lauradarlin

i turned 30 4 days before i came to oz on my first whv, didn't want my second year to run straight on as i needed to spend a bit of time back home so just made sure I was out of Australia and applied for the second whv before I turned 31 - came back in September 2013 after turning 31 in July...you might need to do a bit of maths to make sure you're eligible but don't miss out!!

Weighing up doing a Masters in International Human Resource Management in Australia or the UK. Significantly cheaper in the UK but wondering if a more varied and international educational background may be beneficial in securing work in the rest of the world - not really sure where I want to end up but would like to keep employment options as wide as possible. All former qualifications from the UK...thoughts? Things to consider?:confused:

hadn't even though about driving, i guess it'd be a pretty tough trip alone, I'm in Perth, don't really fancy the Nullaborg alone! but might be worth looking at driving form Melbourne as the flights are pretty pricy from Perth

i brought a couple of UK power boards with me and stuck an aussie plug on them, much easier than changing everything over, especially the ones that are practically welded on like laptop chargers...pain in the arse when I take my straighteners away overnight and forget the powerboard though...

Hi all, thinking of planning a trip to Tasmania int he next couple of weeks, wondered if anyone had any advice on the best hire companies to go for? I'm thinking of hiring a van so I can see the place at my own pace and not have to worry about accommodation, would just be me on my own so the cheaper the better really Any suggestions on what to see would also be helpful thanks

This is a great info source, however, it states that one can only work for half of the 12 months the WHV is granted for - this is not true, you can work as much as you like but not for more than 6 months with any one employer

If anyone else was interested in this, I got my WA licence last week, as Stokie in Aus said it was really easy, just took the required documents in, paid the fee and got the card through in a week

You sound exactly like me when I was in your position - worrying about everything! Mine took exactly 2 weeks and 5 days to come through. I didn't have as much evidence as you as I'd done voluntary work so literally all I had was the form completed by my 2 'employers' stating that I'd worked for them for the required periods. I also turned 31 3 days after putting in my application so was worried they'd decline my application on the grounds of being too old. But it all came through within the normal time frames and I'm back in Australia now without any problems. Personally I wouldn't bother with an agent as I can't see what benefit they could offer. Good Luck

I had fully comprehensive travel insurance including health cover costing around £400. At the time it seemed crazy money but when I came to claim back my tax rebate for my earnings in Australia I was able to offset this cost against the medicare levy meaning I actually got a great big chunk of it back and had the benefit of the insurance as well.

I did a helpx placement and met a girl there who was on a normal holiday visa, she wasn't allowed to work, which we took as earning a wage and as far as I know she's done several placements since and has travelled in and out of Australia a few times on the same visa with no problems

Freo's a pretty friendly place to start. I had a lot of friends staying in hostels there semi long term and loved it. You can still get to the city easily whenever you like. Regional work counts if you get just outside of Perth, ie, any part of WA other than Perth CBD and suburbs you can count as regional (do check the postcode tho!) i did my regional work through helpx - voluntary but a fab experience.

Depends what type of work you're looking for?

why not use Moneycorp to send the money? I've used them and you get confirmation emailed to you

I've been having a look on the DoT website to see if I'll be able to get a WA drivers licence whilst on a WHV but it's not very clear. I understand that I don't NEED to get one as I can drive on my UK licence for the whole term of my visa but I'd like to get one if possible as a lot of the jobs I'm looking at applying for prefer this and it's also much better than having to take my passport out every time I go out drinking! It appears that you have to provide Establishment of Identity in the form of: • Australian or New Zealand birth certificate • Australian or New Zealand citizenship or naturalisation documentation, • Letter of recognition of birth, issued by Births Deaths and Marriages. • Evidence of resident status, issued by Department of Immigration and Citizenship. • Evidence of immigration status, including electronic visas So I'll have the last one but will this be accepted? Any thoughts?

If you're not happy where you are what do you have to lose?

If you're wanting to do the farm work to qualify for a second year WHV then you'll have to get out of the city. The good news is that the whole of WA except Perth metro area qualifies as rural so you won't be too restricted. Albany on the south coast is beautiful and Coral Bay and Broome further north are great spots too. Never really ventured far from the coast tbh. What I like about Perth is how easy it is to have quite a nice life. I'm not talking about living in a mansion and living like a king but just the general standard of living is pretty good. It's bloody expensive though until you start earning dollars and stop converting everything to pounds! Beaches are fantastic, really good restaurants, nice bars, loads of outdoor activities, fitness stuff etc. Really friendly people, I made good friends quickly and a real mixed bunch they are too. It can be quiet though, most definitely not a 24hour city! The supermarkets only just got round to Sunday trading last year which I found very strange to begin with! If it's the party scene you're after then in my experience the East coast has that more 'backpacky' vibe. I guess it's all down to personal experience though - downside of Perth is all the bloody poms!

Really nice to see so many encouraging and helpful posts on this thread. I've just had a year off to travel and I'm itching to get back now!

I'd be wary with more than 2. You can always add appendices if necessary to document projects in more detail but as SimoneAl says, recruiters won't spend more than a couple of minutes scanning over it anyway so much more is a waste. I'd be inclined to use bullet point format to get basic detail set out in a stand alone 2 page document then detail things in more depth in appendices - this way the info is there if an employer wants more but won't miss out on vital info if they just scan the CV

you'll find loads of friendly, helpful people on here, much nicer than some forums!

Some very good points here, I'm a careers advisor specialising in working with the longterm unemployed and would definitely agree that the main points for a successful CV are not underselling yourself and making sure the content is easy on the eye. A few things to consider: - Try to stick to a maximum of 2 pages - Don't use fancy fonts or colour - you never know how it will come out if printed with a dodgy printer or copied - Recruiters usually just scan over a CV - keep the important things on the first page - A key skills section can be very useful to highlight your best attributes - Don't use abbreviations - even if they're common in your UK specialism they might not be in Australia Definitely always adapt your CV for every application to ensure it matches what the employer is looking for

Got it through in 19 days!

Hi James What are you hoping to do while you're in Australia? Will you be staying in Perth the whole time? Looking for a long term job? Getting out to do your regional work? You can drive on your UK licence while on a WHV so just make sure you take it with you! Perth drivers are notoriously terrible, although having been back in the UK 3 weeks, British drivers are just as bad! I spent the majority of my first WHV in Perth and I'm heading back out soon for my second year. Some say it's boring but I love it, depends what you;re after I suppose. have you made any plans yet?

and if you've got a neurotic mother like me make sure it includes repatriation

I'd advise looking into getting your regional work done asap. I left mine til the last minute then had an unexpected trip home so I was really tight to get my 88 days in before leaving and found it pretty stressful! It's all too easy to get settled into a job, social life etc then have to drag yourself away for the sake of your visa. Although I hated leaving the little life I'd built in Perth I had an amazing time in rural WA. Also, if you look into getting started with it straight away you can do a bit at a time rather than all at once which would be helpful if you get a particularly horrible job!! If you're open to voluntary work the Helpx scheme is fantastic for getting your regional work done - http://www.helpx.net I did 2 placements through them, just worked for food and accommodation. Much nicer than working 12 hours a day picking fruit and living in a skanky work hostel! Hospitality jobs are easy to come by if you have experience and speak good English and employers are pretty used to people coming and going but if you make a good impression they always know other people to refer you on to. I worked in a restaurant in Perth for 5 months and there's a job for me there when I go back for my second year. A friend of mine got round the 6 month rule by doing 5 months on her original WHV then carrying straight on when her second WHV was granted. Good luck

I filled everything in online from the UK then came to the end of it all and it said they couldn't verify my identity electronically as I didn't have enough of a record. Printed it off, posted it to Sydney and the money was in the bank about 3 weeks later