Peachy

Hi, to be blunt about it, as mentioned above you need to do all the required core subjects (details are available online - I think everyone has to study constitutional law at an Australian university ) and then do your 2 year training contract. Once you have the academics right and the training and you are ready to be admitted / have been admitted in Australia you should get a positive skills assessment. Before this point you will get a letter saying you need to study x y z. You can't apply for your visa until everything is done. It is a really tough route to migration unfortunately. If you are at the beginning of this process and haven't commenced your degree you are looking at 5 years before applying. Really sorry this isn't a more positive response. You could always consider a student visa.

Ps would endorse York and surrounds as a beautiful part of the country and lots of history. Would be a lovely part of the UK to settle in.

Apparently I can use my NT card in Australia but I think that the number of available locations is rather lacking. I am not sure you could do it the other way round anymore and buy Australian for use in UK.

I would have a look at the websites. I am a life member for both -a little bit of a waste now we are in Australia :-( . Would check locations of some of the larger properties - they tend to cluster and some areas are a bit thin on the ground. Overall I think NT offers better value for money as entrance fees are more. NT is also a bit more flexible with properties - beautiful gardens and houses so great on a rainy day too. Whichever you choose you will have some lovely days out - probably one of the things my family and I will miss the most (after friends and family of course!)

That seems pricey. Ours was £3,700 for a FULL container with Doree Bonner but then we were going Oxford to Brisbane.

If you type into google council of legal education Victoria skills assessment you get taken to the correct info on the top link. Sorry can't post link from phone. All the info should be on the website. I have also found the advisors in QLD in similar organization very helpful for clarifying anything tricky. I anticipate that you would have similar experience in Victoria.

Qualified in UK 15 years ago. I haven't done my conversion yet. Have had too much going on and working full time but hopefully will start in the new year. Also a bit expensive - want to make sure that I will definitely be staying before I commit $$$$. The thought of paying to study company law is not something that excites me!

Hi I have to study an additional 4 courses in Australia plus ethics. Am looking at a year of additional study, and isn't cheap! Be warned, if you are planning on skilled migration it is my understanding that you aren't 'skilled' until you have completed the additional requirements and you are ready to or have been admitted here. Appreciate you may have other visa plans and may not apply to you. Have also heard on the grapevine that can be tricky to get jobs here as an NQ so may be worth getting a few years under your belt before moving. Good luck with your training contract. Law is a great career :-)

I explained our situation as part of my covering letter (and called first to make contact ). I gave clear indication of our anticipated arrival date. I think if you have specialist skills that set you apart from other candidates your current location shouldn't put off a potential employer too much.

Huge congratulations. Have followed your posts with interest. I am sure you will have an amazing adventure ahead of you x

Sorry see you have already done that with good result!

My firm in the UK won't provide written references either-standard practice. What I did was ask management if my boss could provide reference in her personal capacity, so not representing the firm's views. This may be worth a try if you had a good relationship with one individual.

Quick shipping review. Had 20ft container. Shipped with Doree Bonner. £3700 to Brisbane. Collected 14 May. Packed brilliantly. Ship arrived on 30 June and released from customs less than week later - quicker than we anticipated. Delivered by Grace yesterday. Only 1 thing broken - a Christmas decoration in the box opened by customs. Best of all the clothes and bedding smelt of fresh laundry - I was really surprised that it wasn't musty. Would definitely recommend Doree Bonner - v good service. So pleased that we now have our stuff. So much for the outdoor lifestyle - after 7 weeks without TV the kids are now binge watching! !

Slightly less gushing and more advice : Coles in Ferny Grove - you can do your weekly shop there. Other close shopping centres nearby. Transport - train very good and you can always get a seat as end of line. Schools - Ferny Grove High has better reputation than Ferny Hills My kids go to St Andrews and absolutely love it. Cinema about 15 mins drive Samford - lovely rural town 10 mins Mount Glorious and the national park 30 -40 mins - amazing rainforest Cycle tracks and walking routes v close Market and carboot every Sunday in station car park. Fab clean parks with skate area / basketball Upper Kedron has lots of families. Really nice area but that bit further to the station and you need to get there early if you want a parking space

Love Ferny Grove. We live near the station and it is fab. Great parks, great schools, friendly people. We are already thinking about buying here or Upper Kedron when our tenancy expires. 30 mins to CBD and 10 mins into the mountains. A fantastic family friendly place to live. Can you tell we like it here ;-)

Certain airlines also give you a larger hold allowance if you are migrating and have an unstamped visa.

Ps Private doesn't mean massive fees - I think we pay $2000 per child per YEAR for Catholic. depends on the school you choose. I would never have considered sending kids to private in the UK

I found it v useful to join Facebook groups for mums in Brisbane before I arrived so that I could canvas opinion on schools. I then narrowed our search area and choose 2 schools - 1 private 1 state and contacted them both. In the end went for Catholic private as we are a Catholic family and school is fantastic. Secured place from UK which was great because I could show the kids on Google street view exactly where they were going. Choice of school influenced rental location. Be warned the uniforms are pricey whether state or private and everyone has to buy their own books etc. Spent about $1000 for 2 kids and bought the minimum. Some things you can get from Target but the shirts are school specific. Kids have settled in fantastically well and think it is netter than their school in UK which is huge relief. Only 20 kids to a class. Good luck.

We bought a £19.99 dvd player 4 years ago. Still working fantastically and will soon be arriving in Australia in our container :-)

Re house - we submitted an application online via form1. Most agents do require you to view but we were lucky that the house we were after was on with a small agent. On Form 1 you can specify that you are overseas and accept unseen. We uploaded heaps of supporting docs - mortgage statements from our house here, docs confirming job offer. Also wrote in last "any other info" section about us, our children and how as we were now landlords in UK we would be looking after property. We have 3 cats and these were approved as well! Did the trick and paid 2 weeks in advance. Was a little worried that there was something wrong with it as we were approved really quickly but all fine. Re Traffic - live in Ferny Grove but have had to go south of the river quite a bit to pick up stuff. Other points - can't believe how loud the wildlife is!! It is like living in a safari park and woken up every day to the sound of birds shouting. Amazing!

Good luck with your move. From your posts I think you will love it here.

Hi everyone, Thought I would post a quick arrival report. Probably a bit premature as we haven't been here very long :-) Pros 1. Rented house from UK with only internet pics as a guide - turns out it is perfect :-) Actually bigger than pics suggest which is great although a bit echo-ey at the moment without any furniture. 2. Cost of living - have discovered the malls - everything is so much cheaper than I envisaged from some of the posts on here. Kmart and Target fab for the basics. Whilst not top quality is great for setting up house. Comparable with discount stores in the UK. Food also fine cost wise if you buy wisely although bakeries and similar are quite pricey 3. Transport - train system is excellent. Reasonably priced, very efficient and clean 4. Parks - loads of open parkland and kids play parks - beautifully maintained with water points and clean toilets! 5. Medicare and TFN - very quick and easy - medicare took 10 mins, TFN took 2 mins online. 6. Gumtree - great for good quality second hand white goods. Got great deal on fridge. 7. People - so far everyone has been amazingly friendly. From the man who jumped out of his car to help us getting our stuff up the drive, to people on the train. People have been very willing to offer information and taken their time to give tips to newbies. Cons 1. So far having difficulties with finding a reasonably priced car. Does seems a little more expensive than the UK but I am (reliably ;-) ) informed by all the salesmen that cars last longer here!! Think that I will need to work on my negotiation this week. 2. Centrelink for child payments - spent 2 + hours signing up - lost the will to live.... 3. Traffic - pretty much like the UK - standstill within the city at rush hour - but see above re trains. 4. Weather - so far we have had drizzle and more drizzle. Have had to buy $5 blankets from Target as actually a little chilly. So much for the Sunshine state ;-) All good so far. Already feels like it could be home.

Put in as much detail as possible. I followed the info from the uniform principles (or the doc with all the subjects set out)and evidenced each point - takes ages. Definitely err on the side of more info. If you are asking for exemption as a specialist practitioner obtain a reference from your current employer. I couldn't supply this as I couldn't tell my manager that I was applying. I was informed that this was why I didn't get the exemption, but I can now reapply now I have left work.

Thought I would post with some tips and our positive experience on the job front. In no way supposed to be a boast post - just sharing! We fly to Brisbane on Tuesday. We have both secured jobs from UK. OH is a social worker. Applied for 5 jobs online and no interest so emailed one of the managers for feedback on CV and application. Adjusted CV accordingly and completely reworked covering letter. Next application phoned potential employer first to make personal connection. Submitted revised application. Interview offered. Worked backside off for 2 full days preparing to gain good understanding of Australian system. Had spent last few months reading relevant text books. Interview followed by job offer. I had same experience. Spent hours and hours researching legal sector and relevant laws. Applied for job with very directed covering letter. Interview from first job application and got offered position. We have been extremely lucky but what seems to have worked for us is making personal connection - just by phoning before submitting application and then making sure we took the time to know the Australian system. I even had some textbooks shipped from Australia to UK to help with prep!! I know that loads off you have already had this sort of success but I was really anxious about job prospects so wanted to let people know it is possible :-) Hope someone finds this useful xx

Children salt is very strange - like sprinkling the packet of flavouring from supa noodles over your food.