baz80

I agree about the citizenship. It makes a mockery of the system the way they did that. The aussies should make them burn their uk passports if they become citizens. ...I agree with what they said about the sausages tho...they are no walls or richmonds

It doesn't surprise me that the programme made the poms out in a negative light. Even the shots of the UK showed a power station belching out smoke and then cut to a view of a pristine beach in OZ. To compare like with like they should have shown the layer of smog that sits over Mt Isa or a junkie shooting up at kings cross. Also they fail to mention that many of the poms that return home always intended to anyway such as temporary workers and the like and not because of some misguided illusion about oz and how that failed to materialise. Anyway most aussies I know don't take these programmes seriously (60 minutes, today tonight etc) and just see them as sensationalist. (I saw a trailer for one the other week about how china is buying up land in oz and graphic was putting chinese flags all over Oz). Its just trash tv at the end of the day

Just to jump in, my understanding is that if you are a temporary resident in Oz as far as the visa is concerned eg on a 457, then you do not have to declare rental income from overseas but if you are a permanent resident then you do. I may be wrong though so would welcome others thoughts

So the government say one thing, change their mind the next day - and the whole thing needs to go out for consultation anyway even though the changes may be implemented in less that 2 months. What a mess!

Got this info from the news.com.au website and was wondering if it is true i.e. Lafha will be stopped even if you own a property in the uk and are on a 457 visa If you receive LAFHA… You're not laughing anymore and will have to say cheerio to the lucrative Living-Away-From-Home-Allowance. The new reforms mean it can only be used for the expenses of people who are legitimately maintaining a second home in addition to their actual home. So, Ireland or England doesn't count as a second home for most people who are here on a working holiday and 457 visas. It was good while it lasted - sorry guys.

Hi, I didn't initially let the SLC know when I was leaving. After working over here for a few months I contacted them and was told to fill out the overseas income assessment form. I think you only need to pay the SLC if you are working so they are not interested in what savings you have. My OH also has a UK student loan but she has not yet sent them an overseas income assessment form. We have been in Oz for a year and consequently she has not made any repayments despite working. Its one of those things that we intend to do but keep forgetting to do it. The SLC have our address and sent through our statements but do not seem to hound her for repayments. If I were you I would just do what I did - make the move out here and work for a bit until your financial situation is more settled and then contact them about repayments. Cheers Barry

Hi, I am currently in Oz and paying off a UK student loan. Once I arrived in Oz and had been working for a few months I filled out an student loan overseas income assessment form and sent this to the student loans company with evidence of salary. They then calculated how much I would need to pay them on a monthly basis. I do this via direct debit from my uk account but it does mean I periodically need to transfer money back to the uk. Be warned that due to the current exchange rates the amount you pay back each month is likely to be significantly more than what you were paying in the uk. I guess the plus side is you get your loan paid off quicker. Hope that helps Barry