Croft

When I took Australian citizenship, at a cost of $265, I saved $350 six days later when paying for my University tuition. I had not realised that as I was now a citizen I was eligible for HECS-HELP, and as I was paying up front (as I was obliged to do when I had PR) I was eligible for a 10% discount.

An interesting NHS analysis of that particular study here. I always check out the NHS Behind The Headlines for stories like this.

An interesting point is that you don't require a UK passport to enter or leave the UK - you just have to prove you have the right of abode. Now, if you're stuck at the border without a UK passport trying to prove that to a Border Force official good luck to you. They probably wouldn't turn you away, but you'd spend a huge amount of time stuck in an interview room while they check you out.

I was thinking about this, though one difference now is the huge amount of urban densification that has been taking place with units and blocks being split to put 2 or more, larger, houses on the same plot. There's an awful lot more availability of residential accommodation now within the existing urban area, and much of it (the units at least) is about to see an interesting amount of price correction. The one big draw of a new large scale residential development is cheaper housing, and if there's a lot of affordable stock flooding the market in existing areas it's less likely that people will chose to move.

As NicF said, you may get a few questions. In fact, as you would be deliberately circumventing the requirement that clearly states a citizen must travel with an Australian passport, they can make life as difficult for you as they like.

Masdar City, but it has its problems.

They discussed this on ABC Brisbane this morning. After all the hype they had the Chair of the Gold Coast Planning Committee on. While they have designated it a zone of interest, there are a lot of challenges which may not make this potential development economically viabel. These include flooding and the soil type which is not conducive to building. The provision of all the standard services such as roads, power and sewage outside of the existing metropolitan footprint will also be costly. All this when it is state policy to try and encourage development outside of SE QLD, I'm not sure this will go ahead.

I recently got the Weber Q2000 with the lightweight travel cart (that can be turned into a trolley) using Qantas points. I used it in the park for my son's birthday party and it was brilliant, and many there raved about their Webers. I'd say either would suit your needs as spares and accessories are readily available.

I think the point the author was making was that Australia looks for those with the skills it needs. Nothing wrong with that at all. Now those with the skills it needs tend to be more driven, motivated,, perhaps intelligent? It screens out the unhealthy who would be a burden on the health system. It ends up with a better workforce, as opposed the more open door policy in Europe. I'm not sure I agree with some of the authors conclusions that this has led to a lower quality of migrant, but they indicate some studies which support that view.

I happened to be watching a TV series today which touched on eugenics so I decided to do a little background reading. I was surprised to read that, according to one notable author in the field (Lynn, 2001, Part III. The Implementation of Classical Eugenics), "The final strategy for the promotion of positive eugenics would consist of the acceptance of good-quality immigrants." The writer even singles out Australia as an example of operating this policy. Is the current visa system something you would see as eugenic? It is interesting to note the same author regards other policies such as providing information about or promoting contraception and abortion as eugenic in their nature too.

A lot of people have outdated information about greetings to member of the Royal Family. It all changed, IIRC, in the 1990s. Now, "There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms." - https://www.royal.uk/greeting-member-royal-family I'm actually a support of the monarchy. More by accident than design, the UK has ended up with a reasonably stable method of having a head of state who is not going to try and go against the will of the people. For heavens sake, I can think of at least 2 occasions when Parliament decided they didn't like the cut of the Monarchs or soon to be Monarchs jib and handed it to someone else.

October 2013. Try the other services - also policies may have changed. She did state at the interview in London that when she was given penicillin as a child it was banana flavoured so it may have been that! Funnily enough, her Aunt is banana intolerant (my wife is epi-pen time), and here in Australia I've actually come across a couple of people with the same allergy. It is an unusual one. My son had a 25% chance of inheriting it but we found out he was OK when he had to have some banana flavoured medicine just before he was 2. Luckily my wife has escaped the other related conditions to banana allergy - http://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/knowledgebase/banana-allergy/

Oh, and my wife is ADF, Army (lateral transfer scheme), and she's allergic to penicillin.

That is bad news. Funnily enough, ADF allows asthma which the UK doesn't. Also, after an incident on Herrick, anyone with ANY allergy in HM Forces is now medically downgraded and on the road to a medical discharge. My wife had a few months to serve and because of a banana allergy she was nearly medically discharged than serving her time out.

With your background as a police officer, have you considered the ADF Reserves? Depending on vacancies and your aptitude, you can pick and chose your roles and your commitment (anything up to full time service). With your flexibility you could go anywhere in Australia and get service accommodation if you're on full time service. If you don't fancy the more dangerous aspects, they're plenty of volunteers in the regulars to fill the relatively few opportunities!

30 minutes drive time on a weekend can be nearly doubled in rush hour. Consider something closer into the city. Most traffic will be heading towards the CBD so you'll be going against the flow.

Problem is I've always found it's the bathroom stuff that adds the weight. Same thing with all the documents you may need. Consider scanning them and printing them out if and when you need them. Emirates have weighed my cabin luggage twice. Flying via the US, even in Economy, can give you extra luggage so worth baring in mind.

What you are meant to do is (if you are heading to the UK) check in with the airline with your UK passport. All they care about is that you are permitted to enter the UK and your British passport guarantees that. It also means the UK authorities, when the list of passengers is forwarded to them, is aware of your status. When you out through Australian Passport Control you present you Australian passport, as you are required to do be law. They don't care what passport you gave to the airline, they just need to know whose entering and leaving the country, and it may cause significant problems for you if you leave on a UK passport that doesn't have a valid visa! Now when you get to the UK, you just use you UK passport which should match up with all the records the airline sent to the UK Border Force. Coming back you do it all in reverse. Check in with the Airline with your Australian passport. If you give them your British one the visa check they do there and then will indicate you don't have a visa and you won't be able to board (or not without a lot of phone calls and hassle). Going through UK emigration you give your British passport - that way everything ties up. You entered on your UK passport and left on it. They don't care what you gave to the airline. Once you reach Australia you use your Australian passport, as required by law, and everything ties up. The airline lists and the fact you left Australia and re-entered on the same passport. In summary: 1. Use the passport of the destination country to check in at the airline desk. 2. Use the passport of the country you are in at emigration before you take off. 3. Use the passport of the destination country at immigration when you land. Follow those rules and everything ties up and you'll get no hassles.

If you don't take private insurance the Medicare levy surcharge may apply (if you and your family earn over a certain amount - it steadily rises over $180,000 combined income). Your private insurance can be partially offset by the Private health insurance rebate, but most people still seem to pay about $400 a month for a family. It's not cheap and some decide to forgo it. If you decide not to taker it out watch out for the Lifetime health cover (LHC) charge. If you later decide to take out insurance (as an arrival more than a year after arrival or as an Australian after age 31) each year attracts an extra 2% on your hospital cover premium, eg a person who waits until they are 40 years old could pay an extra 20% on the cost of their hospital cover. If they wait until they are 50 years old, they could pay 40% more. The maximum LHC loading that can be applied is 70%.

My wife was in the middle of her Physio degree when we got married. The course told her to change her name then as it would all be a lot simpler later with professional registration bodies etc. She never regretted it as it transpired some years later that the person who'd she thought was her father (and who has divorced her mother), whose name she bore, had not been her birth father. We presume her mother is her birth mother as all we have is a certificate from the Adopted Childs Register and, at the time we discovered this, they refused to release the full birth certificate. Her Mother has never discussed the situation.

Just a word of advice. Buying without a QLD licence, especially direct from a dealer, can involve a LOT of extra paperwork. It's not insurmountable (though some dealers will tell you it is - that's not true) but it is an extra hassle. If you can, rent a car for a few weeks (you can get some very good deals booking ahead of time, and don't take out the extra insurance, get it through one of the many third party companies in the UK), get your licence as quickly as possible (it REALLY helps with ID) and take the time to look around and get the lie of the land.

We went to WBAC. Offered is £2000 but told us straight out to sell private (it was a Merc C Class Sportscoupe with low mileage). We put it up on Autotrader on Thursday night at 1100pm. Off the driveway at £5500 at 8am the following morning. We flew the following Monday.

Oscar Wilde — 'To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity.' I had no interest in football in the UK, having grown up in the '70s and '80s when it meant riots, deaths, bans from Europe etc. Over here I've shunned some of the darker undertones of AFL and NRL (having to have Field Marshals, at least in QLD, at kids games for goodness sake?). We have found a lovely Rugby Union club where my 5 year old plays. He loves it and we have made some very good friend there. It's a new experience for me as my father had zero interest in sport. Having a child I I think it does force you to have a wider set of friends and attend events you otherwise may not.

Last time we cam through Brisbane my son's Australian passport was stamped but ours weren't. NZ, where we were on holiday, didn't bother stamping them at all. The US Visa stamps used to be nice (don't know about nowadays. Proper stamps with different colours etc.

We've had several Dysons and to be honest we wouldn't buy another. They've all fallen apart after a couple of years. We have a Bosch at the moment which is great - and haggled a great deal. We did bring vacuums over - we just cleaned them well and that was fine. I REALLY wish I'd brought my wonderful Honda mower over - large and self-propelled. We were told it wasn't worth the hassle cleaning it so we got rid of it for a fraction of what we paid. A while later my wife knew someone whi bought theirs in - they only paid $180 to have it nuked. by bio-control. I've found decent mowers are expensive here, and you only seem to be able to get the basic flymo at an extortionate cost.