someguyinoz

Hi, I'm currently in Oz and my visa's almost up so I'm wanting to get my tax back asap as planning to travel to New Zealand. Has anyone claimed their tax back before and if so can they rate their experience with the service they used? How much did it cost etc? Thanks!

Hi all, I've been in Oz since the beginning of February but I haven't worked yet and it's starting to worry me! I spent the first 3 months travelling around and seeing the country without really looking into it. I've been in Perth for almost 6 weeks now and have spent a lot of that time trying to get a contract office job for a few months with my accounts/admin experience through a few agencies but with no success yet. So now I'm wondering whether to abandon that idea and do my regional work to a. secure my 2nd year visa and b. replenish the rapidly reducing dollar stack! I've been phoning Pearling companies repeatedly and also a lot of fruit farms south of Perth, actually spending a weekend down in a small town 5 hours south to discover there wouldn't be any work for a few weeks and we would be stuck there with nothing to do. Anyway, can anyone help me out with contacts for regional work and point me in the right direction? Thanks!

Interesting. I will be a lot closer to Taiwan and China obviously and I want an Asus at the moment so I may be able to pick one up cheaper from over there off the net. That may be completely illogical but I like to think it's the case! They're usually cheaper closer to production facilities/production country market right?

Hello all, Not long now! Right, my next issue. I'm a bit of a nerd. I've bought myself a netbook for the journey/general day to day computing needs. I am however used to a fairly powerful i7 machine to mix tunes and attempt to make music. It's not really happening on this netbook, it just grinds to a halt. But it was cheap so I won't be as bothered if it breaks, gets nicked, drinks spilled on it etc. Which was the idea. I'm thinking I will be inspired to make some tunes in Oz, I'm taking my records and I may try and get some work dj-ing in bars or clubs if I can. In which case I will need to invest in some gear. I don't really want to lug my big laptop across the planet because it's just too big and heavy. It's 3 years old now anyway and things have moved on. Anyway, I'll cut to the chase! What are tech shops like over there? Are they as up to date as the UK/States? Price wise will I benefit from buying something over there? I'm looking for a decent ultrabook with a fairly small screen so it's portable enough to carry round but powerful enough to run quite demanding software! Plus any recommended nightspots to try and blagg a set from on the east coast/nsw? I play house/trance/progressive. Thanks!

Hi all, Thanks for the responses. I decided to go with Singapore Airlines from Manchester, via Munich which I forgot to mention in the first post, so not direct. Which is 14 hours 55 minutes, 2 hours 5 minutes to Munich with an 1 hour and 10 minutes in Munich. Which is nothing really then a straight 11 hours 40 minutes to Singapore! Just over a day in Singapore then I managed to pick up an Emirates flight to Brisbane which is 7 hours 35 minutes! All for just under £800! Good old Skyscanner, can't beat it! I fly out in just under 2 weeks :cool:

Ok I'll bear that in mind. I'm thinking do a refresher here. The place I learnt at years ago does them and it's not far away so I will get onto them I think. Just so I'm not completely rusty when in Oz. I imagine doing a refresher out there is a little different! The Barrier Reef is obviously the main attraction. Any other hotspots worth doing?

Epic! Sold.

Hi all, This is something I really want to do, probably many times when over there. I have my PADI Open Water but haven't dived since 2001 in the BVI! Is it easy to do a refresher course or should I do one locally before I go? Also any recommended dive sites, diving companies, equipment shops etc? Thanks!

Hi all, Has anyone volunteered in any of the national parks as part of their regional work? Does this count? It looks as though conservation and reforestation related work falls under specified work if in the right location so I'm guessing this would count right? Or does it have to be paid?

meditag, the nfc based system allowing you to get your prescription anytime, anywhere. Boom!

Best take one of those pills...

You still have to nominate somewhere for them to send it electronically?!?! So you're in Cornwall on holiday, need a prescription but forgot to trek to the docs to pick up a piece if paper! You can't just walk into a pharmacy and say can I have my prescription please? Because you haven't got a piece of paper! In 2013! Oh and yes I nominated the pharmacy near my house so I didn't have to pick up my piece of paper so you obviously can't help me. That's a networked system?!?! This country is run by retards, I'm off. But I suppose you would've got your prescription from the pharmacy near your house. Say you forgot, didn't have time because you were packing. The Electronic Prescription Service saves the day! No, The EPS saves approximately 2 trees a year and you're in Cornwall with no prescription. Absolute bollocks.

This site is not yet enabled for the Electronic Prescription Service- my gp. I guess that's what you get for living in the sticks. Not for much longer!

http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/eps/patients I was right, but it seems they're learning. That's backwards, welcome to England.

I think that is the case though AJ. I always thought you had to go and either get the paper prescription from the pharmacy at the gp's to take to another pharmacy or the prescription direct from the pharmacy at the gp's by re-ordering a few days ahead. What an idiot. It would explain the re-order form in with the prescription. But no the paper prescription is different as a few times they've been out of stock and I've had to get it then go to another pharmacy. I don't know, the jury's out on that one. But your way would be a more logical way definitely, because you could be the other side of the country and need a prescription. Going back to the gp's to get a piece of paper defeats the object! Anyway... The pharmacist was reluctant to let me have 3 months because I've only got 2 more issues on the re-order form. If you guys have got 6 months out of them, I will try and do that. I wasn't convinced by what the pharmacist was saying so I shall make an appointment with the doc and see what he can do. Sorry for the confusion! Thanks!

My god this is ridiculous. Sorry all I went off on one a bit there and gave quite a lot away actually! I'm not that bad, when thrown into a different situation I make the effort. I've just been stuck in a rut for so long over here which has a lot to do with why I'm going. My parents, yeah... not quite sure what to say on that one.

And then every other day. I might just find a bridge somewhere.

No mate, phonecalls every day initially. I'm nearly twenty****ingnine.

But manipulating my travel plans to be near random people? I'm so out of here. **** this. See you over there.

Right, thank you. No need to be like that though. Just I'm used to phoning up the gp's surgery to ask for more as they dispense it. So all this time I could've just taken the slip from the previous prescription to any pharmacy? My god I've lived a sheltered life.

Hi all, I've got the FEAR, as Ian Brown once said, big time. It doesn't help suddenly being stuck in a small flat with my parents trying to organise this when they want to know every detail. Then once they know details they make suggestions and try to change my plans to suit what they would do which is driving me ****ing mental. I can hear them talking about it now. It's ****ing infuriating. They want me somewhere near contacts of theirs?!?! People I've never met and don't know whose details I must carry around. It's ridiculous. I'm just worried that I'm going to be a loner out there, like I am here. I'm not the most confident guy in the world and I have been known to be very avoidant of social situations. I've got better as I've got older but I still struggle and take a back seat a lot of the time. Plus I don't know where the hell I'm going to stay as being a bit older I'm not really feeling the crazy all nighters at hostels all the time. Once in a while yes but it would do my head in constantly. But I need to meet people. What do I do? Where do I go? I'm losing the plot here.

What visas did you get?!?!

So I will need to see the gp every month despite being issued a 6 month prescription? Why? Hang on, if I get 6 months will I get it all at the same time? Ahhh I see. You think I mean go back to the gp to get a repeat i.e when you've got no more issues available. That would only be the case if I'd been given a months prescription right? Basically if he/she's given the green light for 6 months what do I do about getting it all?

Hi yeah I've already been on the PBS schemes list of drugs. There's quite a few different names for it, some more expensive than others. I'll ask for generic because at the end of the day it's all the same stuff. It's like nurofen vs standard ibuprofen I guess, marketing strategy. So say I get a 6 month prescription what do I do then? Is it like here where you get one month then have to phone for a repeat monthly, get either the paper if you live nearer a local pharmacy or the pills if you don't? I'd just rather not be needing to find a surgery and a pharmacy every month because I don't know where I'm going to be.

Thanks guys! Will the doc give me a 12 month prescription like they do here, or more likely to be 3 or 6? Plus do I get the prescription before my NHS prescription runs out or wait until I'm running low to do this? I'd rather get my head round it. If I go sooner rather than later will the paper prescription be valid for a while until I collect? Also will I have to go to and get a paper prescription every time I run low like here or is the one valid for the duration of the prescription, I'm in the system or however they do it? Is health engine the place to look for docs?