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If you do decide to come over make sure you have the patience and get the 189 visa. Because that is a permanent visa your family will get the equivalent of child benefit etc and pay no school fees. It may be easy to be tempting to get here a bit quicker on a temporary visa but you will receive no assistance and live with the uncertainty of having to return home if the job does not work out.

if you look at the http://www.bettereducation.com.au website you will find SA secondary schools ranked. Click on "SACE" which is the final school award in SA - the results used for University entry.

Going bankrupt should not affect your PR. However, it will affect your credit for a long time and you will have to ask the court's permission if you need to leave the country for any reason. Perhaps get some advice about your options if that will be a problem for you - as bankruptcy lasts 3 years.

If they are truly prize winnings, then they are not taxable anyway

You could also look at http://www.purplebricks.com.au who charge a set fee but do the photos, internet listings, floorplans etc for you. That could be the happy medium

You should get your Vitamin D checked and supplement as necessary as they think it may have a link to MS as well. It's also really bad for your bones to be short of Vitamin D. The supplements are easy and effective in quickly rebuilding your stores.

It is unlikely that you were immunized against chicken pox as a child. It might be simpler to simply have all 3 injections and move on.

Do you know that if you can show about 70000 pounds in savings you do not need to be employed? If you own a property here you may have that in house equity. Obviously that is not going to work for everyone but if you have owned a house in Sydney or Melbourne for a few years it might apply to you.

In case anyone misses Lakeland products, I noticed that the Good Guys are now selling Lakeland products on line and in some stores.

You can find rooms to rent on www.flatshare.com.au or www.gumtree.com.au and don't forget air BnB which is huge here

NSW no longer sponsors visas for primary school teachers as the profession is very over subscribed. You will be arriving mid year so hopefully you can pick up some supply work to gain some local experience before recruiting for 2018 starts in earnest in about October 2017. There is a degree of luck involved and you may have an opportunity to impress a school whilst doing supply work which might lead to a longer term contract. Sydney is is one of the world's most expensive cities so make sure you have funds behind you and polish up polish up any other skills you have. The good news is that unemployment is relatively lower in Sydney. Have a look around the forum for suggestions of lower priced areas to live and work which will make the move less stressful financially. i hate to sound so negative but the competition is fierce both from new arrivals and the thousands of unemployed teaching graduates - be ready to hit the ground running. Hopefully the excitement of the adventure will outweigh that initial uncertainty when you arrive.

And that's the way we like it!

What type of visa are you coming on?

Does anyone actually ask your visa status when you apply for credit or insurance? I don't remember ever being asked

You might also want to check how it might or might not affect any required medical insurance as a pre-existing condition.

Just re-reading your post, catholic schools have no obligation to enrol anyone and will only take you with space. You can adjust the Melbourne school zones site to show catholic schools and I'd be getting onto that now. There is often no enrolment fee and you may want to have a couple of contenders in the area!

There are class size limits in Victoria. The schools have enrolment ceilings and do not have to take your child if they are full. That is a rare event though and more likely to occur in areas with alternatives close by. For example where I live just beyond Melbourne the school nearest to new housing is full and new students are directed to a larger school close by. I'd be making the calls now for the schools in the areas near where you plan to live to give you an idea. Go to wwww.melbourneschoolzones.com.au and adjust the filters to select primary or secondary. The maps on that site will show you the closest schools. Many schools do not need to strictly enforce zones and it is not the issue that it is in many parts of the UK. Melbourne from Christmas to mid January can be a bit like Paris in August and you will find it challenging to get some things organised. best to make your enquiries now as the end of the school year is a very busy time for schools.

Debenhams opens in Collins Street shortly so if you are lucky, they will also stock it

I agree with all of those. The reason I specified Ringwood itself was for the Ringwood High school zone. But that is a few years off yet. The suburbs above are all greener. If you are concerned about bushfires 9as some newcomers are) you might be a little wary of some the more bushy parts of Warrandyte - but it is a diverse place.

I think whatever offer you decide to make you should make sure it is in writing - if you make a serious offer in writing he really should put it to the vendor. The vendor would like to know!

Have a look at Ringwood and surrounds. Excellent schools, nice streets, great shopping and transport links. Established suburb so all of the infrastructure is there. About 30 mins to the city by train. Freeway straight down to Frankston and beyond for the beach in about 30 mins

The OP seems to be in WA where as I understand it, prices are falling so he is in with a shot

That's a very good point as Melbourne is experiencing very strong interstate migration too. Part of the problem is when we make attempts to work on the infrastructure the whining never stops about those delays either....

It may be easier if you can get somewhere to tide you over in the UK for a few weeks before you leave (Air B&B?). You could then ship your stuff earlier so that you can be living in the school catchment when school starts in the last week of Jan - or at least have a lease agreed if you have to prove you live in the area (not always necessary). You will pay through the nose for short term accommodation in those areas over Dec/ Jan because they are let at holiday prices to people staying for a week. If you get a rental early you can camp in it for a couple of weeks while your stuff arrives.

Just to second Melbkitty's point. When your baby is born you will come under the care of your local Maternal and Child Health nurse who will usually do an initial visit at home and then you will go to her clinic for regular baby development checks, weighing, help with breast feeding etc etc. She will link you up with a group of other people in your area who have had their first child recently and you will see them regularly - either at sessions organised by her or by the group depending on your council area. Maternal and Child Health nurses work for the council - which is why you have not been near one yet. The hospital alerts them to the birth and they come and find you.....