Marisawright

Since you're not showing your MARA registration number, I assume you are not a registered agent?

I think it's usually "Overseas model shown. Some features may be unavailable"

Both agents who posted on this thread have stated it very clearly. The quota is for the year your visa is approved. Your visa was not approved in the 19/20 program year, so it will be included in the current program year.

Might this be a good time to look at an employer-sponsored visa, if that would get you priority treatment? At least it would get you to Australia. Of course, if you are bringing a partner and children, you need to consider the risk of disruption if you were subsequently unable to get PR.

I doubt it will do any good. Perhaps you should try a different tack. Britain won't let Australian parents in, so why should Australia let British parents in? Perhaps if you started lobbying the UK government for a reciprocal agreement, you'd have a better chance of success.

There are two types of electronic signature - one where you simply type the name, which I don't think they would accept because all their instructions say it has to be printed off and completed. The other would be if you have a tablet or device where you can sign using a stylus, which I don't have. What I've done before is paste a copy of my signature into the space, and it's been accepted - which is scary when you think about it!

Well duh, why didn't I think of that? Brilliant, thanks.

At the end of the day, that's what really matters. All the money and success in the world can't buy you happiness, if you have that feeling of emptiness inside.

It's sounding very much as though it will be like the flu vaccine, not 100% effective and needed every year.

We bought a so-called ""smart TV" from JB Hifi but it's rubbish - good picture, good sound etc but hardly any apps and the browser is cr@p. Someone suggested we treat it as if it was a dumb TV and attach a set-top box. However I'm struggling to understand what a set top box actually does and which one to get. Explanations? Recommendations?

I only just got Surfshark and it did let me connect to iPlayer once, but the quality was terrible. I've since tried again and it won't let me. Like you, I find it works for other things fairly well.

I know some families who've moved to Perth from Sydney and loved it, but I also know some who tried it and hated it. It seems to be a place that evokes a strong reaction - you either love it or can't stand it! So I'd recommend a visit (and not just a day or two, give it a week or two and try to live like a local) before making up your mind.

Ah, thanks. I was hoping they might have got into the 21st century and have electronic forms. Too much to hope for! As I'm in Melbourne in lockdown and don't possess a printer, I'm going to have to use my ingenuity. On the (extremely rare) occasions I need to print anything these days, I'd normally pop into the library.

@rtritudr, thanks for trying to help. Actually all your instructions confirmed what I had already been doing and none of it worked unless I connect the TV wifi - which then led to the syncing problem. However, I finally worked it out. Deep in the phone settings (not the Google settings), there's an option called "Allow Bluetooth tethering". If it's unticked, Bluetooth won't allow tethering, even if it's showing as switched on and working on the phone. I ticked the box, did the setup again, and it's all working. At last! Now I'm trying to get access to BBC iPlayer using Surfshark, but it's buffering so much I can't watch it. I may have to ditch Surfshark and try a different VPN

The usual objection to Adelaide is that it's a very "who you know" city, so it's hard to find jobs. However if you have a job offer, that's irrelevant for you. Might be relevant to your partner though? Everywhere in mainland Australia has better weather than Melbourne! When you consider that the distance from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast is further than London to Barcelona, that makes total sense. Adelaide has a very hot, dry heat in the summer whereas the Sunny Coast isn't quite as hot but is more humid. On balance, I would recommend trying the Sunshine Coast. Not because it's better, but because it gives you more flexibility. If it doesn't quite work out, you're close enough to easily attend job interviews in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and northern NSW or further up the Qld coast, and you can check out all those areas easily too. And if you decide to move to one of those places, it's not too painful. Whereas once you're in Adelaide, you're some distance from anywhere.

I'd also like to know if there's a way to pay "gap" years through the Government Gateway. I have just managed to sign up and can see the gaps in my record but it doesn't explain how to pay for them. It certainly seems like a good deal to me. On my calculations, if I pay 6 years missing contributions, I'll get the money back in just under 4 years - even at frozen rates.

If you feel your current agent has misled you, then you are at liberty to sack him and engage another agent. If you contact another agent (I'd suggest one of those who have been helpful on these forums) they should be able to advise you on the appropriate procedure.

He's also a doctor - priority occupation.

I don't agree. Remember you are paying by volume, not value of the goods. Those small things take up very little space so if you're filling a container or a Movecube, they will cost almost nothing to ship. Besides, though you can buy cheap (rubbish) replacements to get you started, that is still costing you money - and the cheap one looks awful in the kitchen. Even if it doesn't break, you'll soon decide you want a decent one that looks nice in your kitchen/has better features - so although you might have saved a tiny amount on shipping, you end up paying twice over for your small appliances. Plus there's a possibility you won't be able to get as nice a kettle or blender or whatever as the one you had, because the range is more limited in Australia. I would be far more likely to leave behind the fridge, which is vulnerable to damage in transit and take up a huge amount of volume. I would be inclined to take a washer and dryer if they were almost new, but I'd think carefully if they were older - it all depends what else you'll have to leave behind to fit them in.

If she had been living in Australia for 2 years out of the last 5, then the RRV would have been automatic, and granted in a few days. If I read between the lines, it sounds as though she activated her visa but never moved to Australia - in those sorts of cases, it can take weeks or even months for a decision to be made. In normal times, the rules are very clear. If she doesn't meet those residency requirements, then she MUST show "strong ties to Australia". If she doesn't have strong ties to Australia, then they won't even look at her reasons for deciding not to move. But that's in normal times. These are not normal times, and if she has made strenuous efforts to get to Australia before her entry date, then I would hope they'll be lenient. However, I don't know and even migration agents don't have a crystal ball. The government is currently looking at running some repatriation flights from London. I don't know what you have to do to get on one, it would be worth looking at.

If you are casual then you do not have a full time contract. It does not matter how many hours you work

Plenty to go to. Loved ones to visit. Go for a picnic. Lots of cafes and restaurants offering takeaway, get together in the park.

It is eradication of community transmission. It has to be, because New Zealand and all the rest of Australia, except NSW, has eradicated community transmission. And until Victoria can do the same, not one of those states is going to open its borders to Victoria, is it?

Yes, apply now while you are sure you qualify. Because it's so soon after expiry, you'll probably get a 5 year RRV. Wait a while and you might only get a one year RRV and not much hope of renewal.

If you're into culture, cafés, upmarket bars and cultural activities then you will love Melbourne. However, bear in mind the weather is drastically different, because the distance from Townsville to Melbourne is further than from Malaga to Manchester! I think the weather is still better than most of the UK, but it's similar in that the weather isn't predictable. Moving to Melbourne from Sydney, I had to get used to carrying my umbrella and/or a jacket "just in case" again. However, I think the weather is one reason why there's so much culture, eateries etc - because people aren't as obsessed with outdoors-y stuff. There are beaches but they're not a patch on anything in the rest of Australia. Melbourne sits on a huge bay, not on the ocean - so the water isn't as clean, the bottom's weedy and there's no surf. People don't generally come to Melbs for a beach lifestyle. I love it but it's certainly not the quintessential Australian lifestyle. It's the closest thing you can get to a European feel in Australia. I'd say Brisbane might be a good fit for you if you want to beaches too (though Brisbane doesn't have good beaches either, you've got the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, etc, close enough for frequent visits).