Carocon1

Thank you everyone for your help, it seems like a huge task but once I get going I am sure I'll get there!

Hi all, We are moving back to the UK in a couple of months from Cairns QLD and I was looking for a bit of advice. We shipped all our household goods and furniture to Aussie and as we are heading back to the UK we have decided to sell a lot of things rather than take them all back. I wonder what is the best way to sell second hand furniture, books, toys, kitchenware etc in Aus, is it Ebay or gumtree perhaps as I am unsure where to start? Thanks so much for any help you could give. Caroline

Hi there, please forgive me if this has been covered in another thread and forgive the length! My other half is an Emergency Care Practitioner (paramedic practitioner is another name) with a DIP(he) and Bsc (HONS) in Paramedic Practice he is also an eligible New Zealander so no visa issues (only needed for me!) and in the UK he works in primary care as a locum alongside GP's and ANP's, he is injury and illness trained, xray interpretation, wound closure including suture, manipulation, ring blocks/haematoma blocks, plastering, primary care medication, plus the usual pre-hospital emergency care procedures and drugs including intubation. We are moving to Cairns QLD this year hopefully December, and he hopes to continue working as an ECP in Aus but seem to be getting conflicting advice as far as where, what and how Paramedics work in Aus. 1. The lack of registration appears to be a real issue regarding parity with other health professionals, and unless you are AHPRA registered they won't look at you. 2. The ECP role doesn't seem to exist anywhere yet the same qualifications are asked for within nursing advertisements and and agencies seem to cover nurses both rural and urban, but again can't really get a defined answer as it seems to be in the too hard basket. 3. Remote or offshore work there is a reasonable amount of work going but some of the ridiculous courses you need either run into the $1000's or are specific only to certain mines. 4. Most ambulance services don't seem to be interested in prior or current paramedics but are more interested in graduate level paramedics, which is obviously cost led as far as wages go. We have decided upon Aus over NZ due to family in Cairns so NZ not an option for us, we did investigate NZ with my other half as a paramedic but not viable as a 2 year hiatus plus remote posting to 'possibly' become a paramedic. At this stage he is actually looking at retraining at either a carpenter/tiler or vocational teaching due to the severe lack of any professional body or information out there about ECP roles/foreign paramedics. We understand there is event work out there however even in the UK with the numerous concerts and events on you couldn't earn a living or have continuity of work long term in this - especially obtaining a mortgage. Please don't think we are complaining I understand we are in a good position regarding visas etc, however the length of time to obtain these quals and the responsibility required to then just throw it all away seems wrong. Please don't think my other half is being elitist obviously all things require give and take or sacrifice to get the end result and he is more than happy to take a lesser position initially if needed as we all have to start somewhere, however the information we are getting is that nobody is interested. He has filled out numerous application forms and he fits the bill completely as per the job specs but either hears nothing or they are not interested because he is not in Aus now. So we can't even pre-organise jobs - even though the applications will take months to finalise due to quals, ratification etc. It leaves us wondering if there is something he is doing drastically wrong with his applications or is it simply that employers require him to be living in Aus? We both plan to work and I am a Beauty Therapist returning to work after being a stay at home mum of two so planning our life in Cairns prior to the move is really essential and frustrating as we can't seem to find the info we need to move forward. Any help or knowledge would be fantastic and thank you to anyone who can shed a little light on the subject, we are not fixated on Cairns but that is our ideal location due to the love of the place and family being there. Thanks so much! Caroline

Sorry TheArmChairDetective, I think you may have miss understood me on this one, I didn't mean the question was pointless from an individuals point of view, but from the newspapers point of view, and I didn't say it was stupid, but they are printing that everything being equal 30% of Brits leave Aus 70% stay, well we all know everything is not equal and people leave for a variety of reasons and also once left you CAN return... What I meant was it was a fairly pointless statistic as no real data is available on it just an arbitrary figure. We would be in the 30% catagory, as we left 4 years ago for a major family problem, but because our daughter is in high school we now cant return until she has finished, but we ARE returning...

ok sorry its a high commision, but they deal with visas (apparently)... vixenpops, I assumed the same thing but when we registered for medicare I was denied on the grounds above, I couldnt find an answer and am still struggling now... I contracted ross river fever whilst there ( a bit like malaria) and it was a nightmare, blood tests, Drs appointments meds all full price no medicare concessions. It is something I need to address for our return!

A common and probably unanswerable question, whats right for you isnt right for me. sometimes the place is right but the time is wrong and visa versa... australia is expensive, closed economy, poor for international news etc... great for kids, good lifestyle, good attitudes etc UK is overcrowded, taciturn weather, council tax, car tax, nanny state etc... cheaper than Australia for food, cars etc. NHS, free schooling etc... so as you can see we can all find good and bad in both and I have found it is a fluid list, what you could put up with 10 years ago is now a deal breaker or what would have put you off years ago is a breath of fresh air! either way it is a subjective question and fairly pointless one

Hi there we have made this trip twice ( family deaths)... I can honestly say, bring as much as you can aswell as the money, your UK furniture if in good condition is very expensive to replace, also toys for kids, decent towels/sheets etc (hard to get good ones). dependending where you go dont be sucked into thinking it doesnt get cold in Australia bring a few good fleeces or jumpers etc... the more you can bring the less pressure there is on your finances and less employment pressure applied, also psychologically it is nice to have familiar things around you in a strange place.

thanks for the reply, I know that tourists are entitled to it but for some reason I was not, due to me being there permenant but apparently being on a "temporary" visa they said I wasnt entitled... The embassy is on the Strand London, my O/H went there last week but to no avail as they had no availability because of the olympics.

sorry Im just used to saying it, we are not officially married but been with each other for 15 years, not sure if it makes any difference... cheers caroline

Hi there, just wondering if anybody would know the answer to this. I am English married to a kiwi, oldest daughter born in WA Australia, youngest daughter born in UK (I know its a strange one!!!). The question is that we left Brisbane 4 years ago due to family death and are currently in the UK. We are looking at moving back 3 years from now (oldest daughter will have finished school). However i'm wondering what visa to go for, as last time i went with a spouse visa (sub 461), however when I got there i was unable to claim medicare as I was on a UK passport only but could live and work as usual ( and pay tax...). Even though I am fit and well the general medical costs are expensive when paying full fare. my children are covered due to Kiwi/Australian linneage and obviously my hubby is fine, but not getting any answers from the embassy regarding this unless I want to speak for £1.50 a minute to an advisor. Advice would be really helpfull and I know the time is distant, but by experience these things take time. cheers Caroline