Robert McCann

Hi All, I am currently here in Australia with my wife and we are both on 417 WHV. We are looking at all options available to be able to stay in Australia for longer than a year (I'm 31 so unable to do the 3mnth farm work for a 2nd year WHV) I am on a 6mnth contract that expires in January. I've just spoken with a recruiter who pointed me in the direction of a company that offers 457 "on hire" sponsorship. It seems to be a solution to my current situation where by the company I work for want me to stay on and can offer me work but are unable to sponsor due to not meeting the training benchmarks. Has anyone had any experience with these types of companies? Any pitfalls or issues I should be aware of? Thanks!

She's looking to improve her pastry skills with a view to eventually opening our own place but I just don't see it working with us both on 20 hours per week.

Hi All, I've been doing some research on immi and it seems every student visa would mean my wife (who wants to move to a student visa -non doctorate/PHD level) would be restricted to 40 hours work per fortnight but so would I as her partner. Does anyone know of a pathway/process that would let me work full time while my wife studies and works the hours she can around her course? Thanks

I got my WHV 1 week before I turned 31 and am In Australia now, you can't extend your WHV to 2nd year if you are already 31 by the time you arrive, you must be 30 or under to be eligible for the 2nd year visa. Tip - if you are planning on doing the 2 years go and do the rural/regional work when you 1st get here to get it out of the way and then you know you'll be in Oz for 1 year 9mnths. That way you'll save yourself alot of stress.

Great news, I've been keeping an eye on these developments for a while. Unfortunately there's no mention of timeframes for the 457 changes (I'm here on a 417 and if these changes are implemented by current employer will sponsor me, but not with the current state of 457 requirements)

Hi, sure on a contract role you should be able to earn enough to live well. In my experience a service desk/helpdesk/desktop support role will start paying around $24/$25 per hour which after tax comes to around $850 per week on a 40 hour week. Depending on how long you want to stay in Aus for it could be a good plan to do the rural work when you first get here, at least then it is dealt with and you will be sure that you are going to be in Aus for 2 full years. You can only work for an employer for 6 months when on a 417 visa even if you have the 2nd year extension but at least you will have a greater chance of finding a company that will sponsor you in 2 years rather than just 1 year. My wife and I are planning on doing the 3 months rural work but it will mean giving up our flat and furniture and starting again where as if we had done it when we first got here we could be sure we would be settled once we had a place. If you become sponsored then yes you can continue working for the company for more than 6 months. Another thing to be aware of is when renting a place here there are not many furnished places to rent, the majority of places are unfurnished so you need to plan to furnish your flat/house with most items - washing machine, fridge, beds etc. You can get things cheaply off ebay and gumtree but I wasn't expecting it when I came here.

{duplicate post}

Hi Douglas, I've just registered here to reply to this. You seem to be in a similar position to myself before I came to Australia. I have worked in IT for over 10 years in the UK, albeit at L2 service desk support and for the last 5 years within service desk management. Before I came to Australia I saw online that there were lots of jobs that I could apply for based on my experience which is true there is plently of IT work here and that was a large factor in me moving here. I have found it difficult to seek permanent employment due to being on a 417. What I would advise if that if you do arrive in Aus and start applying for jobs focus on applying for contract/temp roles, employers aren't that interested in taking someone on who can only work for them for 6 mnths into a perm position. I have had so many kickbacks from employers who have said "yeah, we are really interested but your visa is an issue" Focus on getting a 3 - 6 mnth contract role and work like hell, hopefully you'll land in a position where they would then like to take you on via sponsorship and as the previous person said, 12 mnths is a good timeframe to find a suitable employer and to get sponsored. At your age as also advised you can go and do the rural work and get a 2nd year extn. Some advice I got too late was to do the 88 days of work when you 1st get here, you then will have 1 year and 9 mnths to find a sponsor. I know all of this seems pretty obvious but I spent the 1st mnth applying for jobs I was sure I would get only to be kicked back due to my 417 visa, as soon as I focused on contract/temp roles I got a job in 7-10 days. But you can work for any 1 employer for a max of 6 mnths. Hope this is useful! Thanks