guvnor

if its a working holiday visa then mine cost £160 via the Oz govt website... easy to do nd gets confirmed within days .. if you could get your money back then do it but might be too late

Id openly admit the move for me has not been great for me ... partly due to maybe not researching enough but if i had i might never of tried Oz .. Im only here on a whv ... been here 3-4 months now and did want to see it out but i just dont find it better than the uk in many respects. Works been **** tbh, ive sat about mostly on my own trying to fill the day job hunting or explore but theres only so much fun you get on your own. Before i came i did indeed say 'screw the uk' etc and im off to where the grass is greener. I dont reget coming here for one min but from what ive experienced it just isnt for me, i miss my m8s, the social side of the uk, family etc. I did hope to sort a 175 if i had work and saved for 6 months but ive come to the conclusion fast ive not going forward here an its made me appreciate my life i had back home. I dont feel embarassed at all cos i had the balls to give it ago on my own so i wont always wonder what if, so people imo can say what they want but i certainly will laugh if it comes from people who havent been to Oz to live.. i have been here before - living and visiting are 2 major diff experiences. I did/am consider seeing more of OZ but i can this on future holidays imo .. Id def consider it in the future on a 175 where i guess getting a full time job would be easier.. Im now boardline to bringing my return flights forward and returning . I dont hate Oz one bit as i have family here but i just havent been 'wowed' with all ive encountered and ive been left mostly to my own devices which has become boring fast. Some might not agree and thats there opinion however as many say you only have one life and i know going home appreciating the simple things i had will set me in good stead to start my business again . Yeah the weathers better, is more relaxed etc but thats about it for me... In hindsight i didnt think id of faced as many hurdles, i certainly didnt expect anyhing to be handed to me and was willing to start at the bottom in my trade again but with my money going fast its come to a point where id rather invest it back home and start back my business back up as i know theres a daily drive for me in that respect alone..

thats the benefit of advance ... go through to someone 24hr a day, always helpful imo even when i was in the uk ... i bought a prepaid internet modem here and for some reason virgin debited my account twice .. i rang he support and they credited it back right away. even hsbc aus ave been great .. they messed up settin the internet banking up, after a call i had numerous apologies from the branch, calls asking how i was getting on and if theres anything they could do for me so cant fault them really

Yeah as B1K3R suggest ... i swapped my uk Hsbc current account to the Hsbc Advance .. its £9.95 a month . For this theres no atm fees at any cash machine within australia .. worth it just for that imo as u get charged 2 bucks a withdrawl if not Also just open a Hsbc Oz account for free with no fees and then use Global view to link them and u can see everything you need to and transfer money for £5 to your aus account plus its instant. I end up using the uk advance card so much now and saved a fortune at atm's. Hsbc aus card can be used at westpac, st george and bank sa branded atms with no with withdrawl fees

I agree ... i took the plunge and dont regret it one bit... it has made me realise my 'routine' in the uk wasnt as bad as i thought but i certainly can say i had the balls to come here on my own rather than what ifs !! only thing that makes me want to go back is i seem to be no better off work wise and applied for alot of jobs .. either way it'll of cost me alot of cash but lifes for living and you cant spend it when your dead !!

my guess would be the olympics and the sudden rise in cost !!

expat shield ... i installed it and lets you watch bbc iplayer and others etc ... and its free

i live just down the road from joondalup ... be up for meeting up whenever as im out fo work atm.. lmk and sort a beer somewhere

Not sure as im on a whv ... i did some work through an agency and was docked at source .. 30 % lol.. 2 other lads i worked for plastering paid me cash and i didnt ask to be either which is a bonus

30% for non residents

i was orignally gonna come in jan this year on my whv ... prices were about £1350 return ... i waited til the start of feb and got my ticket for £830 with emirates .. big savin for a few weeks . Plus a single ticket was £750 in feb so book return ... you can always move the date of your emirates flight forward /back for a fee and at worst the diff in tickets if no cheap seats are available

you get your abn number which you give to whoever your subbing for ... you dont get taxed at source like the uk on the cis scheme .. you then pay all your tax at the end of the financial year .... it did make me click why so many do cash jobs here lol ... and yes you do get business expenses such as fuel, clothes . tools etc

i have experienced the same although im on a whv .. the ones i did hear from said my visa was a issue as its temp which is understandble from the employers perspective. I know here in aus from various people that it can take a month or more to hear anything from some jobs ... they dont seem to rush here from what i gathered lol.. Stick with it... im trying to get jobs doing a wide variety of things i never thought id consider but needs must and i hate sitting around .... only so many times you can go tot the beach as well lol

yeah i am if im honest .. think is mostly cos i was always out and about at home with sport or m8s etc whereas here isnt anything like that

So very true ... i thought here was the utopia id wanted for ages and so far i dont see it ... put it off due to work etc .. now im here u forget the stresses of the uk and begin with another countrys .. i doth my cap to your wise words througout this thread especially

yes so ive just read ... u have to take and complete the course within 30 days of starting a job ... its online and looks easy ... no wrong answers etc ... found it for $39 if u print off your own cert

i did read that if u live in same place for 6 months + as a temp worker you can claim all your tax back ... but i read this is techincally fraud, most stories ive read are people that used tax companys here to claim it back for them via a loop hole ... not sure how true though and if i was to do it id pay a company so any problems falls on them and not me lol.. although 95 % of my money earnt has been cash through tradies (and not me asking to be paid that way)

you could prob use your sisters address for the tax etc but not sure if they check your visa status to make sure your here ... ABN is Australian business number ... pretty much like your CIS/UTR number back home for subbing on site etc but you sort all your tax here and dont get docked at source like on site at home ... although here everyone does a tax return ... be lookin at 30% tax on wages for a whv ... although most i have worked for wanted to pay me cash which i didnt grumble at haha

Can do your tax and abn online once your in Australia, need bank accounts first but i walked into hsbc and set it up in 15 mins... both take upto 28 days ... my tax took the full 28 and abn 36 days lol

yeah the outdoor lifestyle is good, i dont miss settin up in cold conditions back home etc but then again rendering in 30c heat isnt that enjoyable and find yourself in bed for 8 pm due to being shattered ... back home i could skim a few rooms a day and go home with plenty of zip left lol.. I ddnt mind the fact i'd have to start again although at first i did think like you - jesus im starting again a 29 . But in the same respect to get my AQF 3 for the skills assessment over here you need to start from the bottom up to learn the materials and techniques but tbh i dont think i'll be staying for good so im in a situation at the mo where i think ok i'll use it as a holiday to do something else for another 9 months or head back and start back up trading and get back into it ? see what happens but money i brought is goin fast.. There is money to be made in plastering here ... alot but you need your own business which a whv doesnt allow ... lads i know earn $400-500 a day at least with a few lads working for them but rendering wise youd be looking at say $200 a day smashin 80-90 metres on at least, plus screeding it then patching, 2nd screed then cleanin out your corners etc. Labourers are on $150-170 and its just smashin barrow after barrow all day long. And yes most plasteres i know are all english... Suppose its up to you ... i was shocked at how different it is and i guess its my own fault for not doing more research... i see this now as a life experience and can say least ive tried it than always wondering what if. I did get fed up back home of work being up and down but in the same respect its made me see what i took for granted and when/if i go back i'll be a diff person cos of here which to me is a bonus

Wages werent that much more to be honest here ... £130-£140 a day (on site ready for 7am - finish at 4 pm) which i could make back home on price work. But with the higher cost of living here i see it as a backwards step plus you have to start again - basically labouring at first . I wouldnt say its booming, houses arent selling like they were and brickies etc i know say its nothing like it was 2-3 yeas ago - wages have actually gone down so they tell me. But it could be diff in other states to Perth

NOR - Staying in Kallaroo

It seemed pointless bringing most power tools ... plug and power supply is different and unless its domestic work no commercial / domestic site will let you on with uk power supplys etc ...

I'll admit to gettin a bit down here in perth and it made me realise in many ways what i took for granted in the uk and the things I 'slagged' off. I honestly thought it would be better here but socially etc it isnt upto now which has made me get slightly down some days (moe than the uk ever did) I miss going the pub after work, being more active socially and sports wise, here so seems so lonely with most people i know all family orientated or busy doing there own thing. The only thing that stops me getting depressed is the fact i know deep down i can just up and leave Aus wheneve i like... i dont feel trapped cos i all i need to do is bring my emirates flights forward and sell my car but i want to try change my situation and give Perth the best possible shot which is driving me daily rather than getting completely down

i bought a laptop to bring over ... from ebuyer.com ... got good deals on everything from laptops to kindles etc I nearly went down the tablet route but opted for a laptop with hdmi so i can watch utd via a hdmi cable on big screen