that time you will have a Case Officer and you should be able to liaise with him/her regarding the actual timing of the visa grant. I believe it’s typically a few days after the payment is received by the PVC.
I hope this helps
David

 

Hi Sheena      The proposed issue of our visa two years ago coincided with a long planned trip out here on holiday. We were able to liase with a case officer and had an unscheduled visit to N.Z. for a few days - they issued the visa while we were there, and we were able to validate it when we returned.  You know you have to validate your visa by using it to enter the country within the first year after issue?  We were not able to make the move straight away, so validating on return from NZ saved us having to make a special (and expensive) trip back to AUS.

On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 06:48, SusieRoo said:

No need to apologise… but thank you.

Most parents here are transferring life savings to Australia, so I’m sure you understand that the detail is so important. I do like to use Transferwise and I’m happy the share my experiences, and I’m also very interested to hear how other companies compare with rates and fees.

I don’t think there is a definitive best, you just have to go with the company which works for you.

Also the exchange rate is not bad at the moment at $1.79. Now I’m not qualified in any way to give advice, BUT I think it could go above $1.82 again next week. This is due to the Brexit ‘White Paper’ which is going to be published soon. And any Brexit announcement with tangible detail does appear to help the pound.

Interesting discussion. I began using XE in 2012, moved on to Westpac's service with a GB pound account and transferred cash from that to my Westpac dollar account and most recently have used TransferWise.  I found that the money I actually received in dollars at the end did not show any huge differences between the three - what they spent on the swings they made up for on the roundabouts.  Moneycorp is the company I plan to try next, but thus far I have had a slightly better result with TransferWise. The easiest way to compare is to join two or three companies and aske for an exchange price from all three - then go with whoever is going to give you the most dollars. 

40 minutes ago, starlight7 said:

We have had a few this year for the first time in years.  They seem to come from high up too , not sure where. When you 'kill' them half the time they run off even after a really big whack.  Hate them. 

I tend to do an impersonation of Norman Bates in Psycho when I hit a cockroach … they don't usually get up afterwards. I hate them too. Touch wood we haven't seen any for about four months. 

On 23 June 2018 at 18:37, elderberry said:

I'm sorry Alan but I do not agree with your response. I was merely giving my personal experience and opinion, and for me, a qualified accountant I need nothing more than an execution service. I was not aware that I should apply censorship to my advice. I would hope Moneycorp does monitor activity here to ensure that they provide the best service to their customers. This is nothing different to open reviews and feedback that applies to many excellent companies such as John Lewis, Target etc.

I did attempt to use moneycorp some time ago, had no idea that I was morally indebted to them for their sponsorship of this forum, just thought I'd give them a try. I didnt find them very quick or straightforward and didnt even get as far as getting registered with them. To be fair John from MC did PM me and offer to try to sort it out for me but I'd lost patience by then and gone with an alternative Estonian company who shall remain nameless. I'm sure moneycorp are probably excellent since so many people recommend them.

5 hours ago, Merryweather said:

Was wondering if anyone out there knows if you get an acknowledgement/receipt of the 2nd VAC payment?

Or do you just wait for the visa?

Ta

We didn't - just an email with the visa confirmation. Mind you, it was a couple of years ago so we only had to wait a few days. 

2 hours ago, Pertenhall said:

UNBELIEVABLE!!!  After 23 weeks since submitting AoS paperwork and getting nowhere, continually being told that everything was on the system and that we just needed to wait for it to be processed our daughter contacted her MP.  Within a couple of days she has at last had contact from AoS, but not the news that we had hoped for!  Her application had been rejected as she was AUD2K short on the previous tax year.  She asked if she could get another assurer but was told that was not possible and that it was a straightforward rejection and that basically the case was closed!!!  I’m sure I’ve read of at least 2 other people on this forum who have been asked to get a second assurer?

Makes no difference that although she has two children she shares responsibility with their father (they live with him half the time and they share all expenses) she is still is classed as having 2 children.  If this was not the case then her income would have been OK.

She has been advised to resubmit her application after 30 Jun – just 2 weeks away.  What a nightmare.  Although, crazy though it may seem, at least we now have an answer we know where we stand - just not where we wanted to be.  Hopefully once we re-submit it won’t take them the same amount of time before they make a decision.  I have to admit, the air was a little blue when we heard.  23 weeks 3 days to tell us NO!!!!!!!

 

This is absolutely disgusting, I feel so sorry for you all. If its a straightforward 'no' why keep you waiting all that time - and oresumabky if your daughter hadnt contacted her MP you could have been waiting for ever??? I feel outraged on your behalf - hope you can get it sorted out asap, they seem to have been sleeping on the job. 

1 hour ago, Ferrets said:

We did our own first returns, but we had taken advice from Alan.

We established that if you are are an Australian Tax Resident that any winnings from residual UK premium bonds are all taxable like bank interest 

Yes we had advice from Alan before we came out. I fully intend to use an accountant first time at least, just wasnt sure how the process started ... UK tax have been incredibly helpful ... I take back all the rude things i said about them  

Thanks for replies everyone, I now know where to start!

5 hours ago, Skani said:

I'd certainly go through a tax agent for your first tax return for the reasons given by Alan Collett.  Online in subsequent years may be perfectly appropriate once you've seen how deductions and rebates can be applied.

Actually had no intention of doing it myself - just didn't know how the process started over here. Thanks for your reply  

6 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

Au contraire!

The best way to submit your tax returns is through a registered tax agent, who should be able to optimise your tax deductions and reduce the tax payable. 

And you should get more time to lodge your returns if you appoint a registered tax agent.

Best regards.

Well yes, I did contact a registered tax agent several weeks ago, but they didn't get back to me. I'll have to try again.