JoannaAch

Hi, I can't really answer your questions, but I was advised by my friends that it is worth to ask a tax agent to do your first tax return because as a part year resident you paid to much tax and agent can help you get the most of it back:) As for transfers your family sent you - I don't think you have to report it, as it is not "income", but there may be a limit on how much you can receive w/o reporting it... As for your own savings, I would guess they were already taxed with your salary? You can't pay tax twice (at least not if going from UK/Europe to Australia). This will be my first tax return in Aus (arrived 4 months ago), but I have been receiving support from my family previously (in Germany) and I never declared it... But hopefully someone else will be able to answer?

I am using MoneyCorp to pay of my credit card debt in Germany. I asked the bank to divide it into installments and each month I send money to my MoneyCorp account (takes 1 day) and then to the German account (another day). The exchange rates are not very good (due to small transfers), but I can't think of any other way...

I think that if your IELTS with all 8s is dated after you received an invitation, it won't be accepted and your application will be refused. No sympathy from CO will help, as at the time of the invitation you won't have the 60points that you claimed. Can't you ask the issuing school for a copy of your diploma? For sure they have it in their archives... Even if it takes a while, you will be able to ask your CO for an extension and wait for the certificate to arrive.

Not correct. Maybe you mixed the visas and the above info is for the provisional 489 visa?

I did the Academic one a few years ago to start a PhD (got overall 7.5) and when I first started practicing the General tests, I also had serious problems with the reading part. I think that in the Reading part of the Academic IELTS the answers are more straight forward and the texts are more comprehensive and detailed, while in the General one the texts are more about nothing and "general". Also, the writing was a bit more complicated for me (I can't remember the last time I wrote an essay...). But after a few practice tests I easily scored over 8 in all parts (with 9 in reading), so I think you just need to get used to the that tests. Good luck!

Move as soon as you can! You have to do what is the best for you and your family. It won't affect anything as you have a normal PR visa without any conditions. WA won't give you a straight answer - it's not their place to do so. Only DIBP controls your visa, not WA.

Based on my experience it is enough if you tell them that you have a right to work and they just believe you. But they can easily check the visa in VEVO and it will show that your partner has full working rights (when logging as a visa holder you don't see that information in VEVO).

I already bought all the stuff for Mercy, so our unit starts to look more like home too! Can't wait until we pick her up and bring her home. I haven't seen her for so long (she stayed with my parents for the last 6 months), I hope she still remembers me!

Looks like our pets arrived in Australia on the same day! Which airline did your cats flew with? My Mercy flew with Emirates through Dubai. And it looks like she is the first of her breed (Nebelung) in Australia:) I also can't wait until Sunday to finally take her home.

It's pretty crazy, but I think I was more stressed about my cats trip than when I was applying for our visas... And I read through all of the threads in the Pets forum.........

Just a quick update My cat Mercy arrived safely yesterday morning in Sydney and is now in Eastern Creek quarantine, where she will stay for the next 10 days. The whole flight took around 32h and it was very stressful for me. I have been tracking the flight all the way to Sydney and called the quarantine people (even though it's supposedly not allowed) as soon as she arrived (on Emirates cargo website it showed "Delivered") and they told me that all the pets that arrived where fine and that I will receive an email in the evening. In the afternoon (before closing hours) I called the quarantine people again and they confirmed that she is fine. In 9 days I will finally take her home!

My cat's Import Permit was granted in 4 working days in March. Max time to approve is 20 days. It might depend on how long it takes to process the payment, if all the documents are correct and how many applications they have at the moment.

In NSW when we were applying for rentals a few months ago we applied for 2 rentals at the same time and were accepted for both of them. From what I understand (might be different among states/agencies) after you confirm that you want the apartment/unit./house that you were accepted for, they will ask for a non-refundable deposit of 1st week rent. So, you may apply for as many properties as you like, but after you confirm one and pay the deposit, you can not change your mind or you will loose the deposit. In my case, after I accepted the first apartment, when the second real estate agent called that we were also accepted, I just let her know that we already decided on another place. As for the rest of the questions, I agree with previous comments. We went for each apartment inspection with copies of all the most important documents (passports, visas, AU bank account summary, medicare, my job offer confirmation, reference letter from Germany) and with a cover letter.

If any of you are PR by the time the baby is born and the baby is born in Australia, he/she will get the Australian citizenship right away and you will be eligible for the family benefits from centerlink. Most of these are based on your income, you can get an estimation from the website: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/payment-finder/?q=15000000000000000000000000

I just called DAFF and they confirmed that the report I have is correct... Such a relief... They will send me an email that I can show to the Official Government Vet in Poland confirming that he can fill the import permit health certificate based on the report I have...

Hi, Thank you very much. I am flying her with DC Animals in Poland. I found them on the IATA approved pet carriers list for Poland as I moved to Australia a few months back and I had to leave her with my parents. I have forwarded you the RNATT report I received from IDEXX Germany, however that's the only report I have ever received. Up to today no one has mentioned that there is another form of the report. I really don't know what to do now, my cat is supposed to fly next Tuesday, the shipping company is not helping - they saw all the documents at least a month ago and they said that everything is fine and just now they asked for the signed and stamped RNATT result. On the DAFF page it only says to submit the "RNAT test Laboratory Report" and the report I have is called "Certificate Rabies Serology Report". I also have the declaration that is signed and stamped by the official government veterinary. If you could help me in any way I would be really thankful. I feel that just because I couldn't transport her from UK, I ended up with much less professional shipper and I am very worried that it may destroy my chances of ever taking my kitty with me...

Hello I urgently need some help: on DAFF website there is information: 'The laboratory report must be in English and completed on the testing laboratory ’s letterhead. The report must include the animal’s microchip number, the blood sampling date, the signature of the person responsible for issuing the laboratory report, the location where the blood sample was taken and the test result.' However, my cats RNAT test result does not have a signature and instead of that it is a noted: This document was generated automatically and is valid without a signature". Which one is correct? Will this cause me any trouble on arriving in Australia? My cat is traveling this week! Please anybody help...

It's really sad that such a great company might disappear because of the new policy. It's not fair that with a 10 days quarantine and the increased fees, owners or their representatives won't be able to visit their pets or even ask how they are. DAFF is treating pets like things that can be easily exchanged and not as living beings. I couldn't sleep for a few nights after I read on their website that if someone (a vet, an official government vet or me) makes a mistake in all the documentation they may euthanize your pet if you can't quickly come up with another 2500$ to send it back. My cat is flying this week and the only information I will get is an email within 48h from landing if everything is fine. This will be really hard 48h for me - not knowing how my cat is or if she even landed in Sydney or if anything happened to her...

Both me and hubby where 27. I think it was quite easy for us to move as we didn't have any strong ties with Europe (except for family), both our parents are fully healthy and don't need our help and we don't have kids, so less stress.

I think its >140$ before tax for a family with one kid... And there will be some changes for the next financial year?

Based on my experience - none and 70k is not enough to support a family, at least in Sydney. We spend 2k$ per month for a 1-bedroom unit, 700$ on utilities (incl. car insurance, life insurance etc.) and 600$ on car repayments. Child care is the biggest problem; in Sydney it costs around 80-100$ per day, but if both you and your partner go to work and doesn't earn that much you will get child care support from the government (if PR). But don''t hope for to much. However, it strongly depends on your life style - a lot of people would say that it's a lot of money and they will be able to still save each month...

Almost 4 months after we moved to Sydney, the 180days have passed after her RNATT test and my cat Mercy is flying to Aus next week! She has been staying with my parents for the past 4 months in Poland and they are preparing her for shipping. We are using a IPATA approved pet shipping company from Poland, but they are very hard to communicate with as they almost never respond to email and I can't really call them from Aus every time I have a question. It's really hard being so far away and not being able to make sure that everything is perfect for the flight:( I just hope that my parents will remember all the things they need to do and that the shipping company will manage everything correctly. Does anybody have any last minute advice for preparing a cat for the flight and quarantine? I got her a special blanket for the kennel that will keep dry during the flight, but I don't know what else can be done to make a trip as easy as possible for her. She is doing a 10days quarantine in Sydney (Eastern Creek) station. I can't wait until I will be able to pick her up and take her home!

I would suggest to look for jobs also in other states and move if you find something. The job market is tough for new immigrants and wasting a year for job search might not do you any good and will look bad on your CV (that's just my opinion). WA sponsored you to work in you occupation as they think they need people with your skills - it won't be beneficial for them if you stay unemployed or take a unskilled/other job (again - just my opinion). Just email them, describe your situation and don't expect to get any "release" - it's just a moral obligation, so only you can release yourself:) Best of luck!

Based on my experience you can easily get a financing for your car, as the car loans are usually secured and in case you stop paying back, they will just take the car back. It's much easier to gte than credit card. They might also ask you for some down-payment (they asked me for 20% of the value), but I am not sure if that is a requirement. I got my car a month after I moved to Australia and started at my new job (I have a 6 months probation) and I had no credit history whatsoever. The loan was accepted almost immediately (I got it from Toyota Bank). Have you considered using GoGet instead of renting? It is not perfect (they charge you by hour and you always have to return the car to its original parking), it might work for you and its cheaper than renting. Check https://www.goget.com.au/ or any other car sharing companies.

Maybe I am completely wrong - but if your cat does not have a Pedigree doesn't it mean that it is a mixed-breed/domestic breed and not a bengal?