Marisawright

No, certainly not.. I just meant there are jobs allover Australia.

I can't actually remember at the moment where his job is on what state list... Ill double check them all, I've looked at lists and possibilities til I go cross eyed these last couple of years....I think it's NT that we determined was looking most favourable though for visa options if I remember rightly.

I just checked and Youth Worker is on the CSOL. Here is the breakdown of which states he could go for, not much choice by the looks:

https://www.anzscosearch.com/411711

Perhaps South Australia would be a good option. Youth Worker isn't on the main list, but it is IF you've worked for 6 months in a regional area - which he could do on a WHV:

http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/skilled-migrants/state-nominated-occupation-lists

Seems to me SA has more populated areas so more places he could find work than either NT or Tasmania.

Warmer climate, a country that isn't governed by Brussels, a country that doesn't allow terrorists to walk the streets, a country that does not allow the free movement of people from other countries that have nothing to offer... I could go on and on.

Warmer climate you'll certainly get. As for the rest -

Australia is a bit like the EU, each state has its own government and they all squabble like a bunch of kids and refuse to work together (stupid things like needing to change your driver's licence if you move state!), while the Federal Govt in Canberra holds the purse strings.

Since you were in Oz 15 years ago there has been a huge increase in the number of migrants from Middle Eastern countries and there is a lot of trouble with extremist imams etc, just like the UK. Remember the Bali bombing? The government has made a huge thing out of "turning back the boats" - but Australia does still accept refugees. I think the figure for this year is about 25,000.

The thing we notice most here in Southampton, though, is the lack of Oriental faces - they are in the majority in large parts of Sydney. It's true there are few Eastern Europeans other than the influx of Serbs, Croats and Bosnians after the Balkan wars, but New Zealands and Pacific Islanders do have freedom of movement and they're around in large numbers.

It sounds like you'll have plenty of work but do also look at house prices before you decide on location. Sydney is the most expensive city, then Canberra, then Melbourne. Look on domain.com.au, realestate.com.au, allhomes.com.au to get an idea of prices. In Sydney, most migrants end up hours from the beach in the far west.

I'm not saying you shouldn't come to Oz, and it may well offer what you're looking for - just pointing out that every country has advantages AND disadvantages, and Australia is no exception.

My heads telling me to just do it....but inside I'm freaking out.... I need to keep reminding myself that it's perfectly normal and expected to feel anxious about it all. I think if I wasn't there'd be something amiss.

Youth work is scarce in the UK, funding cuts allover for the wrong things.

There are jobs allover on Seek but I guess when I weigh it up, yes... That makes sense - more jobs possibly in large cities but obviously more people to fill them too...whereas I suppose in NT it's likely to be harder to find skilled Youth workers and hopefully more likely to gain sponsorship, although quite possibly still difficult to get that anywhere.

So, is his job on the list for sponsorship everywhere?

Most visas require you to have experience as well as qualifications. A WHV is very easy to get and you've got family to stay with, so I'd say that's your first step.

Can some one tell me what part I will in on the financial form to say I have enough funding in my super fund,yes I have been told I can use this and I thought it would go under pension/benefits but im not sure

Who told you that would be sufficient? Are you already taking a pension from it, or is it still sitting in super?

If you are already taking a pension from it, and that plus your Australian state pension meets the annual income criteria, then put it under pensions/benefits.

If it's the lump sum you are using to satisfy the savings criteria, then you put it under savings, and then you will need to get a statement from the super fund on their letterhead, showing that the money has been in the account for at least twelve months. I would also get a letter confirming that you can access the funds at any time without penalty, since it's not the bank account they would normally want to see.

Have you thought about what you're going to do with your super? If you leave it in the fund and then withdraw your lump sum AFTER you arrive in the UK, it will attract a hefty tax penalty from the UK government - so if you want to take a lump sum, you must cash it in now and put it in the bank, then transfer it to your UK bank when you move.

If you're planning to take it as a pension, then you'll need to declare it as income on your UK tax return and it'll be taxed as income (but of course, you'll get your tax free threshold just like in Australia).

Hi all.....after reading this thread I am now really wondering if NT is the place my hubby is most likely to gain employment?!!

Thought it was a good bet??!....http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/northern-territory/241918-racist-work-ethics-nt.html

You're looking at someone unskilled struggling to get a job, and that would be the case anywhere. Your husband is skilled and therefore her situation isn't relevant. I assume you've checked on seek.com.au to see what vacancies are around (or on whatever sites specialise in your oh's area)?

It's a good point that obviously, there will always be more work in the bigger city than in a small one. For instance, if an Australian asked you, where would you say there's more chance of finding work - Birmingham or Grimsby? Other Australian capital cities have well over 1 million population each, whereas Darwin has only 120,000 and Alice Springs only 25,000.

There's obviously going to be more demand for employees in a big city - but in small places like Darwin or Alice, when there IS a vacancy for a skilled worker there's unlikely to be someone local available.

The bigger question for you, surely, is where your oh can get sponsored? Does every state in Australia sponsor his occupation? If not, then he needs to do his WHV in a state that does sponsor, because it's more difficult (and expensive) to get work in one state when you're working in another.

Assuming you've got PR, you'll be an Australian resident (which means you'll have to declare your UK rent on your Australian tax return) - so you need Australian tax advice just as much! You need to get a depreciation report done on the property NOW, otherwise you'll miss out on deductions that you'll be able to claim, and will end up paying far more tax than you need to.

I have no idea what the UK tax implications are for a non-resident renting out a UK property so that's the other thing you need to check.

Because you've got both countries to consider, you really need an accountant who knows both - not easy to find. There's one on these forums somewhere, I forget who!

People who are advising you not to bother may be thinking, keep quiet because no one's going to notice - a risky thing to do, since penalties for tax avoidance can be scarily high.

Regardless, I'm getting a transfer to Oz with my company on a 457 Visa so I no longer have a need to obtain an Oz WHV to attempt to seek sponsorship employment.

Ah, but the point is that's not what the WHV is for. It's not intended as a pathway to permanent residence, it's intended purely as a way for young people to experience Australia for a year or two and then go home! So it's assumed the young person will want to combine holiday with part-time work, not get stuck in one place working.

Australia gets more than enough people applying for permanent residence, they don't need to offer more generous WHV's as a carrot to attract migrants.

Hi,

 

We are moving to Oz next week and due to having had to (as everyone does) organise a million things have not yet organised our money transfer.Please could I get some advice from users who have gone through the process with their experiences and advice,many ,many thanks.

I second the Moneycorp idea. What you do is sign up with them, then transfer your money to an Australian dollar account with them. Then you can let it sit there until you've got your Australian bank account sorted, and then you transfer the money out of Moneycorp into the Aussie bank account.

Moneycorp is not a bank, so while your money is sitting with Moneycorp you can't withdraw it directly. That means you need to allow for spending money. You can open a bank account with NAB before you go, but it's wise to take more than you think you need, in case something goes wrong!

Keep some money in your UK bank account so you've got your British cards as a backup - the exchange rate isn't the best but it's easy.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/money-transfer-ask-moneycorp/228295-save-money-transfers-special-offer-forum-members.html

Hmmm, I've asked around quite a bit and I've been told multiple times is that you cannot work the entire time you are on a Working Holiday Visa as that would be a breach of your visa condition. Perhaps they were mistaken. .

Yes, they were definitely mistaken. You can work for the full 12 months provided it's not all with one employer. I doubt very much that Oz will "lift its game", though, because there is still huge demand for WHV's even with the higher cost. They might cut the cost and make it easier if demand slows, but otherwise why should they?

Now being in darwin for the best part of 6 weeks. Im sick to death already and want to go home. I try not to be a defeatist but COME ONNNNN!!!

 

So I've been rejected 8 times in (6 weeks) and had some absolutely brilliant excuses why people won't hire me:

 

"You don't look pet friendly" (This was applying for a dog walker)

"You can't name the Top 10 games at the moment, we're not interested" (I applied for a games store assistant)

"English speaking women just flirt and drink and don't get on with the work" (I applied to make pizzas...)

 

"I even applied for a cleaner but got rejected because "I might drink of the job" !!!!! WTF

 

NO ONE is interested and I'm genuinely convinced, its because I'm a scot, with a dodgy english accent. :cool:

 

 

You've only applied for 8 jobs and it's only been 6 weeks, I would be surprised if you'd landed a job in such a short time in a place like Darwin. It's a fairly small town with fairly high unemployment, and you're looking for fairly unskilled work. So I think it's too early to give up.

I agree that the games store reason was perfectly reasonable - they want someone who knows about gaming. The others are ridiculous but I wonder if they're genuine?

You say your accent is "dodgy" - how "dodgy"? Many Australians have a terrible problem understanding accents, they are not used to hearing them so they've never developed an "ear" for them. My oh is Australian and he often struggles to understand all the regional accents on TV in the UK. I have to interpret!

If you're applying to serve in a shop, they may be worried that customers won't be able to understand you. I know it's the fashion in the UK now to be proud of your accent and not attempt to moderate it - but in Australia, you really need to try to file the edges off it. Not because of prejudice, but simply so you can carry on a conversation easily!

Australia is a very difficult place for a young person to survive on a WHV. The numerous requirements, lengthy processing times and ridiculously high application fees make it less appealing then other countries. For instance, New Zealand is allowing Canadians up the the age of 35 to apply for a 23 month working holiday visa, and you are allowed to work for the entire term, full or part-time, even for the same employer for the whole time, if you so choose. The application fee is only $165 NZ ($137 CAD), plus, you pay less tax on your earnings than you would in Australia. Australia also only allows you to work for a maximum of 6 months; so you had better bring lots of $$$ is you wish to survive for one year in Oz. Canada is seeing an exponential increase in WHV visitors, especially from Europe and Asia. Good for our tourism and economy.

I think you've got some things confused. For instance, you can work for the whole 12 months on an Australian WHV, just not more than six months with any single employer.

The processing time for online applications is 48 hours, or 4 weeks if it's a complex case - that doesn't seem lengthy to me,and the requirements are fairly simple for the one-year WHV.

As for tax - if you are coming for just a year (which many do as they don't want to do manual work), then time it right so you work two half tax years, and you'll get all your tax back on leaving anyway.

MaryRose makes a good point that it is called a Working HOLIDAY visa, so if you're going to come and take a full-time job for the whole period it somewhat defeats the purpose, surely.

Anyway, surely it comes down to which country you want to see?

if you don't go for it, you will always wonder if you had a missed opportunity. Better to go and experience it, if it isn't what you want, then you can always return. Life is too short.

 

I think that's good advice - but only for those who can afford it. It does scare me to see some midlife families emigrating because of "what if", though. It costs $20,000 to $30,000 to move a family with kids to Australia, and if it goes wrong, almost as much to move home - and often that means the family end up much worse off than if they hadn't gone, because they've spent a huge chunk of the equity from their original house. If they're already in their forties by the time they emigrate, they don't have much time to recoup all the money they've lost either.

As a couple of DINKs (double income no kids) it's going to be a lot cheaper for you to move, and it sounds like you've been together long enough to be confident you'll both honour your agreement if you don't settle - so it sounds like you'll be fine! I would only echo what Quoll said - does your oh have citizenship of the UK so you CAN both return if necessary? If not, it can be surprisingly hard to get a non-citizen spouse back into the country.

You say many people land jobs before leaving the UK but actually I'm pretty sure they're in the minority of migrants. Most people take the plunge and go over without a job to go to, unless they're on a 457 (temporary employer-sponsored) visa.

So you did better than average to land a job before you left, IMO, and I'd think the chances of finding one outside your area of expertise would be vanishingly small. Why not look for a job in your usual occupation, and then once you're settled, start looking around for alternative jobs?

In Brisbane I generally wouldn't go to a pub for good food with some exceptions. Cafes/restaurants are a lot better option imo.

That's probably why I haven't been in many Queensland pubs! Having checked out the prices at a few gastropubs, I found restaurants better value and didn't look back!

Now in Queensland we found pub food to be at best adequate and when good it was overpriced.

I would have to say that, in Queensland, I've found the same. But my experience of Queensland pubs is fairly limited. The ones I have visited were noticeably more expensive than their Sydney equivalents. There is a very strong "cheap eats" culture in Sydney and Melbourne but I haven't found it to exist in other parts of Australia that I've visited. Even Hobart's pubs were quite pricey, though the servings were enormous!

im absolutely gutted that I'm missing minus 3 and slush.. I did feel a bit homesick though when I noticed my towns Xmas market and my family were there. But they've all told me that I'm not missing out on anything at all back home and to stay as long as possible if I find work.

 

The moron I share my room with decided to leave the window wide open with the lights on when he went out so no doubt I'll get a few more bites!

Surely you learned about Vitamin B1 from PIO? It has to be Vitamin B1, not any other B vitamin, so don't let the chemist sell you the wrong thing - but one a day will prevent you being bitten by mosquitos.

...having just had to replace large amounts of furniture in my house due to many things being damaged by a sewage flood there is no way I would want to arrive and buy everything new. We are only replacing a few items, not everything, and it has been pretty hard work even though we know where we can get the stuff we like from.... Some places will have some items in stock and should be able to arrange delivery within a week but others you may have to wait up to 8 weeks for your furniture. And if you buy flat pack you have to remember that you will then have to spend time putting stuff together.

Yes, that's exactly why I think shipping is worthwhile. If you don't ship then you have to buy a whole heap of furniture in a hurry - not easy when you don't know the shops, and you have 101 other things to do - and you have to settle for what's in stock. Either that, or manage without for weeks - in which case, you might as well have managed without till your own furniture arrived.

Of course you can buy cheap/second-hand stuff at first, with the intention of upgrading when you're settled - but then all you've done is ended up paying for two lots of furniture!

So it's mid 30's today. So far I'm coping fine which is surprising me haha.

See, I had a suspicion we'd got you too worried about the heat. It makes a huge difference how humid it is - it's the humidity that's horrible, not the heat really. Perth is not so humid so that's why it feels OK.

What about Darwin? Areas to steer clear of there?....seems to be a fair few Youth jobs advertised there.

I don't know a lot about Darwin but I do know the rentals are quite expensive. I used to own an investment property in Palmerston, which is just outside Darwin, and I do know that a lot of young families used to live there and commute to Darwin for work, because it's cheaper, there's a decent school and a major shopping centre.

Last time we were in Sydney (where our daughter lives) we made day trips to likely outlying towns, and concluded that the area round Kiama would be a good place to settle - two hours to Sydney by train, half an hour to Wollongong, half an hour to Bowral and great walks with both mountains and coast (any info about this area gratefully noted btw).

Kiama is lovely. It has come on a lot in recent years, transforming from a sleepy little town to a place which is very popular with Sydney retirees. It has a good mix of facilities, cafes etc now. It certainly helps that it's on the train line to Sydney too.

However I do think Wollongong itself is somewhat under-rated. It has a reputation as a working-class town but it has some nice suburbs and, of course, being a city it has far more amenities, better shopping, hospital etc. Of course it's also much closer to Sydney and handy (on the train line) for the lovely South Coast towns, walks and mountains in both directions.

 

Just out of interest. Anyone out there confessed or been caught?

Actually I do know someone who got caught. He was transferring his super, $500,000 of it. I don't know how much he ended up paying, didn't know him well enough to ask but I believe it was a big chunk.

Well its a year later and I have been living in London for 12 months now.... The food is dreadful and expensive and for the coffee lovers - prepare for disappointment...

 

I thought accommodation to buy and rent in Sydney was crazy well its much worse here...- I reckon 10 to up to 20% more than Sydney. I have travelled to Europe a couple of times but you don't go too much cause you need to work to be able to keep your head above water in London.

 

...Well for me coming back despite the cost the crowds the bad food and accommodation issues, London is still one of the best cities in the world, it is eclectic, interesting, fun, ever changing and engaging - there is only one London and it is a wonderful adventure being here.

I'm so interested to hear you say that. Moving to the South of England from Sydney, I've found the same as far as eating out, coffee etc., and was amazed to find that renting a nice property, even some distance from London, is almost as expensive as Sydney.

I do think I'd be much happier in London, because I agree with everything you say about it - but as you say, rentals are even higher, and as we're semi-retired it simply wouldn't be practical to settle there. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it. I'm sorry to hear about your mum, but the main thing is that you were there for her when it mattered. Good luck in Sydney!

I can only refer to my previous post.

I missed part of it, sorry! Your description of the double taxation agreement is not how it was explained to me at all. The problem with Australian super IS the fact that it's not taxed in Australia.

The way the system works is that you declare your Australian income on your UK tax return, and you also declare the Australian tax you paid. The Inland Revenue sees that and won't tax you because Australia already has. If you haven't paid Australian tax on it, you'll have to pay the tax due under British tax law on that amount.

With your super, you've paid no Australian tax on it. The Inland Revenue don't care WHY you haven't paid tax on it - so they will tax it under UK rules.

Edit: I notice Ken has posted to say the same. He's an accountant so he knows better than me.

What I'm really saying is that any ordinary bloke wouldn't know about such a complicated tax rule so why find out about it and then confess, thus, giving your money away.

Because I might get caught !? You were lucky and got away with it. Personally I wouldn't be willing to risk transferring several thousand bucks and then just cross my fingers that I wouldn't get found out - as the result could be 20% or 30% tax plus a hefty fine. If it was a few hundred yes, but not my whole pension bucket, I can't risk losing half of that!

I'm not saying I would declare it, I'm saying I would try to find a way to do it legally and not be liable for tax in the first place.