Tickled Pink

It was just the standard obstetric cover Blossom, but I have heard fees and charges can vary widely. I guess I'm fortunate that the OB I choose was a reasonably priced one!

My OB fees were only a few hundred out of pocket as I was able to claim back about 3/4 (full figure was about $1200). When I was researching private options there were a lot of people that said I'd be very out of pocket (these were people that had only had babies through the public system), but in my case this simply hasn't been the case. I guess it depends on you personally and what is or isn't important to you. I had such a rubbish time for most of my pregnancy that I was so glad I had the same familiar faces around me when it mattered (e.g. OB and midwives), they knew 'me' a bit better and knew when I was looking good or not so good without having to constantly ask or read my notes. I found this reassuring and much more at ease in their care. When I ended up in the ER my OB was there within a very short time (approx. 1 hour), and when I was feeling really poorly and unable to do a lot for myself I had a private ensuite room where my husband also had a bed and was able to stay for the whole time, meals for us both etc. Maybe if I'd had a straight forward pregnancy and required minimal intervention up to and during labour I might feel very different, but the continuity of care among other things meant it was worth going private for me... I had no reason to think prior to pregnancy that anything like what happened would, I was incredibly low risk factor for everything... but I ended up in the 3% of people that have the problems I did. If you go public there is 97% chance you'll have an uneventful journey, and you'll be in and out in a jiffy with a beautiful healthy baby! My baby is thankfully all well now, but it was uncertain for a while and had I gone public where there are less scans and checks certain factors would have gone under the radar - I was told I would almost certainly have become an emergency come my due date had I gone full term. As it was, things were identified, monitored closely, and preventative measures were taken to plan and avoid this. Given my experiences I wouldn't choose anything other than private now, but then I am giving the perspective of the 'private not tried the public' system, whereas others will be able to give you the 'public not tried the private' system. Either way, Australia is not a third world country, and the healthcare practitioners are top notch so I'm sure whichever way you go it will be the right decision for you. If you need an emergency c section you'll get that on the public system at no cost, you don't need private insurance to cover such an emergency if it came to that, you'll be entirely looked after, so don't worry about that. Rosie is also correct on the wait period though - it includes pregnancy, so you can take out the insurance, then just wait 4 months or so before trying.

I recently had my baby through the private system, I had a few complications which included an emergency admission at 29 weeks prior to a c section a few weeks later. I had private medical insurance which covered just about everything. There were a few bits to pay for, but it certainly wasn't thousands... I will add that at one point I was making 3 hospital visits a week, had a load of scans (I lost count), 3 courses of steroids amongst other stuff, all paid for by private health. My only cost for the emergency admission was my $500 excess, and that was my total to pay for the year, so no more when I went in for the delivery.

From what I've seen in the past on here having a child does not count as compassionate grounds due to it would be a loop hole lots of people would use to stay. You could both return to the UK (whether you want to or not is another issue, but there is that choice available) and get the necessary time under your belt then apply for a visa. Probably the best thing would be to consult a migration agent and find out your options.

Does your employer have an agent handling the visa application on their and your behalf ?

Before we bought both rentals we lived in took our cat with no issues at all. Its standard here in QLD to just agree to having the place pest (flea) sprayed when you leave.

Can't seem to edit my last post for some reason... but I should have said QLD not NT when I referred to the recent news on Aurukun school.

Whatever you end up doing make sure you do a lot of research to the area you're going to. Teachers are not in demand here, there is a massive over supply at the moment with lots not being able to secure steady employment - if any in the teaching field. Jobs that are available can be in very remote locations, which can come with problems beyond the remote nature of where you'd be living (e.g. see recent news on school in NT). Good luck with whatever pathway you take though.

An online brand you can look at is Reds Baby. They go to some of the expos, but are an online only brand - so keep costs lower as no shop overheads. Australian run company, check out the online reviews as they're really good. I have one of these and love it... great price too. Prams are so expensive here! We needed a replacement part a couple of weeks ago and the customer service was excellent, they had it in the post within 24 hours!

All nurses in any field need to be degree qualified now, a diploma won't be enough.

I was under the impression (from previous discussions on here, people exploring similar options) that a UK parent could not be considered dependent due to their access to a country that has a welfare system. I expect others might be able to provide further info than me though.

You can't gain sponsorship as a dental nurse Marisa, either 457 or PR.

What Bungo said...

Even if you were able to join QLD police you could be posted anywhere in the state. You cannot be guaranteed to be only Brisbane or GC - arguable two of the most sought after areas. You could very easily have to do a posting for three years in somewhere like Mt Isa.

Maybe take as much paperwork relating to you your citizenship process as you can - official invite/notification letter for ceremony etc. It won't of course substitute a passport in any way, and isn't going to be counted as official documentation, but it might just help or go some way to explaining your status.

Yes, Boonah isn't a bad option to check out. Nice community feel there, and roads to Brisbane are good - you'd want to avoid driving at rush hour, but then a lot of places will be like that. Its quite nicely accessible for places like the PA hospital - one of the public big ones in Brisbane.

Given this is a mainly 'poms' in Oz forum you may struggle to find anyone who can answer this for you other than one of the agents. You posted this question a little while back and didn't get much response either. As people from the UK are less likely to be affected by dowry issues I'm not sure this repeat question is going to get you any further.

Well then Gatton might well be a good match for you - but as Cal says, Lowood, Fernvale, Rosewood, Marburg might all be other options. Quite a few places like that around the area. Also, lots of places between Gatton and Wawick, that starts moving out a little further from main treatment centres though.

Its pretty rural, about 45 min drive from a larger town. Not much goes on there - is there any aspect in particular you'd like to know about? That area falls into my patient catchment so i go there, but don't live there.

I work in the medical field (chronic/terminal illness). Services in QLD are not as comprehensive as NSW. If I have patients on the border it can be frustrating to know that just 10km down the coast certain things would be available to them that aren't covered in QLD - such as certain equipment that is funded in NSW but not in QLD. Bit of a random addition to your post I know... but its one that affects my working life and that of my patients.

I'm not sure what to say regarding what would be best, but in terms of are you too old - plenty of people's parents come here on the visa you are on at your age and set themselves up (a friend of mine has parents doing it at 79 and 80 presently). So are you too old to do it the other way? I don't think so. You have family and familiarity on your side returning. You know how things work in the UK etc. If it feels right then don't see age as your reason not to necessarily. At least you have citizenship too.

If you stay in Australia and get citizenship you will be able to get student loans to enable you to go to University. Depending on the visa you were here on previously you may have already served time that will count towards eligibility for citizenship, so you might be not so far off. Taking the job option for now could allow you to save a bit of money, get yourself in a better place, maybe even socialise and make some new friends, build some self esteem - which I wonder might help you lots at the moment. A bit of time working might give you some space to consider where you're at, and some focus to move on and rebuild what must have been a tough time for you recently. You are so young, University is waiting for you if thats what you want... take some time to regroup. Beyond all this, take some credit for making some really good recent decisions and decisive action to improve your life short and long term. I wish all the good luck for the future.

'I would also expect that as they are Scots they would be able to manage their money pretty well'. You're making the assumption (as quoted above). I can certainly attest that not all Scots are as you purport to be... half my family are Scottish and there are some shocking uses of money on that side of the family!

'It will also target graduates in fields where a future need for workers has been identified and simplify the processes for companies sponsoring workers.' I think this point is already implemented in some ways. Our 186 visa application was incredibly swift and straight forward in part because of the skills assessment exemption. I know of some people having to jump through so many hoops in terms of job descriptions not being quite right, or having to prove skills etc. But because of various exemptions and the employer providing some evidence at the application process to show there were no appropriate Australian applicants despite national advertising, therefore international recruitment was the only pathway, visa grant was swift. Less than 12 weeks, including allowing for Christmas and New Year within that. Probably would have been more like 9 without the holidays.

Not making any assumptions at all - but many people do not realise the real cost of living here, and as seen time and again on here, people often don't realise they will have to pay for certain things (like school fees - which incidentally the OP does make a comment that these are going to hit them pretty hard) and not be entitled to other things (like child care rebate). Time and again it is evidenced in here that people don't really understand the 457 visa, that there isn't an automatic pathway to PR etc. The OP does indicate in their post their anticipated budget for the rental because they don't want to overstretch themselves - this is some indication of where they may be at with starting salary. You are also making assumptions about Scottish people...