clairebear82

Just to add - I will be the one in the navy sleeveless dress with green flip flops, holding a pint of cider!!! - so please come and say hello!

Hi all, Meetup organised for tonight (Tuesday 3rd Dec) at PJ O'Briens Sydney CBD, in the Grace Hotel, King Street (cnr Clarence st) There is a pub quiz from 6.30pm and pizza and a pint for $18 - bargain! - will be there from about 6pm til late!! All welcome to come along - hope to see you there Claire xx (don't forget to check out sydneyforum.com for more meetups and all things Sydney!!)

Hey, EOI submitted 26th September 65 points Invite received 7th October Application lodged 17th October From the Aug & Sept threads, its looking about 8 weeks for CO - some are getting direct grants at 8 weeks (if all docs, meds and PCC front loaded) - so fingers crossed for a grant by Xmas!!

Hey, I just paid $353 for the visa medical (including chest xray and blood tests) - you have to use Medibank if you get it done in Aus, all the prices are on the website here: https://www.medibankhealth.com.au/

Check out UFC CBD (on Kent street), they have various levels of mma classes, amongst other styles

Hey Sara, Welcome! Always looking to meet new people so just let us know when your about. I live and work in the CBD so always floating round the city, but easy to get around here! Where abouts are you? As I said in the post just above, we will be looking to arrange a get together soon too, so will keep you posted if you want to con along! Claire

Hey, Sorry for the late reply, only just seen the post! We are heading up to the central coast this weekend for a surf trip! Off to copacabana! we are hoping to arrange a get together again soon so be great if you can come along, but let us know if you won't to catch up some time, aalways good to meet new people! Claire

We had Anglo pacific out to quote, very nice bloke but a little expensive! However, don't just assume that is their best quote, they will go lower! The guy emailed me a couple of days later to see what my thoughts were, I told them they were too pricey and would probably go elsewhere - he came back with a lower quote, that actually matched our other quote. We didn't use them in the end though and went with John mason, mainly because the quote was cheaper for a larger volume! they also recalculated once everything was packed and it worked out even less, bargain! So do negotiate, you can save yourself a bit of money! Good luck claire

Hey, I thought that if your qualification has been assessed as equivalent to an Australian bachelors degree then that is a positive assessment and you can claim 15 points From reading previous posts on accounts qualifications (I'm ACCA) it seems overseas qualifications always come back as meeting 9 out of 12 core areas, but this doesn't make a difference to the assessment as such. It just needs to be the equivalent to a bachelors degree to claim the points. The other areas only need to be covered if you want to convert to an oz qualification as far as I am aware. Worth double checking this! Good luck!

one tip for the reading that I found useful...... Don't get caught out on the true/false/not given (or Yes/No/Not given) questions - they can easily trip you up I know this will sound obvious but this is essential for these questions... Yes/True - You must be able to find a comparable phrase in the text. It must agree with the statement! you should be able to identify the key words in both the statement and the text. The sentences will have the exact same meaning for example the statement might say - Some English people need to sit the IELTS exam the text would say something like - a selection of people from England are required to take the IELTS test some = selection English people = people from England Need = required If you identify the statement, but the words have a different meaning, then it will be false eg if the statement read ALL people from England........ This is FALSE!! If you cannot identify a statement in the text that is either the same meaning, or the exact opposite, then the answer is Not Given. - do not make assumptions about the meaning of the text. so the text might say 'people should be able to show they can write in english' - Do not assume this means they need to take the test! it is simply not given! Hope that helps!

Indeed - perhaps I need to add a disclaimer that these are indicative costs only based on a 1 bed apartment at king street wharf central sydney, for 2 adults (one of whom eats enough for 2 adults alone - hubby!!) - these are only meant as a rough guide and should not be taken as gospel - it was only to provide an idea of what costs I pay to live in Sydney at the moment (was supposed to be helpful!) So, to add some more info to my post....... Things like rent, utilities etc etc can vary massively and depends on where you live and what you live in! The travel costs mentioned are actual prices so won't vary - only your need for them will change that! - 131500.com is the official transport page which lists all costs The phone and internet was the cheapest package on offer by telstra at the time, but I have now seen cheaper at $80, but also more expensive at $150 - check out telstra.com for a guide Utilities - have a look at energy australia which I think has a calculator to help you work out a rough estimate of costs Mobile phone - check out telstra, optus and vodafone - obviously with prepaid you can top up as much or as little as you like - I choose to top up $30 as it gives extra bonus credit, whereas lesser amounts do not - my personal choice there though, but sure there are other deals around. Health insurance will depend massively on your requirements - we have an 'intermediate' policy for the both of us with HIF, as a guide to the price we pay Food, we actually try to shop pretty cheaply - but check out coles and woolworths, they both do online shopping and we do also have Aldi in sydney, as MovingtoTasmania mentioned hopefully that helps :-)

Hey, I live pretty central (darling harbour) and have a 1 bed apartment, with 2 of us, our costs are: . rent $650 per week Internet and phoneline $90 per month (add about $30 plus if you want foxtel as well) Gas & Electric varies, but we budget approx $150 per month Mobile - I use prepaid telstra $30 per month top up which give you loads of credit Health insurance $234 per month Contents insurance $45 per month Travel (nothing for me, I walk to work!!) - my multi is $44 per week, which is unlimited travel on train (zone one), bus, ferry etc or $27 per week for just train. Single train fare is $3.60 - again, zone one, which covers most of central Sydney Food - I budget $150 per week for shopping As a rough guide a meal out at a nice restaurant would be approx: Bottle of wine $40+ Beer (schooner) $8 Steak $40 Coffee from one of the many coffee shops is around $3 A prepacked sandwich $5 Panini or wrap at lunchtime - $8 If you smoke, $20 per pack Think that should give you a good idea - but just make sure you don't try and do the 'convert to GBP' thing!! Look at the costs in comparison to an AUD salary and don't compare!! It will make things a lot easier in the long run!! Hope that helps!

Congrats!! Night out to celebrate soon I think!!

Hey, Welcome to the forum! I can't answer your question conclusively but I can tell you my experience of the 457!! - My employer brought me over here and sponsored me on the 457. They used an agent for both the nomination part and my application. I didn't need to do a formal skills assessment, as you do on the points based PR visas - I was only asked to send certificates and membership docs etc that were relevant to the application. Best to check the requirements on the DIAC website though as this may vary dependant on occupation - immi.gov.au As for using an agent, well that really depends on your situation and ability and enjoyment of form filling!! I had an agent, as my employer chose to use one, which did make things easier on my part, but then you still have to go through all the information and document gathering anyway (which seems to be the most time consuming part!!). If you have all the info needed then it should be a fairly straightforward process so not a huge need for an agent. However, if you think you application may not be so straightforward then an agent can be worth thier weight in gold. Things to consider would be medical history etc etc whether there is a likelyhood that meds would be requested and referred etc, this is where things can generally get a little complicated or long winded! But sure someone will have a more specific answer soon!

Thanks Graham, that's really helpful Its so confusing, was debating using an agent, but I thought this would all be pretty simple!! No idea why a membership certificate won't suffice, surely they deal with ACCA requests all the time so they know what it involves?!! Pretty ridiculous! Sounds like I need to raid the dusty box of random old docs - knew I kept these mountains of paperwork for a reason! That would be great, thank you! Will pm my email address I remember the optional papers well - I foolishly opted to take advanced financial management and advanced tax? Goodness knows what I was thinking! Never again!!

Hey, Apologies if this has been asked before - I have spent quite some time trawling through the forum and the ICAA website and still a bit confused! and I did email ICAA directly over a week ago now, but no response! :arghh: Can anyone confirm what docs to send for the migration skill assessment for ACCA qualification? I know I need IELTS (academic scores of 7+) - ok Membership certificate - certified original - ok now, they ask for a letter of good standing which is fine, ACCA have kindly sent me one - however, as I am in Sydney, they emailed me a PDF of the original - will this be accepted or do I need to go back to ACCA and ask them to post it to Australia?! Exam results achieved and the subjects - What do they actually want for this?!! - I no longer have the little slips confirming my results after each sitting, but do have certificates for completion of each level - or do I need to get ACCA to provide something that specifically details all the results in one report? Academic results and records - I don't have any!! is this only if I have a degree that I want noted on the assessment? CV and employment reference - is this always required for Skills assessment? or is this just if I am having the employment assessed as well? Apologies if these are stupidly obvious questions, but I don't want to start shelling out time and money without being sure I have it right first!! Thanks in advance Claire

Hey, paycalculator.com.au will tell you how much you will actually take home after tax. In terms of rent - I was advised to spend no more than a third of your wages on rent, although I ignored that advice, spent way more and still pretty comfortable!! But a lot really depends on your expectations and lifestyle etc - as Rupert mentioned, you would be the only person really who can judge - just do lots of research into the cost of living and that should give you a good idea of what you can afford - there are lots of threads on here that should help

Hey, Looking forward to meeting everyone later, not long to go! We will be outside in the beer garden of the slip from 7pm. We will have something with us that you can identify us by, not sure what yet but you can be sure it WILL be something very obvious!! See you soon! X

Me too!

Hey, Unfortunately, its pretty unlikely based on what you have said above :-( sorry, don't want to be the bearer of bad news. But the reality is that even people with occupations on the CSOL or SOL still find it difficult - Visas are expensive and it can be a stressful process, but more importantly, people coming here on PR visas with 'In demand' skills can struggle to find work, let alone someone who is not on the wanted list. I wouldn't recommend coming here to live the dream based on this! But, if it is something that you have your heart set on, then just have a look at immi.gov.au and check out the visa types and requirements. There probably isn't anything you can apply for right now, but it will give you a good idea what you need to do - but as lebourvellec said, the regulations change constantly, but your best option would be to gain a recognised qualification and look at skilled migration visas. Its not impossible, but you will probably not be able to do anything for a few years yet - Just keep doing your research and sure you will find a way :-)

me me me!! I'm coming!!!! ok - you know that anyway but was a shameless post to keep this tread bumped for all to see!!! But.........We are thinking that we need some kind of way of identifying ourselves so we can all find each other, intial thought was an inflatable kangaroo!! but not sure they are acceptable in the slip!! So suggestions please??!!! Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Exciting!! good luck, safe journey! If you have recovered from the journey enough and want to get straight in to the swing of things and meet some new friends, we are having a meetup in Sydney this Saturday night, 7pm at the Slip Inn on Sussex street :-)

Hey, either Wynyard or Townhall - about the same distance from the Slip See you Saturday!

'he is short on points because of his age' has he done IELTS?? it can give him a points boost if needed (think upto 20 points for 8's on all 4 levels, which I doubt would be a problem for him!)

Hey, Have you checked out the 189 independant skilled PR visa? - if you have 60 points and are on SOL then you can apply at any time, no need to wait. I think there is a direct entry employer sponsored scheme too that is PR - maybe the 186? Check out the skillselect section on the immi.gov.au website - the visa selection tool is actually quite useful too Sure someone will be able to give you some more specific answers soon though!