Candygirl

Hi looking for advice, my parents have been refused an aged parent visa today on the grounds of my dad not meeting the health requirement. My parents are 81 and 82 and have been in Australia since March 2019. A few months after applying for their visa, my dad was diagnosed with dementia and failed his medical in October 2020. My mum is OK and has passed her medical. I am an only child and am a citizen. As I knew with my dad's diagnosis, it was highly likely their visa would be refused, I have been researching appealing a visa refusal and was ready to go down that route. However, Home Affairs have called me today say they cannot advise us what to do, but suggested applying for a Sub Class 602 Medical Treatment Visa. I was shocked to get a call from Home Affairs, but the lady explained she knew I was an only child and wanted to express that they were sorry that this decision had been made. My dad will need treatment and support as his condition worsens until his death. My question is if I apply for the 802, and my dad were to die before my mum, where does this leave my mum? Would we then need to apply for another visa for my mum again? We have been given 35 days to apply for a 602 medical treatment visa or appeal within 35 days of today's date. Has anyone been in this situation? If so, what has been your experience of a 602 medical treatment visa? Thanks in advance.

Well Done on getting your rental. It can be tough in this area as the schools are supposed to be top notch and this time of year, it can turn fierce, or so we have been told. We have been here in Willetton nearly four weeks and we just love it. It is a perfect location for us. 6 shopping centres 10 mins in each way. Spud Shed at Jandakot, 7 mins drive. Lovely dog beach at Attadale, 10 mins. Freo 20 mins. Cinema on the doorstep at Southlands. Good train service to the CBD and excellent links to major freeways.

There seems to be a big divide here in Perth as in Brissy between which side of the river to live and it always seems to divide opinions. You will soon realise that Perth is vast. We spent 3 weeks all day, every day just driving round and looking at houses. We went NOR, SOR, East & West. Each area is completely different. We have settled SOR in Willetton which is 10 miles to the CBD and is well served by shopping centres and several highways too for easy access. As traffic is not going to be an issue, you are very lucky not to have to worry about this. We have Iinet internet and have 125GB pm and I have also been told that we are in an NBN area. I agree with the comments about Freo. It is quite bohemian and has a good feel about it and good if you want to live in a town with a good vide and a bit more to do. We found that there are some lovely areas SOR on the coast, but not much else going on. We are 10 mins to the nearest river beach at Attadale and were there last night. If we want a proper beach then the nearest will be Leighton Beach slightly north of Freo. We can drive or take public transport into the city in the evenings without any fuss too. We liked NOR and preferred the beaches up there, but just could not find a suitable home in an area that we liked within our budget. The Hills are stunning and really beautiful, but we are not ready to live there at the moment. We rented a short term unit in Yokine. Yokine gets a bit of a bad rep, but to be fair, we never saw anything untoward and felt perfectly safe there and would have rented there, again if there was something suitable within our budget. Yokine is 4 miles to the city. What we found was that there is a lot of hoons over here (boy racers) and you may well see the tyre marks all over the roads and this put us off as we did not envisage the thought of being woken up in the early hours each night. If you are single and want a bit of nightlife then I would say stay nearer to the city. East Vic Park has a lot of good restaurants and bars etc. Not far from Crown Casino (we were there on Sat night and it was heaving). Mount Lawley, Subi, Leederville, Como are really good areas and have lots of units. We have also been told that Maylands is good for singles too. If you check out www.streetadviser.com.au, it really helps to narrow down areas and read other people's comments.

Thanks for the advice. Not sure why the inspection is taking place so soon. They have also said in their letter apt between 1.30-5pm and cannot say what time and that our dogs are to be restrained. Yeah right, of course I am going to restrain them for 4 hours on the off chance. Also, how do they expect people to hold down jobs. In normal circumstances, I would have questioned why so soon, but in view of the situation we are in, I am quite looking forward to it. They can see for themselves without relying on pictures etc. I might speak to the Tenancy people and ask their advice in the meantime.

I wonder if you guys could offer some advice or point us in the right direction? When we signed our lease for our current rental, it was agreed at the time with the owners that a couple of jobs would be dealt with asap. It is now three weeks and nothing has been done. One of the problems poses a security risk and the other could create a pest control problem. We have now been in the property three weeks and our container is due to be delivered on Thursday. I have been telephoning the agent and have been quite friendly and they have said they will see to it, but nothing has been done. Today, I have written quite a formal email to the agent today saying that the current situation is unacceptable and they need to get it sorted PDQ. We also have our first inspection booked for 6/12. What else can we do? TIA

I would not wash the carrots, but I do understand why Deb is doing it. That is her way of caring for them. Nothing wrong with that, everyone seems happy with it, so why change it. OH has always said the dogs are treated better than him at times. His mate used to say if he died he wanted to come back as one of my dogs. I have been sneaking in fillet steak to my two in quarantine. In answer to your question, do you think they appreciate it, I don't think they do. I have noticed whilst they are in quarantine that they immediately go to the kennel maid if she comes in even though I am sat on the floor with them. I think their natural instinct is to go to who is feeding and looking after them.

We cannot wait. Will post pics of them on the beach for everyone to see and also on your FB page for Catherine and the team.

Thanks Nick. I think I know where you mean. Just had another neighbour come and introduce themselves from across the road. I am loving this area and the people are so nice and friendly. I think we may be a bit of a novelty at the moment. Everyone around us are Aussies and have lived here years, so I suspect we are the first POMs for a little while.

Thanks. Been to see the girls today and now Purd has kennel cough for the second time.:cry: I think until they are out of there, it will just keep being passed round the dogs. We collected their crates today and they are hidden in the garage (out of sight of little eyes) in case they think they are going back into them. It feels a bit more real that they will be home very soon. Two more visits and then we are all off to the beach:jiggy:

If you read back over my posts over the last few months, you will see how much of a demented giblet I was about shipping Purd & Cand over here. Honestly, with hand on heart, it is not as bad as we all think. I did not think Purd would be the same dog after the flight, but she is fine. The quarantine is hard I will be honest, but now it has been reduced to 10 days, it will be much easier. We used Pet Air's Gold Service and we cannot find fault with anything they did for us. We received a text when they were checked in at Heathrow, photos in Singapore and then we were told when they had arrived in Perth and I was straight on the phone to the Q station and again, updates were given. If the kennel maids come into the kennels when we are there, the girls run to them for cuddles and kisses. They are very well look after. I know it is hard, I was the same as you, but now having done it, I would do it again if we needed to.

Brilliant Pics Fi. Hope you continue to have fun. It was 37 yesterday so no chance of it getting nippy at night for a few months now. We went to the dog's beach that you recommended last evening - beautiful, thanks:notworthy:

One week today and we cannot wait. We have just bought a new lawn mower so this weekend, we will be getting the garden nicely mowed for a good run about for the girls. Three more prison visits then FREEDOM:jiggy: I don't think 30 days has ever passed so slowly. Both girls are now KC free so hoping that exercising will resume next week so at least they can get out of their kennel. They have been stuck in there for two weeks now.

Hi Bob, Purd is being Purd. She is sulking and I am public enemy numero uno at the moment as I thought would happen. Cand is absolutely fine. They are both free of the KC now and we are waiting to see if they can resume exercise. I hope that once Purd gets out into the paddock at Byford, she can let off some steam and de-stress. One more week to go until release date, whoohoo!

Thanks Ali. I will check them out.

Many Thanks for all the recommendations and tips, really appreciate it. We are loving it here. Spoken to the neighbours who seem friendly and invited us in for a beer. I Yesterday went to Riverton Stockland to buy a lawn mower as they had petrol ones on special in Big W - bargain! I think I have been to all the shopping centres nearby now. I cannot believe that we are no more than 10 mins to any centre or Spud Shed. Last night we drove into the CBD (mistake!) and went to an old haunt in Northbridge (wanted to reminisce to our backpacking days). This coming week, I am going to do the journey to the CBD during the rush hour to "test the waters". Any recommendations for a vet for the Hooligans? I notice that there is one on the High Road. What are they like? Any good? I don't mind travelling for a good one.

Sephie Hon - I have just sent you a PM. I know guys. I am not sure if I would have coped without them for 4 months, but they would have loved it at my Mum's house. The quarantine is good, but not when it makes them ill. My Purd is really struggling with it now as she has not been let out of the kennel for two weeks due to the ban on the exercise yard.

That is absolutely fantastic news for people coming over. I wish I had known this a few months ago. My two are due out of Quarantine a week on Sat. I would have left them behind longer in the UK and they could have just done the 10 day stint. Bless em, they would have done nearly 3 weeks unnecessarily and might not have got ill either. Oh well, counting the days until they are let out of prison.

We are on a serious countdown now. The girls have been in quarantine for two weeks, so we now have six more visits and they will be OUT. They are still in isolation, but have been moved to a nicer kennel due to the heat over the weekend. These were taken before they put into isolation.

I wouldn't be here if my two didn't come with me. My OH knew that from the word off so was never an issue for us. We just budgeted for them and were prepared for the rentals to be a bit tougher. We have secured a rental and move in on Monday after 3 weeks of arriving in Perth. There are a lot of owners who accept pets. We were also told by one agent, just because an ad says "no pets" don't not apply. Some owners will make exceptions if you are a good prospective tenant and offer to pay a pet bond. We got references from a previous landlord, our current rental agent who looks after our property to say that our home was clean, tidy and not damaged by pets and we also showed pictures of our house and rental property. We provided resumes for the dogs as well as testimonials from pet sitters. Perhaps overboard, but our prospective landlord never questioned any of the paperwork and we were accepted on applying for our first rental. As Fifi69 says, the rental market is no way near as fierce as previously. As people will know on here, I was a demented giblet with worry. I picked my pet shipper wisely from recommendations and although my two are in isolation in quarantine at the moment due to an outbreak of kennel cough, on the whole they are well cared for and I could not ask for more from the ladies who are in there caring for them. I was worried sick about my beagle. She does not like loud noises and can be quite scatty. She is absolutely fine and coped with the flights remarkably. I received texts and photos along their journey and once they had arrived, I was in contact with the authorities here and went to see them the next day after they arrived. They are both fine and you would not believe that they had been on two planes to get here. I don't wish to do it ever again, but I would again if the need arose. Honestly, the dogs handle it a lot better than us humans. My only gripe is that I cannot stay with them in quarantine. You can visit them three times a week for an hour and take them for a walk in the exercise yard twice a week for 30 minutes at a time.

Congrats to you All. Apollo is a handsome chap and looks adorable.

We are moving to a rental in Willetton on Monday and we cannot wait. We have fallen in love with the area. Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants, shops etc. We have been to Southlands to look at the Woolies and Gilbert's Markets and Hoyts. I notice that there is a UK Lolly Shop nearby as well. Not been in there, but looks good. We drove up to Willetton one Sat evening and drove round to see if we could see any "unsavouries" hanging about or Hoons, but it was dead quiet at 9pm. TIA Lorraine

:jiggy::jiggy:I know I have already said it on FB, but after all your hard work, you and Mini Me so deserve this. I am so happy for you. See you in Perth soon xxxx

Thanks Guys. The girls have been doing really well until today. We visited them and the kennels gave all owners a briefing that there were suspected cases of kennel cough. We were OK. It was not detected on the left wing. Today at 3pm we received the dreaded call to say that Cand had kc symptoms so both girls had been moved to isolation for further observation. Poor babes, they will so stir crazy not being able to go out. I also feel for the kennel ladies there, it must cause them so much extra work. I am not happy as they have never been ill, they come to Oz and get kennel cough.

How funny. We were at Vu's and Raffles last week as well. We were meeting up with friends who had flown over from Sydney. Our search area was Bibra Lake, Attadale, Bicton, Manning, Shelley, Rossmoyne, Willetton. We have applied for a rental in Willetton. This was the closest we could get to the river within our budget and taste. We like the idea of being close to Bull Creek station for easy access into the CBD for me and there are six shopping centres within easy reach. Melville Plaza is very good for shops. We have seen Scarfos, but not been in yet. Freo is 20 mins, 8 mins to the CBD with no traffic. I agree if you decide on expensive areas, but prepared for the 70's décor inside. We have kept our budget to 600 a week as we do not want to overstretch ourselves until we know the true cost of our living expenses. We have also negotiated a six month lease rather than a 12 month to give us more flexibility and not having a "break lease" scenario in the future. Good Luck.

Thought I was update on the Hooligans and hopefully put some people's minds at rest about the journey and quarantine. We were worried sick about the flight and how the girls would react to being in prison and not having their home comforts. We are pleasantly surprised how well they have coped with it. We used PetAir's Gold Service and cannot fault them one bit. Catherine was our travel consultant and no stone was left untouched and we were kept informed every step of the way and Catherine worked with our vet to get the girls ready for shipment. We flew out a week before the girls so they were left behind with the Wrinklies. Candy must have known something was up as she had a couple of accidents, which is not like her at all. They flew with Singapore Airlines and had a 9 hour stopover in Singapore. When they were checked in at Heathrow, I received a text from PetAir to say they were OK. The next update we had was from the Q Station in S'Pore with pictures. Once they had arrived in Perth, I contacted the Q Station, but I am sure I would have had received an update, I was just impatient for news. They confirmed that the girls had landed safely and would call me once they had arrived at the Q Station, which they did and updated me on their condition. They were both fine and apparently had a play fight when they were released into the kennel so I knew all was well. We were able to see them the following day, but as they were on vet hold, we could not take them out into the exercise paddock. Purd was very quiet and went to sleep in her bed at one stage. Cand was just so pleased to see us and wanted kisses and cuddles. I could not stop crying when I saw them as I was so relieved that they were OK. We went back again the next day and they were back to normal. We were allowed to give them treats and we had also bought them new beds, but they really didn't need them. The beds and blankets supplied by the Q Station was more than adequate. They are on metal beds raised off of the ground with a sheepskin rug with blankets on top. The kennels are spotlessly clean and they have 3 water bowls (inside and out). The ladies who look after them are incredibly understanding and just lovely. A dog next to ours was very quiet and the ladies were going in to him to just sit and give him cuddles and attention. The girls have been in the exercise paddock once so far and have loved it. They are booked in again for Friday and all next week. Purd sometimes gives me the evil eye and seems to be more for my OH at the moment, but I am OK with that, she probably blames me for putting her through this, but Cand is normal and was so relaxed after her run around, she went to sleep in my lap afterwards. We are happy to sit in the kennel with them, but some people are taking fold up chairs, which are a good idea if you have them. So many people said to me previously that the dogs would cope better than me. Having gone through it, I now believe them. I wouldn't want to go through this again, but I would in a heartbeat if I had to. We both cannot wait for the day that they are released and we have found a beautiful dog beach for them already. Lorraine x