JEM44

Hi all, we move in May to Perth on PR. my kids are 13&15 and I haven't really thought much about uni fees here in the UK but talking to an American friend last night and their fees are extortionate for her kids and so I'm just wondering roughly what university fees work out at in Aus. Im not sure if they differ if you go to uni in state or out of state (apparently that's makes a big difference in USA) and obviously I guess it is course dependant but can anyone give a rough idea what we will be looking at if my kids do decide to go to Uni. Again assuming fees are fat able per year so for a 3 year course will I need to sell a kidney??? my son thinks he want to study engineering no idea about my daughter (who is now named Princess Bitchface after reading a post describing high school girls here the other day..... nailed it perfectly!!) thanks Laura

hi, I had to go down this route, kids father had no contact for 4 plus years but still wouldn't sign, apparently to be (in his words) awkward and cost me as much money as possible. I self represented so it only cost the price of lodging the form to court. I had a ton of evidence to support my claim, jobs, schools, houses, clubs, contact etc.... The he judge was not interested, we were in court for about five minutes, is there contact? No. Ok, approved! you can do it, just be prepared, be honest and ready to answer any questions they may have about how you will facilitate contact, even if you think it won't happen. Goodluck. Laura

Hi, we have a 13 & 15 year old and we are moving to Perth in May, by 15 year old is in year 10 and I think will go into Auz year 10 whereas my daughter is in year 9 in the UK but only just because of her DOB so will drop back to year 8 in Aus. I'll let you know how they get on later this year. Laura xx

Just a quick note, quarantine is only 10 days now. Same price though!

I did my Ielts and Vetasses before I was eligible to apply. I needed a years work experience after my MSC, a very nice agent at Vetasses kept moving my application up the pile so each month I sent a letter from HR with a copy of my payslips so that by the time my 12 months was up my file was at the top ready to be assessed. I was very lucky. That was July, I turned 40 in November 21st (I needed the points before turning 40) and had the visa through on the 6th. It was a tough time watching the days get closer and closer! Good luck laura

Have you looked on Airbnb for your accommodation, quite a lot of people allow pets to stay so you may be able to find somewhere you can all stay.

Hi we are using golden arrow this summer and for 2 bichons including quarantine is only £4000 (just short) so not sure who your prices are from? They have been so great also very knowledgable and the only ones over the phone who were interested in talking about the dogs rather than just providing information.

Second question..... Hubby is 58 and we are due to move this year to Perth. Will he still be eligible for a UK state pension at 65 seeing as he has paid into the system since he was 16? If so how does he do that or would he need to keep up national insurance contributions? Thanks

We are just looking at this now as hubby is planning on taking his pension before we move. I'm going to be working til he dies!! Apparently he married well.... I didn't! So so my question is, I assume he will be taxed in the UK on his pension, then we will have to transfer it each month from a UK into an Aus bank account, but will he have to pay tax in Aus also? Thanks Laura

We are moving to WA so unsure about other states, the decline of mining has clearly had a significant effect, Sadie seems to have affected all areas of work in this field.

Have a look here: http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/services/skilled-migration-wa/occupations-in-demand my PR was against this for H&S advisor. They don't recognise NEBOSH but your degree with get you through Vetases. Only issue at present is that there are next to no jobs on offer at the minute and I've seen a marked decline over the past 12 months looking on Seek. We move in May and I'm starting to get nervous.

Yes, think I was wrong..... Sorry!!!!!

Hi, I may be wrong but I think safety came off the required jobs list for visa applications. I might be wrong though!

Hi, I recently managed to get a court order for CSA for when we emigrate. Not easy but possible. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-chat-dilemmas/243352-child-maintenance-approved-woohoo.html?highlight= I posted on 06.01.2016.

I quite agree about the point scoring, it was borne from two things: 1 when you represent yourself, solicitors treat you like you are stupid, gullible and they can get one over on you & 2 my ex husband wanted nothing more to do with his children when he met a new partner, so to know he legally can't walk away is all I have really to offer them support. And i I know this is 3, but the personal satisfaction of knowing all my hard work paid off. I just hope it can give others hope. Laura

Hi guys, just wanted to give you all an update. I have posted here a few times trying to get my head around the possibility of getting a court order to enforce CSA payments from the UK once the children and I move to Australia in May this year. So, the story was.... ex husband has no contact with his kids for over 4 years, regularly pays maintenance through the CMS since the charges came into force, before that it was with the CSA and was very sporadic, the CSA constantly rang me to ask if we had a date to move so that he didn't have to pay anymore. So. Having been granted leave to remove, I started on a quest to see if it was possible to achieve an order for CSA, most thought it impossible, until today. £210 paid to court, three forms completed along with all financial information dating to the year dot! MIAM (Mediation) attended, ex wouldn't engage. The District Judge was a bit perplexed as he had not come across this kind of "complex" case, on the basis that he had no jurisdiction where the CSA agreement was in place but could see my predicament when I leave the UK. Ex's solicitor wanted to dismiss the case on that basis that the CSA was in place, then would have no jurisdiction so it was just tough knickers!!! Out came my research, and bam, we have a court order. Exactly the same as we have no (minus 15% for a new child on the scene with his new partner - cant complain at that I guess), and in place until they are 18 or leave high school (whichever comes last). I asked for 20 and still in education, ex wouldn't go for that. His attitude was they will be adults, they can fend for themselves. I wanted to check with the judge (secretly smirking) that the children could take their dad to court themselves from Australia for maintenance until they finish University (if they so wish), ex thought I was crazy, but Judge confirmed yes that was possible!!! Nothing like point scoring :-) So, to sum up then, the judge made it clear that failure to pay regularly would result in the order being enforced with REMO (his poor solicitor nearly had a heart attack when I mentioned that one) and any costs incurred by me would be passed onto him. All in alll a great day, I realise getting the payments may not be that easy, but first hurdle cleared and I am like the cat that got the cream. Oh, and his solicitor made a point of asking me to confirm that I will keep ex informed of the kids address etc so he can send cards etc. I pointed out that I had done all along and that he knew where we lived for four years and never dropped off a card so wasn't holding my breath for the future. I know solicitors are paid by one party, but it always amazes me how or why they believe their clients every word. I've told the kids the outcome, both (teenagers) said fine, if we have to take him to court we will. Think they have seen how proud of myself I am. Thanks for putting up with the longest post in the world Laura

Hi, do you mean grandparents whose children have not also emigrated? i.e. your son/daughter is no longer in the family with the children but the children have emigrated with the other parent?? If so, I'd be interested in any answers. Laura

Thanks for this, I plan on using them to ship my two dogs this summer, they were by far the friendliest and most reassuring out of all the companies I spoke to. Laura

We rented a lovely new house a while back, initially they said no pets but I took my two dogs into the estate agents with me and won round the people in the office, so they allowed the dogs,...... And the cat, two rabbits and four chickens! The landlady came round for 3 monthly inspections and was pleased every time how well kept the house and garden were. I wouldn't worry. laura

Hi Loulou, we are also heading to Perth in May (26th) although we don't have any family to head to, but have rented a holiday let up near Jondalup. We have two kids 15 and 13, whereabouts are you heading for? We are thinking of aiming for around Woodvale as the school there came highly recommended from a friend of a friend who is a highschool teacher. Laura

Thanks for that. Yes I am used to the covering letter so that is one less thing to worry about!

Hi, wondering if anyone can help. I have recently had to update my CV for a new role at work (UK) and my mentor (part of the job) has suggested that I create a skills based CV for the move to Aus as it will take away the Englishness of it. She has used a skills based CV here and says they are much better (she works in recruitment) and I was wondering what others experiences are like. I am conscious that the job market is tough and I will be up against enough locals for jobs that anything which helps my CV not go onto the "no Aus experience" pile surely must be good? Also, do you know how popular Linkedin is over there? And for higher level roles do employers use Assessment centers to support interviews? Thanks Laura

That's a good point, never thought of that before. I was assuming (possibly wrongly) that if it was failure to comply with a financial court order then it would be pursued via the court bailiffs under the guidance of REMO, but I will certainly keep that one in mind. Only issue may be that he never keeps me updated with his residential details so may be difficult to do privately.

If I am honest, having had no contact other than via the CSA and courts over the past four years I would happily walk away, but my kids are 13 and 15, have been through years of counseling with CAFCASS, the schools and also private counseling sessions, both want me to continue to try and keep accountability. I guess if it doesn't work out, they won't look back and say I was responsible for cutting the relationship ties. It's never an easy situation.

No I'm not. At present I only use it to pay for the kids school trips, the rest goes into a savings account for each of them. It would be nice to think I could keep that up to go towards Uni/college etc in the future.