Becksie

Hi everyone, Does any British expat have experience of how far "medically essential" stretches for those with the Reciprocal Medicare card? Our child nurse has recommended us to get a GP referral to a residential sleep school due to our 8-month baby sleeping terribly (somewhere like the O'Connell Family Centre in Melbourne); so I'm wondering if this would be covered. It is covered on normal Medicare (that Aussies/PRs hold), so hoping covered on the Reciprocal basis too. Thanks for any advice. Simon

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Thanks for everyone's useful help, really appreciate it!

Dear all, I've got an appointment with VicRoads to convert my UK driving licence into a Victorian one. My question: Is showing my UK photocard enough? My paper counterpart is currently in storage somewhere else (by mistake :embarrassed: ). If I'll need the counterpart too, I'll probably have to apply for a replacement from the DVLA first. Cheers, Becksie

Hi everyone! Does anybody have any experience of putting a young child (ours girls will be 3-years old when we move to Melbourne) into a Long Day Care Centre? We're especially interesting in the quality / healthiness of the food provided. Have heard stories of burgers and chips for 3-year olds from acquaintances now living in the USA, so hoping Australia is generally more healthier. Any experience of information gratefully received. Thanks!

Hi everyone! As I don't have a need for a "full-service" (packing / boxed / containerised / door-to-door / etc) shipper, please does anybody have any recommendations for companies offering the no-frills "unaccompanied airline baggage" style of transporting stuff to Australia, please? I know there is excess-baggage.com, but are there others? By the way, I'll be moving some stuff from Kazakhstan and some from Thailand, so an Australia-based company might work better than a UK-one. Thanks for any help!

Hi everyone! There are plenty of documents around saying that the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) kicks-in for families with an "income" of $168,001 or more. But, for this (and other similar government rules that vary according to "income"), what does "income" actually refer to, please? Being from the UK, I'm used to just "gross" and "net". But in Australia the popular expression when negotiating a job seems to be "Fixed Annual Remuneration (FAR)", which also includes what goes straight into a superannuation fund. In a nutshell, is the "income" being refereed to: "FAR"; "gross income" (FAR excluding superannuation); or "net income". Thanks!

Thanks Notts! Next question: It says "Documents required: • current passport and valid visa for all applicants." But an Australian 457 Visa is entirely electronic (held on a database against the passport number). What kind of visa document do they have in mind?

Hi everyone! Hopefully an easy question. When going to the local Medicare office to apply for Reciprocal Medicare Cards for myself and our children, do I need to actually take the children along? Thanks in advance.

See this document at humanservices.gov.au that says "when a citizen of the UK enters Australia either directly from the UK or via another country, they are eligible for enrolment in the Medicare program under the UK RHCA, providing they have not been absent from the UK for more than 5 years from their initial departure."

Thanks Geordee!

Hi everyone! Hoping someone can help. I know (I think) that to receive Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate, your child must be immunised (or on a catch-up schedule) on the Childhood Immunisation Register. But if your a 457 foreigner, so no access to CCB/CCR anyway, do kindergartens and family day care centres anyway check your kids' immunisation records themselves before admitting them? Do schools do so later when reaching school age? Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks again for your help folks. During the process, confirmed that it is possible to simultaneously apply for 457 and 186 (Direct Entry Stream): which would be rarely be useful but would allow someone to move to Australia sooner on their 457 whilst waiting for the 186 to be completed. And confirmed that a 457 holder can get Medicare as soon as they have the acknowledgement letter of their 186 application. However, on the flip-side, have discovered how rare it is for employers to sponsor Direct Entry Stream 186 visas. In the end, we're going to delay the move to Australia until after the birth and move on 457 visas... hopefully leading to 186 through the Temporary Residence Transition Stream in a couple of years.

I have not applied for a skills assessment yet. Actually, haven’t taken any steps yet... trying to gather information on whether the offered move is going to be possible. The cost of coming to Australia without Medicare or insurance covering pregnancy/delivery seems potentially very prohibitive. Looking at the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List, I guess my occupation is Transport Company Manager (149413).

Indeed. I’ll be covered reciprocally thanks to my UK passport, but no such luck for my wife who holds a Kazakhstani passport... who we really the coverage for.

Hi Rupert, So you think I could also simultaneously apply for 457 and 186 Visas offshore? Regarding Medicare, have a look at this government document for example: Applicants for permanent residency. “A person is eligible for Medicare if they have both a current: • visa authorising their stay in Australia [which would be the 457 Visa]; and • application for permanent resident status [the 186 Visa application]... and they have • been granted permission to work [which comes with a 457 Visa I think]”.

Dear all, The background to our situation is that I’ve got an offer from an employer move to work in Australia. Our complicating factor being that my wife is 2 months pregnant. If I apply for a 457 Visa now, it should take around 3 months and we could move to have the delivery in Australia. But a 457 Visa doesn’t give Medicare entitlement. Costs of pregnancy/delivery care run towards $20,000 (with expected Caesarean); no private health insurance company covers a pre-existing pregnancy; and my wife doesn’t hold citizenship of a Medicare reciprocal agreement country (I do, but that doesn’t help). A 186 Visa would come with Medicare entitlement for my wife, which would be great. But, if I apply for a 186 Visa now, it would take around 6 months and then already be too close to the delivery date to travel. Plus the employer wants me there sooner rather than waiting 6 months offshore. Is it allowed for me to apply and receive a 457 Visa offshore now, move to Australia when that’s granted in about 3 months and straight away submit a 186 Visa application?: I know that the Temporary Residence Transition stream wouldn’t be allowed as I wouldn’t have held the 457 Visa for 2 years, but the Direct Entry stream would be allowed? I am right in thinking that my wife could get a Medicare card as soon as the acknowledgement letter of the 186 Visa application was received?.. not have to wait the 6 further months for processing. Is there any chance it would be allowable to be even more “prompt” and submit a 186 Visa application offshore right after submitting the a 457 Visa application offshore?... so that we could move to Australia in around 3 months on the 457 Visa and already have the acknowledgement letter of the 186 Visa application to get the Medicare card? Or any other good ideas for this particular set of circumstances? Thanks a million for any help that you can offer. Becksie