Croft

Maybe going to University and access to HECS, applying for a federal government job (like Police or Armed Forces)?

I used these guys a lot when I was in the UK - https://www.parcelhero.com/. They use main carries like DHL and FedEx.

OK, try this link for a full explanation of foreign exchange firms from a UK perspective - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange. Last time from Australia I used OzForex (now OFX), which is the Australian arm of UKForex. The rates will nearly always be a LOT better than banks can do. As for ATMs, here in Australia if you use another banks ATM you'll be charge in the region of $2.50, though some have partner agreements. RediATM seems to to be free to most other banks too.

As already noted, you will need a RRV to travel once your original visa has expired. If you have spent 2 years or more int he last 5 years in Australia (obviously not in your case!) you can be granted a subclass 155 RRV which gives you unlimited travel for 5 years. If you have spent more than 1 day but less than 2 years int he previous 5 years you can get a subclass 157 RRV which lasts 3 months. However, if you have not been in Australia for 3 months prior to granting of a RRV you have to provide compelling reasons why you haven't been in Australia. Yes, this lasts until you get citizenship. Some are happy to do this, others want the security of citizenship. We applied for citizenship at the earliest opportunity, 90 days after arrival.

Deleted as realised you'd already seen the thread!

Hi Elaine - having dealt with many children with ASD I know how wide the spectrum is! I hope there's someone on this board that may have been successful and may suggest a specialist agent. Notwithstanding that, you'll probably have to get some (costly) medical reports before the Australians will consider granting a visa. From the Australian point of view, they want to minimise costs on their healthcare system so are very careful about pre-existing conditions.

We kept ours open too. If you know what your address will be in Australia you might as well change it now (we initially changed our address to my parents UK address then, when we visited last Christmas, we changed it to our own Australian address). Keep in mind (with our bank at least) you can only change address in branch, everything else you can do online or over the phone. Also have them stop all marketing mailings as my parents kept on posting these to us at enormous expense!

Read your post with interest. We went back to for a month to the UK (family and friends) and Spain (mother-in-law and one of our friends) over Christmas after moving to Brisbane in October 2013. It was nice to see family but, maybe because we packed too much in, we were more than ready to go back after 3 weeks. In fact my six year old son, who up to then had regularly made comments about wanting to go back to England, asked us when we were going back as he wanted to use our pool, see his friends and our cat! It was almost a relief to get back to our own house we'd recently bought and catch up with all the friends we've made here. The other big lesson we got from the trip back is that in our late 40s long haul Economy is now just too cramped and uncomfortable! Life is not all roses though. My wife has a well paid job but she is not happy in it and looking to change. Fortunately, as a very experience Physiotherapist there is no shortage of good jobs. I'm still looking for regular employment (not helped by the fact we've completely changed areas and I have only been qualified just over a year) but relief teaching pays well! Unlike yourself though, we are much better off and more settled than in the UK.

I have seen episodes where the participants did discover they were worse off. I recall there was an IT specialist who stayed in the UK because of the figures.

You jest, but storage space was one of our considerations (alongside a separate living area for visitors) when we realised how little space there is to hide your things in many Aussie houses - especially if you have ducted air conditioning which fills your loft with big silver tubes!

It's on the passport application form. All pages need to be copied including all visa pages. It's been like that for the last couple of years since the process was centralised in the UK.

We had to renew my sons earlier this year. Again, very easy. It makes it a little quicker if you get another UK passport holder to countersign it (EU and Commonwealth are permitted too) but it's surprising the number of Australians who also hold a UK passport (and the number of Brits who let their UK passport lapse once they have an Australian passport). The only nause was colour copying my sons entire Australian passport.

Some physiotherapists are known to take the NZ route to qualify too. The complex procedures for overseas Physios qualifying in Australia are costly and time consuming. While NZ does still requires some expenditure, it is essentially a portfolio rather than the multi stage examination process over here. However, the process requires you to confirm that you will practise in NZ.

Have you checked on VEVO?

My son is also an August baby, and that sid one of the many reasons why we think Australia has been a benefit for us. He has that extra level of development and maturity now to make so much more of school and learning than if he'd started at 4 years 1 month in the UK. It is weird that the children he was friends with in the UK are now starting Year 2 and he hasn't even finished Prep.

Exactly the area I was going to suggest. As there are no beaches there they are overlooked by many but they are right by the coast and not a bad commute into Brisbane CBD (especially as they're both on a train line) or an easy hop onto the M1 to go down to the Gold Coats or up to the Sunshine Coast.

It sounds as though your son is eligible for Australian citizenship (https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi/pathways-processes/application-options/descent and the High Commission in London http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_citz.html). Now, the question is, is he classified as an Australian citizen now (through your partner), as would be the case with British citizenship, or do you have to apply for it. This makes a big difference as strictly speaking if he is classified as Australian already he must enter Australia on an Australian passport. It is best to talk to the High Commission in London as you may face problems coming into Australia otherwise.

Take a look at the application fees here - https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Fees That's just the start. On top of that there are medicals, agent fees (if you use one), profession fees to transfer you nursing qualification (lucky for you nursing is relatively inexpensive compared to physiotherapists, doctors, dentists etc), flights (your will be relatively inexpensive - it's your pets who will cost an arm and a leg), shipping, savings to live on while you find work etc. Do not underestimate these costs. As an aside, we got a cat over here. In Brisbane there are no restrictions unless you have multiple cats, but other areas such as the Gold Coast do. Ours has never brought anything home and the latest research indicates that if they haven't been feral or taught to hunt by 6 months old they make pretty dire hunters. Apparently the oft quoted figures about the amount of wildlife they kill are based on some decades old research in the UK extrapolated from farmyard cats. Urban cats are far different beasts! Finally, have you any military experience, as the ADF are recruiting nursing officers - https://m.defencejobs.gov.au/recruitment-centre/can-i-join/citizenship/army/ - and they will pay or refund you all the above costs.

The New Zealand immigration systems are linked to the Australian ones so they know you have PR in Australia. This page describes the only options available to you now - https://www.border.gov.au/Lega/Lega/Form/Immi-FAQs/how-will-other-countries-know-i-have-a-valid-australian-visa-if-i-dont-have-a-visa-label

You may want to consider Hawthorne or Bulimba in Brisbane. There is a lovely village atmosphere with lots of cafes and restaurants, and only a couple of stops on the Cat to get to the artificial beach in South Bank.

If you've got the chance, take it. You never know what life will bring and in any case, it gives you an open door to NZ too.

Yes, still in Aus after 3 years and now buying a house. The country has been good to us. I believe the change was retrospective so despite leaving in 2011 you may still be eligible. I'd talk to the High Commission in London.

Hi fjm, from a fellow lateral! You may not be aware that the citizenship laws for family changed in January 2013. Instead of just the member and dependents under the age of 21 getting citizenship after 90 days, it now includes the whole family (ie also the spouse) if they arrived under the same visa. You may find you are now eligible for citizenship.

Got a Queensland licence in 2013, just showed the UK one and allowed to keep it. The maximum you can have a Queensland license is 5 years, after which you have to pay a load more money to renew it. Just as an aside the paper part of the UK licence is now dead and buried. You just have the plastic card like everywhere else. Unless of course, like my sister, you haven't moved (or changed your name) since they were introduced and you have the old pink paper licence which you never have to renew until age 70.

Definitely - that's how the developers make their money. I'm just wondering with young people less willing to drive and put up with the commute and a ready supply of relatively inexpensive, albeit smaller, units and housing in the existing cities whether they will be prepared to move out to suburbia as previous generations were?