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The certificates might be useful to upload to support your claim, but I would think that these would need to be certified. I don't see any benefit in uploading a picture of some books. Yes, you may have bought them. That doesn't mean you actually read them, understood what they said, or have learned anything from them. The other thing to consider is whether uploading documents other than what is requested will help or hinder your application. Only uploading what's requested saves the CO from having to sort through the chaff to find what is actually​ relevant.

That's unlucky. I doubt you'll be able to find much in the way of employment. Perhaps you could use the time whilst your hand heals to make the most of the holiday aspect of your visa, before hopefully finishing your regional work afterwards?

We were asked to pay 3 months up front too. I just asked if we could pay monthly in advance instead, which was happily accepted. I was even then offered weekly.

I'm really sorry to hear that you have lost your job. As others have said, the result of your mistake could have been far worse and you're fortunate that it wasn't. What I would say however is that it sounds like you had a lucky escape with this employer. Granted you made a mistake and it could have been far worse, but mistakes do happen and if your employer isn't willing to give you even the opportunity to explain the situation (irrespective of whether that would change their decision or not), then it doesn't sound like they're a good employer to work for. Ask for a written reference, check that it's an accurate account of the events and then look for another sponsor. If or when you're granted an interview, explain the situation as a mistake you've made and that you will learn from and say you're looking for an employer to give you a second chance. If they then check your references it won't come as a surprise. Good luck and chin up.

I expect the 12 week processing time is because they receive tens of thousands of applications every month. If everything needs to be checked and cross referenced, it's not going to be a 5 minute job.

D'oh! That's not going to work then. Thanks any way and good luck finding a buyer.

I'm not from the Sydney area, so wouldn't be interested in purchasing your bed, sorry. I would however be interest to know whether the shop you bought it from has a Brisbane outlet. Can you provide a link to their website at all, please?

If you're on the skills list and have the necessary points, IELTS (if applicable) and a positive skills assessment, you can register an EOI for a 189 whenever you want - onshore or offshore. With regard to the two years, I think you're getting confused. On a 457, an employer can sponsor you for permanent residency after two years of work. Whereas a 189 visa is a permanent residency visa, so you would have that status as soon as it is granted. After living in Australia as a permanent resident for four years, you can apply for citizenship. That might be what you're thinking about.

There are the occupation ceiling reports on the Skills Select website which detail the quantity of visas available for each ANZSCO code and then how many of those visas have already been allocated. These are updated after each round I believe. http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/ > Reports Tab > Occupation Ceilings Section If I'm reading it correctly, for example Plumbers (3341XX), there are 5400 visas for 2013 - 2014 and 69 have been allocated thus far.

If you have a British passport, you're automatically awarded an IELTS score of 6 for each part. When calculating migration points you get 0 for a band 6 result. You would therefore only need to take the IELTS if your skills assessment (or sponsor) explicitly asks you to do so, or if you want to increase your migration points.

I wouldn't see that as being an issue. The example employer reference on their website doesn't ask how much or how you were paid. It merely asks for employer details, when you worked for them (including end date or to date), whether it was full or part time (20 hours and over is considered full-time) and your duties.

I'm afraid that there is no other advice to be given. Sadly you've just gambled A$000's on the basis that you'd be allowed a free pass or to resist the IELTs. It's not any use to you now, but for anyone else, a quick call or email to the Immigration department would have answered that for you. I think you're going to have to forfeit the money paid or possibly try to request a refund, but that's unlikely and probably at the CO's discretion.

Have you read the application guidance booklet on the ACS website?

I just submitted my skills assessment to ACS yesterday. From everything I have read, I believe their decision is based solely on the education and work experience that you submit. They then compare your degree transcripts and employer references to the ANZSCO code you've selected for suitability.

Look at the SOL and CSOL for both your and your wife's jobs. I believe they're updated every July 1st. If either of you are on the SOL list, then you can apply for a 189 visa, subject to a successful skills assessment, IELT results and EOI. If either of you are on the CSOL list, then you will need to check whether the state(s) you want to live in need that skill (each has it's own list) and then apply much the same as the above, but indicating state sponsorship.

Are you on the SOL or CSOL? If so, you could try for a points based skilled migration visa. CSOL I believe requires state or employer sponsorship. Someone else may be able to confirm that. Good luck.

For those who are yet to arrive in Australia, we found when registering for Medicare today that you now need your UK passport AND your NHS card or your E111 card. This is a new measure introduced earlier this week and not even the Medicare staff seem to know too much about it.

Just in case anyone else had similar requirements, we've opted for an Optus 4G pre-paid mobile broadband. We've chosen to start with the $30 per month plan which gives us 3Gb of data. We're based in New Farm and are very pleased with the download and upload speeds at 7Mbs and 4Mbs.

Hello, Does anyone have any recommendations for mobile broadband in Brisbane, please? I need it to be on a month to month contract and ideally I'm looking for a 4g provider, with a modem capable of supporting multiple devices simultaneously. I've seen Vivid Wireless, which looks good. Unfortunately their hotspot isn't available in Brisbane yet. Thanks in advance, Rob

Ours took a couple of hours to come through.

From what I've read on here, I thought the third party cover included with Rego only covered injuries to another person and not their property.

I can't offer any insight, but as a neutral party, I just have a few more questions (don't feel you need to answer them publicly), but instead they're something for you to answer for yourself. What are the custody arrangements at the moment? What does the father have to pay for at the moment? How often does the father see his child at the moment? I'm guessing it might not be much. Can you prove this? If you moved to Aus and the father could see his child once every year or two, would that be a significant decrease on how often he sees them now? Finally and probably the most difficult to answer, if the situation was reversed, how would you feel about what you're proposing if you were in his shoes?

I'm not aware of UK courts having any jurisdiction in Australia. So if you broke it, there's likely very little they or he could do. I was just mentioning it as something to think about, in case the father posed the same question. I don't know myself. Common sense would likely suggest that you wouldn't need to pay for everything. But at the same time, it's quite different the father paying to travel the length of the UK (a couple of hundred pounds) for example, compared to travelling to the other side of the World (a couple of thousand pounds). Good luck with your court case. Hopefully someone else might be able to offer you some advice.

I'm not taking sides in this (I don't know the back story and it's definitely not my place), but something that immediately came to mind was that you mention the father having physical contact with his son / daughter yearly or every other year, at your expense. What happens if when you're in Australia, you can't afford to do that, or playing devil's advocate, you simply decide to stop doing or allowing that? What rights would he have to force you to come back to the UK? Or to bring his child back to the UK? I would think very little to none. This might be something you'll be asked. If I were the father, I certainly would.

@km75, from everything you've been saying, you seem to keep leading yourself back to the fact that you should go. E.g. your husband's job here has been filled, he has a good job there, working for someone he knows, the lifestyle you want is more achievable there, you're coming back in September for a visit, etc. And when you made the decision 6 weeks ago, although you agonised about it, you were under no or less pressure (time wise). What I'm trying to say is, it sounds like you want to go and you made the decision 6 weeks ago for a reason. Why not give yourself a break, trust your gut and stick with the initial decision. Instead of fretting about what you can't do, put the time you have left in the UK to good use. Spend the time with your mum. To not sound blunt, try and get her to move on from the death of your dad (the best she can). I'm sure she misses him terribly, but I doubt he'd want her to spend the rest of her life being low about his passing. Can you get your mum involved with local clubs, or doing things with her friends? Organise family events or a meal, etc. Show her that you do care and will continue to care whether that be from the UK or from Aus.