ItchyFeet76

My parents are visiting and I've asked them to bring some things that we either can't get and miss, or can get but pay a lot for. I've looked on the boarding card and it doesn't specifically mention any of the things they're bringing but some forums have suggested you have to declare ALL food, even if admissable (ie not on the prohibited list). What they're bringing (amongst other things) is:-

* Calpol

* Teetha granules (camomile teething powder)

* UK lollies (sweets)

* UK potato chips

* UK chocolate

* UK biscuits

When I came back from visiting I didn't declare anything and am now wondering if I should have done - and what might happen if you're stopped randomly and haven't declared something?? They say if unsure then tick 'yes' and go through the 'declaration' line, but what if you ARE sure but are just wrong in your assumption?! 

Thanks for reading, and please scroll past if you're just going to question why we want this :-)

16 hours ago, Yvi said:

Congrats! It's not even been one year since you arrived... got PR already with DE. May I ask what occupation you applied under?

Sure. My husband applied under 262112 - ICT Security Specialist. He's a penetration tester / security consultant (ethical hacker).

We got our visa grant today! I've been checking every day (sometimes several times a day ?) for the past couple weeks and then, today - the one day I've been too busy to check - I suddenly had 5 emails in my ((new, visa-related only!) inbox!! 

Our timeline is as follows:-

26/06/16 - Arrived in Australia

04/07/17 - Husband started job

02/12/16 - Employer application in

15/12/16 - Our application in (I did it myself to save money, it was quite straight forward but time-consuming and lots of docs to collate and scan)

25/05/17 - Employer nomination approved

25/05/17 - Sent for medicals

30/05/17 - Medical cleared (I wasn't notified about this, I just happened to notice when I logged on, and if I hadn't clicked the "confirm" button we might still be waiting!)

16/06/17 - visa granted!

Our UK police checks expired in March and I was worried they might ask us to do them again, but clearly not!

Good luck to everyone else with their visas ?Now I have the nightmare task of sorting Medicare / Centrelink / MLS / LHC exemption etc! ?

Hi guys,

Employer got approved a couple weeks back, we got sent for our medicals couple days later and had them cleared last week and am just wondering how long it takes for approval from here?

Cheers ?

Hi, my medicals were uploaded yesterday so I clicked on the "info provided" button and now it says "assessment in progress". What is the next stage - CO assigned or decision? They haven't asked us to redo our police checks (which expired in March) - presumably because we've not been back to the UK since doing them?

We live here and it's our favourite place in Oz so far...just a shame it's so darn expensive bough! Prices went up 15.5% since last year - the second-highest growth in the whole of Victoria! ?

Houses go for 10-15% above asking price, auctions for around $100k+ above asking price... rental inspections have 10-20 sets of people turning up and you'll struggle to get a big 3-bed for under $500-550...I know because we're looking to downsize from our current rental! ?

Mount Eliza Regional Park was the setting for Frog Dreaming, Canadian Bay beach was the setting for On the Beach and we've seen Hugh Jackman out jogging Andy in the local IGA ?

if anyone has any questions about moving here, I'd be happy to help out with local info. ?

Congratulations! Were you Direct Entry or Transitional? Enjoy your life as a resident!

Hiya,

Yes, sounds good! We met up with Kiwi Kaye a few weeks back and it was really good to talk to another expat :-) When and where? (PM me when you get a chance).

Anita :-)

Hi KiwiKaye,

Yes that sounds lovely! We're often in Frankston - amazing beach.... :-) PM me and we'll sort something out :-)

Just come across this thread and am thrilled to know I'm not the only PomsInOzzer in Mounty! If anyone fancies meeting up sometime, we are in our 40s with 3 kids aged 6, 7 and 10. They attend MEPS and I'm often found in Ritchies at the samples counter ;-)

Hi guys, I'd like to add ourselves to the spreadsheet but can't find it? My husband is the primary applicant as 262112 ICT SECURITY SPECIALIST and we're going down the Direct Entry route (we've been here since end June and he started his job beg July). His employer's nomination was submitted 02/12/2016 and I submitted our application on 15/12/16. I've already had my medical (last week, before we applied) but husband and 3 kids got to wait to be sent as we've applied now.

cheers,

ItchyFeet

Hi whoiam,

 

My OH's employer lodged their nomination on Friday (3rd August). We're waiting on my oh's Australian police check and my birth certificate before we lodge our application.

 

We're applying under the temporary residence transition stream, non-DRC and what with the backlog from June applicantions I suspect we're in for a lengthy wait!

 

Good luck and keep us updated :biggrin:

Is it risky applying at the same as your employer? I know if you wait for them to be approved it can double the wait time, but I'm a bit concerned about them getting refused (not that I cant think of a reason why they would, just being cautious!) and us losing our $8k application fee... :-/

Hi, my husband's probation ends next week and the employer is happy to start the 186 Direct Entry process. Can we apply now whilst we're waiting for the employer's nomination to be approved, to save time? (He became an approved SBS to bring us over on the 457, so is there any reason he might be refused approval?). When can we do the medicals and for how long are they valid? We have police checks from the UK (valid until Feb 2017) but do we also need ones from Oz?

thanks in advance!

Congratulations! Remind me what exactly you do again...?

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Petal, have you considered getting in touch with a recruitment agent who specialises in your husband's field of work? They do take a considerable fee from the client (the employer) but they work hard to get you the right job with the right package. We're currently using one to try and get my husband sponsorship for a 457 (he's in IT Security).

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I've heard of PlanIT - maybe this is whom he meant? I recall seeing some jobs by them on Seek last year...

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@Briggs0102 Did you say you're in IT security? What do you do, exactly (if you don't mind my asking)? My husband is seeking 457 sponsorship and the recruiters have expressed lots of interest in him thus far, saying that there's a big market for penetration testers, particularly ones with CREST.

Cheers,

I-F

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Completely agree. I've recruited various IT contractors in my role as a project manager and probably one of the things I'm least interested in is what certification they have. At the end of the day, if you're sitting in front of me I'm going to assume your skills and experience are adequate and it's all much of a muchness when comparing one person with another. You can have as many bits of paper as you like, but as an employer you need to prove to me that you can actually do this job, not sit in a classroom. The main factor I look for in a candidate (assuming their CV is acceptable) is would this person fit in with my team dynamic? The second one would be things like will this person make my life easier or harder? Do they have a personality? Can they express themselves? Do they need a lot of prompting or hand holding? Do I trust them? And most importantly, do they actually look like they want this job? If you can demonstrate that to me you'll shine in an interview. I wouldn't bother to ask you loads of technical questions to try to catch you out as I don't want to recruit someone who's learned something by rote. Perhaps the best answer I've heard in an interview to a technical question was from an Oracle developer who was asked what he'd do in a pretty complex technical scenario. "Dunno", he replied. "I'd go and Google it probably". He got the job.

Hi Petkula, are you able to give an insight into the current IT security industry in Vic (Melbourne area), please? My husband is a penetration tester /Senior Security Consultant and will be looking for sponsorship next spring (by which time we hope to have saved up enough to make the trip). He has his Crest CCT / CTL / OSCP, etc. and a few years' experience working for one of the world's largest pen-testing companies (actually more like 5 years in security but ACS knocked off a couple years for his lack of degree). His background has always been computers (hardware - i.e. sys admin, etc.) so he's got a broad knowledge of most things but specialises in security (currently learning mobile hacking).

We've had recruiters get in touch with him but one has said there are very few companies in Vic willing to sponsor a 457, which is rather concerning as this is our only route in.

Thanks in advance,

I-F

If you keep retaking it and do better in some bits (eg reading) but worse in others (eg listening), can you amalgamate the results from old and new tests (picking out the best) and, if not, does the most recent test result cancel out the previous one...?

Thanks.

Glad to hear your husband found work quickly, Antigone :-)

Has anyone heard anything about the lay-offs from BAE Systems Detica (not sure how recent?) flooding the IT market with jobseekers...? Think my oh may have some competition on his hands... :eek:

hi, target these companies. http://www.crestaustralia.org/approved.html. when hiring pen testers i wont use firms not on the list.

Hi there Arrumac, thanks for your suggestion. I actually think hubby's already tried a few of those companies (submitted CV, anyway) but not heard anything back yet. Even the agent who assured us pen testers were / are in demand has been verging on the lackadaisical recently. Is this the Australian way or should we take it personally?! Our friend got offered a job (whilst in Oz), returned to the UK, chased up the contract and they never even replied (despite weeks of emailing them). We then found out (through another agent) that the guy who 'hired' him had actually left the company and nobody had bothered to tell him (our friend)! Really hope we don't end up in a similar situation...

May I ask what line of work you're in, please (you said you only used Crest-approved firms)? Would you perhaps have any contacts in this field (apologies for the cheek!)...? :notworthy:

Cheers :-)

Are there any security specialists / penetration testers out there? My oh is hoping to secure sponsorship (or an intra-company transfer) but, as seems to be the case with so many other people (from what I've read on here), most of the jobs on SEEK seems to have been advertised for the past 6 months and are continually repeated!

Cheers, I-F :-)

Hello again Andy, thanks for persevering with my question - sorry I didn't clarify my situation in the first post! So what would happen to our private pensions from the UK if we were to go to Oz, gain PR and stay out there until retirement...? Surely we'd still get them (minus inflation) as we've paid into them??!

Jolly pleased that the Aus super isn't taxed - do you think this is likely to change at some point...? (the UK state pension IS taxed, isn't it? And presumably would be taxed on UK rates or Aus rates?).

Thanks again and sorry to reply with more questions!

Thanks for clarifying that, Andrew. Our situation is this:- we're hoping to come out on a 457 but eventually convert it to PR. My husband will (hopefully) be earning around the $120k mark, and I'm a full-time mum. So, based on $120k (which would obviously go up over the years with inflation) we'd get just $2.5k p.a. between the two of us? And if / when I return to work, would we still get £2.5k between the two of us...?

Presumably the superannuation to which the employer contributes would come to us regardless of salary, but minus tax (at whatever rate he would pay on his usual salary, I guess)? And any UK employer pension would come to us minus UK tax or Oz tax? (and would not rise in line with inflation...?). Would we still get a UK state pension?

Sorry for adding more questions!

Thanks in advance of your reply,

I-F :-)

Please excuse my ignorance but is an Age Pension the equivalent of the UK State Pension? So if you earn / have earned over $67k per couple, you won't get it? Presumably you would still get your super though...??

Thanks in advance for the clarification on this.

I-F