bikerdave

Hi, I too am heading back to London from Melbourne and will be shipping my goods in December. The best company I could find seems to be King and Wilson (particularly if you are just shipping boxes). David

Hi to all, I have been in Mackay from June (moved over from London). I am sponsored on a 457 by one of the hospitals. Here is the advice I can give so far. Housing is very difficult. Short-term, to include hotels and motels is non-existent. Most hotel rooms are long-term booked by FIFO miners. The only possible option really is caravan parks (which some of my workmates have had to use) or out of town hotels which cost $200/night . Alternatively, if you are on your own, a room is easy to find on gumtree. Plan to spend at least about $600 per week on a rental house or face fierce competition (20+ applicants for houses). Public transport is non-existent. Buses run every 2 hours on average and stop at 17:00. You will need 1 car per adult guaranteed. Jobs are only available for your partner if they are tradies/truck drivers or work jobs related to the mining sector. The week I started a girl at my job went back to Canada because her husband could not find a job. Childcare is very expensive. A girl at my workplace is paying $90 a day for childcare on her daughter. She is going back to northern england and leaving her miner husband behind. Currently we are already looking to move to Melbourne because of all these factors. On the plus side though. Warm all year round by British standards (the winter here is our summer). Very nice beaches and the Whitsundays (2hr drive) are amazing. No traffic at all, my drive takes 20 minutes during traffic and 20 during heavy traffic LOL You NEVER need to live any more than 15 minutes from a nice beach. Hope this post is useful to some people.

Hi, I applied to Sydney in October 2011 (in Oz now). They took my money right away. I would look into it, possible block by your bank as it is an overseas transaction? Dave

Hi All, Just moved to Mackay and spent 2 weeks accessing the internet for free at McDonalds. I have moved to Shoal Point, Bucasia (Royal Sands) and am surviving on wireless Telstra mobile broadband. Can anyone recommend a good ISP for where I live? I have been told Redfox, Telstra ADSL I have to wait 3 months while I build an OZ credit history before I can subscribe. I am happy to wait 3 months but was wondering what the speeds are like on Telstra ADSL in this area, wether it is worth the wait or not. David

Hello to all as I have not posted for a while. I thought I would post some info to save people some trouble. When presenting at an AHPRA office to activate your registration you will need to bring: ID (I brought an EU passport and UK driving licence) The original letter posted to you stating you were eligible to register Proof of Australian Visa (a printout of visa grant email is acceptable) Proof of Address (bank statements,council tax bills THEY STRONGLY PREFER AN OZ ADDRESS-I GOT MY EMPLOYER TO WRITE ME A LETTER STATING I WOULD BE STAYING AT HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION) Proof of Australian Employment(Job Offer Letter) If you are missing any of these things they will NOT activate your registration. Lastly, be warned. It takes up to 10 days before they actually activate your registration. Additionally, if you present at an office other than where you applied they will post off the documents you present to your application office (I presented at Brisbane, they had to post to Sydney). I got caught out. I was supposed to start work on 25/06/2012 but had to wait until 27/06/2012 until my registration was active. At some point they will email you login details so you can check your registration online to verify it is active. Hope that helps some people. Bikerdave

Hi lilmissp, I applied to Sydney. As for how I got through, I think probably just got lucky with who I spoke to at AHPRA call centre. I specifically said "all documents are there, do you know how much longer"and the next thing I know he says "I don't know, you can try asking your case officer." he gives me the name and puts me through to her. Sydney are not the quickest from what I gather from the posts. I hope you sent yours to somewhere else. Good luck to you. It took me about 7 months in total from posting the application. bikerdave

Eligibility letter in the post!! Just to share with everyone... My re-sent transcript was confirmed to have been received on the 26th of April, exactly one week later I receive an email to say my eligibility letter is in the post. Not sure if my multiple calls and web enquiry messages to AHPRA made a difference during this final week of waiting, but may be worthwhile. I actually left a voicemail message with my case officer. Handed notice to my employer today and booking flights 7 weeks from now. Mackay QLD here I come. So here is my timeline for all to get an idea: October 23,2011 application received in Sydney.....March 3,2012 receive second email requesting AHPRA preferred format transcript........April 30, 2012 AHPRA emails in reply to my Web Query that trancript was received on 26/04/2012 (took 2 weeks and a bit to arrive) ........ May 3,2012 email received from case officer saying that eligibility letter is in post and that I have until May 2013 to activate registration. GOOD LUCK TO ALL. Hang in there.

Hi Kallasan and the restof you Guys, Here is the required format for a nursing transcript (taken from the email AHPRA sent me) "We require a transcript of the theory subject hours and clinical subject hours as well as a record of clinical experience areas from your University . In order for an applicant to register as a Registered Nurse (Division 1) in Australia they must demonstrate both theory and clinical hours in the following streams: Medical/Surgical, Adult Nursing, Community Nursing and Mental Health Nursing." Hope that helps a few people. David

Hi, We seem to all be in the same boat. Rachel, you and I are sat quite close together in the boat. Would be very curious to see how long your application takes as you seem to be just a few weeks ahead of me in the overall process. I delayed the 457 visa as long as I could, I am doing my medicals on the 18th at a cost of just under £900 for the four of us. Looks like I may still be in London for the Olympics after all -- best start looking for tickets then. David

Hi, First post so be kind. I applied for nurse licensure with the AHPRA in Sydney - October last year. The confirmation of receipt email came roughly two weeks after I mailed the application form out, they also debited my payment around the same time (October 2011). Heard absoulutely nothing until an email first week of March 2012 requesting I re-send my University transcript in an AHPRA acceptable format (let me know if you need to know what this format is, may save you time). Currently I am still waiting for my Uni to send out the revised transcript (takes time to re-format a standard transcript into AHPRA format). I have been given until the first week of May to provide the transcript or they automatically bin my application (unless I request an extension but they don't say how this is done). I have been advised by my waiting employer in Queensland that their experience with the AHPRA is that it averages 6-9 months. Fortunately for me my employer's attitude seems to be "come as soon as is convenient for you" so I have been under absoulutely no stress. Just hang in there. David