Pommian

Are you kidding? He's towing destitute refugees back to an uncertain future, sitting back while they kill each other on Manus Island and otherwise just keeping totally silent on what is happening to the rest of the boats (being sunk/ignored/towed elsewhere perhaps?) It's the most horrific, inhumane and xenophobic border policy of perhaps any civilised nation. So typically Australian.

Hi Helen, As I understand it, you can't get your money back if you have obtained a permanent visa or citizenship. You can now only leave it here and draw a pension on it when the time comes. I'm on a 457 (temporary) visa and I'm expecting to get my super back (less a 50% tax deduction) when I leave. But I'm not going for PR purely because I understand I'll lose the ability to get my super contributions back when I leave, and that might be a deposit on a new house in Blighty.

Hi, We're in the same boat. Just come back from Christmas in England and loved every minute of. I miss my friends and family and they are reason enough for me not to stay is Oz indefinitely. We have a little over a year left on the 457 visa and we will be going home then. It's been and continues to be a great experience, but we don't want to stay here forever, so we won't. Several people have tried to persuade us to get PR or citizenship. There is no point getting PR at this stage. It won't do much for us, and you need to be in Australia for a certain amount of time each year for it to remain in place. Getting an Aussie passport will mean the door is always open to you if you want to come back. BUT, bear in mind that, if you stay on your temporary visa, you will get your super money back again (less 50% tax) when you leave, which for us is looking like a deposit on a house. If you get PR or citizenship, then the super money stays here and you'll be able to draw a small pension in the future.

Hi, I'm not familiar with the 189 visa - we didn't do any research we just took a job with a 457 visa on a whim and took it from there!! We do pay for private health insurance - about 100GBP per month, but we do have access to Medicare (Aussie NHS too). We had to get the private medical cover get the visa, but we are not clear if we still need to have it now we are in the country and registered with Medicare. We kept it anyway as we have been led to believe that Medicare is much like the NHS - OK, but waiting times are long and private medical cover allows you to get treatment more quickly. I don't know what the childcare situation is - we are child free and haven't any information on that. If your husband gets a job with a 457 visa, then you and your family are free to stay and do what you want (work, study, sunbathe etc) as long as he is employed. I'm not sure what other security PR offers. Mortgages - there are restrictions for 457 visa holders. We are renting but we have learnt that if we did want to buy, we would be limited to buying or building a new house, rebuilding something in poor condition or buying government housing stock (defence, social housing etc). Basically, they want you to improve Aussie housing stock. We came here with little knowledge of Australia and so a temporary visa was fine for us. It has given us time to explore the place and decide if we want to stay and make things permanent, or move on. We have decided that we will be ready to leave on the next 12 months or so, so the 457 has been fine. Equally, if we had decided to stay, it would have been a good stepping stone to PR. Either way, my feeling is that getting a job secured is the most important thing to do. You don't want to take a chance on it. Everything else here is easy and not much different to the UK when you have money, from buying cars and furniture to supermarket shopping and life in general, but you really don't want to be spending your savings, or the proceeds from a house sale on day to day living expenses while you find work.

Mate, go where your friends and family are. Everything else is just details. I am in a similar position to you. Me and the wife moved here 2 years ago. We have nice jobs, a good house, live near Sydney harbour - on the outside it looks like paradise, but I'm bored and homesick. Yes, my job in the UK was harder, the weather was shocking and the winters were massively depressing. But, I'd rather walk 10 minutes in the driving rain to meet my true friends for a beer than stroll down the beach for a drink by myself. I'd rather work a bit harder for less money and have a better life out of work. There is no doubt for me - once the Australian sightseeing is done, I'm going back to my hometown in England where I will embrace my friends and family and never let them go.

Hi Krystaltips, We moved here a couple of years ago on a 457 visa. I'm a professional engineer so my qualifications will be very similar to your husbands. The 457 is an employer sponsored visa. I applied for and got the job first, then my employer did most of the visa application. We just had to submit our part - giving personal details, proving we were a genuine couple, had healthcare provision etc. It was very easy and didn't need an agent, and our part only cost us $250 or so. To get a 457 visa, you have to have a job offer, but you are not tied to the employer. If the job doesn't work out, you can move employers but the new employer has to take on the 457 visa. It is also a good step to permanent residency, if you want this, as it allows you to get a few years local work experience which helps. I personally would be reluctant to leave the UK for Australia without a job. Things aren't as buoyant here as they were 2 years ago and I've noticed that a lot of companies now want employees with many years local experience and contacts - their way of cutting out the foreign labour force, it seems. I'm looking to change employer but not having much success (in the Sydney area).