kmrg

Having worked in disability services in regional areas, depending on your child's level of need, I would be careful about the location you choose. There can be a serious shortage of services in regional towns eg occupational therapy and so long waiting lists. When you move to smaller towns (which I would class as less than 100,000) this also means there are usually only a couple of providers of support services and so if you aren't happy with services often there is no alternative to choose from. I worked with families who often ended up moving back to larger towns and cities so that they could get access to the supports their children needed.

I find when you travel with a young child you always get moved to the front of the queue when waiting so often arrive early to the gate. Only issue is, can you carry the child whilst walking if they won't or will there be pushchairs available to use. When I was at Singapore airport last year they had pushchairs to use for children within the terminal.

I think the most important thing with teenagers is that they need to feel they were consulted and part of the decision making process even if the ultimate decision is made by the parents. Have you sat down as a family and discussed the current difficulties (in an age appropriate way) and explained that her dad may need to go back to Australia for medical treatment. Also have you discussed with your son in Australia your plans? It would be a shame to return and think you are reuniting the family to then find he is moving to another part of Australia or elsewhere? Also I noted you said your daughter still had friends in Australia, so letting her know as far in advance about a potential move would also be good as she could then make sure she continued to maintain those relationships online so that she still felt she had a connection with those friends when you return. This is presuming you are returning to the same area. Would one option be for your husband to have the surgery then once he is recovered to make the final decision then? It may be easier to make a big decision if his health was improved? I think it has been noted he could consider other options in UK or possibly abroad. Not sure if that is possible or if he is planning on using public or private health services but worth considering. Public waiting lists here can be as long as the UK, depending where you live.

I applied for both British and Australian passport's for my son when he was born, and they both took a similar length of time to arrive and neither application was difficult. You need to apply for the Austrian Citizenship certificate first before you can apply for the Australian passport. This was also an easy process. (Unless you are already an Australian Citizen yourself.) As has already been posted by Inner Voice you will need the UK passport if planning on living in UK. I would however ensure you get the Australian citizenship certificate before leaving Australia even if you don't decide to get the Australian passport.

Lomandra I am the same age as you and had a baby in NSW at age 38 through IVF, despite a smooth pregnancy I was classed as high risk. Not sure if you are registered with a midwife yet, but I would explain your plans to any midwife / doctor and see if there are any implications with your pregnancy which mean you are classed as high risk and whether this means you would need to travel earlier in the pregnancy if flying long haul. It may be good to speak to HR at your work and find out the earliest date you would be allowed to take maternity leave from. Also do you have the option of staying with family once you arrive back in the UK, I am also currently looking at possibly moving back and it seems there are a lot of things that you won't be able to set up until back on the ground. Best wishes, and I hope it all works out for you.

Does anyone have experience of flying with Sri Lankan airlines and / or having a short stopover there? Flying Melbourne to London Heathrow, mainly interested as the flights are 9.5/10 hours and 10.5 hours so more evenly split. It will be 2 adults travelling with a 4 year old. We went with Singapore airlines last year, which was good but their prices really seem to have gone up a lot this year. Thanks

Thanks for all the replies. That pretty much confirms what I was thinking.

Has anyone booked flights to UK for Christmas in the last couple of years? I know it will be a lot more expensive than other times of the year, but wondering when the best time to book is? Are they at their cheapest now and just likely to continue to increase in price from now? Any advice would be welcome.

I am living in Melbourne and was looking at apartment options for a family of 3. You will find a 2 bed apartment within that price range the issue for me is that the living areas are usually very small, especially in the newer apartments. I have been looking around Kensington, Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds, Brunswick, Carlton, Abbotsford basically all around the inner north. I am now looking at townhouses which you will get for around $900k, which once your wife is working should be achievable for you. I was shocked at how much money the bank was prepared to lend us, when I spoke to them a couple of months ago. If you are prepared to live in an apartment then I don't think there will be any issue with you managing on one salary for 6 months. Depending on your wife's profession it could take a while to find a job so best to start look early once you arrive.

I was just emailed this today : Child Protection Worker or Field Worker. job with Government of Western Australia | 1401720765 (communitycare.co.uk)

Based on your description of your experience I would expect it to be fairly easy for you to find a job, but maybe not specifically in adoption. Social worker Child Welfare, Youth & Family Services, Psychology, Counselling & Social Work Jobs in All Perth WA - SEEK https://search.jobs.wa.gov.au/page.php?pageID=215&windowUID=0#report

Yes that is what I thought. However when you go through to submit the visa it asks you to attach documents and then a drop down menu had options to attach as I mention above. It said you can submit with no documents but you are at risk of it not being accepted? Bit confused but think we will do a Stat dec stating has committed no further offences, then submit and hope for the best.

Just to update for those interested in a timeline, my husbands UK passport has now been posted to us and due to arrive 21st June. Hopefully it will keep close to that timeline if so then will have taken under 2 months as originally applied and post from Australia on 30th April.

Hi Hoping someone can assist with this query. I am just in the process of applying for RRV for myself and husband as we are travelling outside of Australia for a holiday in August. We have been in Australia for 5 years, and have only left once for a 2 week holiday in 2019. I completed the application for myself and it just requested proof of change of name - marriage certificate. For my husbands application it is asking for documents to be attached related to "character" options are court documents, Police check overseas, Police check Australia, Statement of Events, Statutory declaration. Does anyone have experience of this and how many of these documents are needed? The advice / information is just general for any visa application nothing specific to RRV. Obviously when we applied for our original visa we provided all details of my husbands only criminal offence which is over 25 years old and there have been no further offences committed since then. Do we need to request a new Police check from UK and Australia to submit, hoping not? Many Thanks

Thanks for the replies. We applied at end April, passport arrived at Durham office on 12th May but still only showing as passport received. So they will have had it a month next week, hopefully there will be some action then.