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We applied on 15th April and were contacted for our police checks on 26th May. Other than receiving an email, we had no other indicators that we'd even been assigned a case officer. I reckon that those of you who have already uploaded everything probably already have a case officer working through your application.

I'm self employed and recently achieved a successful ACS assessment. I had two of my clients, whom I had worked with for the duration of the time I was self employed write and sign a reference as to what I did for them. I Aldo had my accountant write a declaration confirming I ran a successful limited company. Finally I wrote a statutory declaration and included my limited company certificate. An example declaration can be found in the ACS documents.

My ACS assessment took 9 weeks. And I received an invite in the first available round with 65 points.

I'm sorry you're having trouble gaining a visa, but I don't get why you're suddenly p*ssed off about the process. So Australia favours qualified applicants with strong English above those with some work experience? The way points are awarded is made known to applicants in advance of you starting the process. As are the number of places available for each visa type. We're rapidly approaching the end of the visa year, so places remaining are bound to be limited at this time of the year.

I didn't mention anything at my work until I was ready to resign. Like you, I felt bad about not saying anything, especially because the company I worked for had been very good to me in the past. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't lying as such, because no-one ever asked me, "are you moving to Australia?". Anyhow, the way I see it... you need to look out for your and your husband's future first and foremost. If you can do something to help your employer out, which won't come as a detriment to yourself, fair dos, but otherwise just do your best in the meantime and when you come to hand in your notice, do everything you can to make the transition as smooth as possible. As for what to say when you resign... my husband has been offered an internal transfer to Australia and it's an opportunity of a lifetime.

I'm in the process of going from a WHV to PR at the moment. I'm sorry to say its not cheap. For my wife and I, it has cost about $7000 after ACS, IELTS, application fees, medicals and police checks. All in all, the process has been really quick. We started on 28 January and are now awaiting a CO for our application. if you don't have much money, I'd suggest doing the ACS assessment first, before paying out for anything else, just in case it comes back negative.

We also submitted our application in April. We've had our medicals and are just waiting on our police checks now.

A few ideas for what might help. Contract of employment with job description, pay slips, P60s, P45, statutory declaration from one or more colleagues.

If you move abroad, you're responsible for informing the SLC and agreeing a repayment plan. You don't need to make payments on the loan until your income surpasses the repayment threshold. I doubt the SLC would pursue you overseas, but you'd likely be pursued and obliged to make back payments if you ever returned to the UK.

Ours arrived at 12:10am AEST.

I don't mean to teach you to suck eggs, but airlines have a habit of increasing prices every time you come back to check their prices. If you use your browser in incognito mode, or clear your cache and cookies, before visiting their airline's site, you may find the price drops a little.

Unless the letter format has changed recently, there's a line of text above the list of jobs you submitted stating from which date your qualifications are recognised. On my assessment they didn't recognise 2 years 6 months worth, but still listed all of the jobs I had submitted.

You pay the full visa costs at time of submission. I did mine last night and it was $5280 for my wife and I. If anyone on your application then requires English language training, then I believe there is an additional fee to pay later, but I'm not sure when.

Thanks for the quick replies. Application submitted. I'll upload my documents tomorrow

Hi all, I received an invitation to apply for a 189 visa in the latest round of invitations. I am now in the process of completing my application. Thus far, I have worked through the 17 page online form, but no where have I seen or been asked to upload my supporting documents. This page says that you can upload attachments after submitting your application, so I've pressed submit application and I am now being asked to pay the fee. Is this correct? Should I pay the fee first and then upload my supporting documents, or am I being a muppet and I've missed the stage where I should be uploading everything? Thanks in advance, Rob

We have a credit card from Nationwide in the UK, which allows international use with no fees. And the exchange rates are usually very generous too. There might be something similar over here?

Hi Zoe, Dan, Do you fancy meeting for a drink with Anni and I at the Pig and Whistle after work on Wednesday evening? Rob

Perhaps you should leave a message and a number for him to call you back?

The Cineplex chain in Brisbane, we've been to both the Bulimba and Southbank outlets, are relatively cheap. $8.50 each at peak times (evening and weekends).

I don't know. I'm just basing my reply on what I've read on the ACS website. if you're using a migration agent, I would hope that they are better informed than I or a public forum.

We went to Kondalilla Falls National Park yesterday with some friends, with the intention of swimming under the waterfall there. Sadly with the dry conditions in QLD at the moment, the waterfall was a merely a trickle of water. That said, we did go swimming in the rock pool that was at the top of the waterfall. This looked to be a popular attraction for many. Beware though, it's very deep (cannot touch the bottom anywhere) and the submerged rocks near the edge are very slippery, which makes getting out tough. We'd be interested to hear others suggestions too.

Out of interest, when did you submit your assessment, and when did you get a reply? ACS consider a bachelors degree and 2 years work experience to be a suitable skill level. Therefore, only after you have been working at the necessary skill level will be considered. And no, I don't think you can use 8 years with the DIAC. I believe you can only claim what ACS recognise.

I would suggest that you speak with a migration agent. Even if you don't want to use them to help you with your visa, paying for an initial 1 hour consultation for them to check your eligibility for a specific ANZSCO code (in their opinion, still no guarantees) prior to applying is well worth the cost.

Then sadly, if you cannot fulfil the regional work requirements, I don't think you'll be eligible for a second working holiday visa. Sorry

Any work experience that is used to satisfy the education / qualified criteria cannot then be used as work experience too. For example, I have a bachelors degree and 5 years work experience. However, I need a degree and 2 years work experience to be considered qualified. Thus leaving me 3 years work experience. Therefore, based on your explanation (I've not checked whether you are correct), if you can use 5 years of work experience in lieu of a bachelors degree, that would leave you with 4 years of work experience, which I believe would be 5 points.