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Hey. Don't stress at the vetassess assement. The whole things a bit of a joke in all honesty. Had two gas engineers doing their vetassess assessment when i did mine and they didnt even do plumbing!! (Good luck to them in oz!) They talk you through a practical which is the same assesment you do in your first week of college. Bathroom hot cold to a combi jig. And a fabricated stack in push fit. You cant fail. Literally cant. Then its a open book theory on australian plumbing questions. Again. Theres a list of questions. The teacher talks through the answers. You cant fail. Whole things a joke. Litrally for visa purposes. You will need to undertake tafe rpl in plumbing within the first 3 years of arriving. get yourself a provisional trade certificate card from service nsw when you arrive with your vetassess form of completion and a white card (half days course) and your good to go applying for jobs as a tradesmen. Not a helper. Or journeyman or apprentice. A tradesman. Good luck. Any questions just message me. Craig

Thanks. From what i hear from people it could be as little as $2000 or under. So based on flights and accomodation being around 2000 it would cost me a fair bit less. Also getting a holiday out of it

I know there are dodgy places but surely there are also good ones?

I havent heard any horror stories! Some recommendations would be great. Just a worrying concept going abroad for dental work. Cant be any worse than my uk dental treatment.

So been in australia for about 18 months now. Had my first checkup at dentist since ive been here. Been very busy. Came out worried as have advised a treatment plan of $7800. I had a mini heart attack when they said. Problem is i cant afford this!! Ill need to get a loan to repay or take a plan out. My question is. I have been talking around at work and someone suggested bali or somewhere else in asia to get my teeth done at a fraction of the cost. I basically need two old fillings removed and most a tooth with a tooth restoration to two 4 teeth. Cracks across teeth from overbite. I would consider this but sounds a little dodgy. Any advice would be great!! Thanks

Boating sounds fun. To list just a few. Glenrock is good. Caves beach is fun to wonder around. Spears point park. New lambton park is also good. Trip down to nelson bay is nice. And tons of other things too many to list. Good to have friends already here to show you around. Where in the uk are you from?

Yeah very very laid back. You need to put the hours in also. Show that your worth keeping. Industry is up and down a lot. I know a lot of plumbers who have lost their jobs in the last 6 months. Lots of building work happening around town at the moment. Lots of apartments. Try central coast as well. Only an hours drive. Gotta think big now in oz. An hours commute is not out of the norm. If you want any good ideas where to take the family let me know. Some crackers you wont find out about unless someone tells you.

Hey kevin welcome to newcastle! Can be real hard getting your foot in the door over here. Luckily i managed to secure employment real quick when arriving (plumber). Get yourself out there and knock on their doors. Ring them up. They take a bit of pushing to get a few days work and go from there. Recruitment agencys are always a good place to check. Trojan is a good recruitment agent. See a lot of guys on site through them. Dont give up. Newcastle is a great place to raise a family. I myself have two young children. Closer to christmas people are more likely to employ.

Hi. Been there got the t shirt. Unfortunately all us plumbers have to pay vetassess fees. 2 day practical/theory is the easiest thing going. You physically cant fail. Its literally impossible. The examiner comes from australia to do this and he just wants his photo's they dont care how its done. And theory they just talk through the answers in the exam. Then when you get your paperwork it means nothing in australia so totally worth it right?? Just a money making scheme and another hoop to jump through to get to australia. Good luck. Unfortunately its very expensive and you need to be very determinded. P.s book your ielts exams and medicals asap if your doing vetasess. Speeds up the process.

Just a heads up also. It doesnt matter if you have relatives in Australia. They cannot sponsor you to move to australia. You can be sponsored providing your job is on the skills list and the occupation is in demand.

No disrespect but it sounds as if you are not going to take sound advice from anyone and have your mind made up already. Its a bad decision and like i said i work as a plumber in australia and i can tell you now you will not secure a placement as a plumber here through a 457. And no permanent visa upon completion of the course. Forget plumbing and if you really have your heart set do something that is easier to get a visa for. Also if you haven't visied australia before i would suggest you do this before you up and move as the culture is very different in many aspects. Not just bbqs and sunny days.

Hello. Not sure where your getting the information from about study. To move to australia as a plumber you need a minimum level 2 nvq with 5 years post study experience. Your husbamd would need these to obtain a 457 sponsorship. Which i have to inform you wouldnt happen for plumbing. I work as a plumber in australia and i can assure you there is most definitely an oversupply and companies hire and fire people all the time when job open and close. If your husband was to go on a study visa the costs would be astronomical. You wouldnt be able to join in and the chances of sponsorship on a 457 arter thr study would be close to nil which keans he would need to leave the country. Your best option is to retrain in the uk. Check skills shortage list and forums. Then after the relevant experience and time served look for a 457. Sorry this is not what you want to hear but its the truth

Hey everyone. Can anyone recommend a decent tax accountant in newcastle nsw? Apologies in advance if ive posted wrongly. First year in oz and everyone ive spoken to seems to be very secretive about who they use. Not sure if thats the normal practice here. Thanks in advance.

I did my visa myself without an agent. It took a fair bit of research and determination. Not all visa's are straight forward and require a lot of evidence and individual pathways to be taken depending on thr job. If your asking questions about doing the 457 assesments as part of the 189 you clearly have no idea. Sorry to put it bluntly. My advice would be to thoroughly read up on the skills occupation list for the job your applying under to see if its on the 189 visa list first then follow the pathway as guided on the skills list. Furthermore if your confused by any of this i would use an agent as you could waste thousands of pounds and do the visa completely wrong jeopardising your chance of getting a visa. If in doubt do your research or contact a registered migration agent

Totally agree. Will look around for a good accountant in the newcastle area! Thanks again for all your help

Thank you all for this clarification. Time to find myself an accountant!

The fact that it says you can claim for the full cost of the asset. U0 to the value of $300?

Thanks bungo. This is off the ATO website.. If you buy tools, equipment or other assets to help earn your income, you can claim a deduction for some or all of the cost. If the tools are used for both work and private purposes you will need to apportion the amount you claim. If you have a computer that is used for private purposes for half of the time you can only deduct 50% of the cost. The type of deduction you claim depends on the cost of the asset: For items that don't form part of a set and cost $300 or less, or form part of a set that together cost $300 or less, you can claim an immediate deduction for their cost. For items that cost more than $300, or that form part of a set that together cost more than $300, you can claim a deduction for their decline in value Examples of tools, equipment or assets: calculators computers and software desks, chairs and lamps filing cabinets and bookshelves hand tools or power tools protective items, such as hard hats, safety glasses, sunscreens and sunglasses professional libraries safety equipment technical instruments Sounds confusing.

I have asked this question to many people I have met on the jobsite but different answers from everyone. My question for anyone that can answer it is.... Tax deductions for tools purchased. On the ATO website it states any tool purchased under the value of $300 can be written off 100% on tax if its used solely for the purpose of work. So am I right to assume thats 100% of the cost of the tool or 100% of the tax? Some people claim to have received the full amount for tools and some claim to have only received the tax? Where others hage said they didnt get any? I have purchased a few thousand dollars of tools this tax year so would be great to clarify this? I will be using an accountant but seems so did everyone else i spoke to with different outcomes? Help!

Hey pete. I emmigrated as a plumber to australia from the uk 9 months ago i could give you a lot of help. You honestly do not need a migration agent. Total waste of money in my opinion. We did the whole process by ourselves. And its not difficult. Theres a lot of hurdles to jump over before you even get to australia and many more when you arrive. They say to expect unemployment for 6 months from arrival just incase. Rentals are around 300-500 per week on the east coast depending on location. Each state has its own set of rules for qualification conversion. This is recognition of prior learning. Western australia are the most relaxed state where you can do the conversion in a 2 week course at TAFE. I live in NSW. My qualifications from the uk helped me obtain a (provisional) tradesperson certificate valid until 2018. I need to undergo gap training at TaFe for a period of however long it takes to cover the missing modules with a minimum of 12 months SUPERVISED employment until you can receive your tradesperson certificate. The certificate 3 in plumbing requires the time ast TAFE. To be licenced you need to undertake a certificate 4 and do licence exams. This is a further 2 and a half years at TAFE. You will require a certificate 4 to become licenced abd be self employed. Cost is around 8000k over this time period. Things needed to emigrate before arriving in australia. Not in order.. You will need 3 years minimum experience after being qualified to nvq 3. You will need to sit an Ielts exam- english language ability. The higher you get the more points awarded up to 20 points. You will need a minimun first aid certificate. Normally a 3 day first aid course thats recommended. I.e st johns ambulance. Vetasess. The qualification recognition body fot australia. You need to collect e idence of work experience. Basically a portfolio of work that covers the competencies on the Vetasess competencies paperwork. You wont know these until you sign up to vetasess. Its not an easy process but definately no agent required. If you want further information just message me Craig

I live in newcastle and i can tell you its just as humid as gold coast. Humidity is a big thing across the east coast. If you dont like the humidity maybe try adelade. Newcastle is a good place to live however. Rentals vary majorly. If yoyour looking to live within 10 minute drive to a beach expect to pay over $450 pw for a 2 bed house and $500 for a 3 bed. The further out you go the cheaper the rentals obviously. There are plenty of beaches surrounding newcastle. Hunter valley wine yards within a 30 minute drive. Central coast no more than an hour drive. Be warned with port macquarie. Very isolated and a 4 hour drive to sydney. Nice area with some nice holiday spots but with a small population your husband may struggle for work. The hunter valley has a population of over 1million. Manning valley has a population of around 50.000.. Newcastle is still growing. Your husband should find work easily here.

Just one other thing haha, I read about your expectations about weather beaches etc. Australia is not as affordable as it used to be 10 years ago. People used to be able to sell their 3 bedroom homes in the UK for 200k and but a 4-5 bed house with a pool for the same price!. Not the case now. I would say the house prices are on par with the UK if not more. The cost of living is higher with groceries costing more, higher rental cost and further to travel for places so.more fuel cost even if it does cost 75p a litre. Don't get me wrong I love Australia, been coming here the last 10years but a lot of people come over here thinking it's going to be perfect weather, beach every weekend etc. As a plumber you can expect to earn between $20 an hour to $35 an hour depending who you get work with. Lots of plumbing jobs advertised but as I have realised by applying for these jobs and speaking to these firms they want competent plumbers with Australian experience. Its a case of dropping your cv off and speaking to people in person to find the right firm to take you on as a supervised plumber. It just takes time and perseverance. If your determined and you really want i to happen it will!

Hi dimple, I may be able to help you out on your decision making! I recently moved from the UK in August with my young family of two children. I myself was a fully qualified plumber in the UK, gas, lpg and oil as well as plumbing. I was apprehensive about moving to Australia as you do hear a lot of negative stories about plumbers in Australia not getting work and that. I came over with a possitive mind set. First things first... You need to be determined and put the effort in. I live in Newcastle, I found employment with a nice firm after trying for just under 5 weeks looking for work. My advice would be don't move to Perth, trades are suffering from the fact that no one has any money to spend because most the mines are closing and people are leaving. The east coast of Australia has much more going for it. Never further than 4 hours away from anything decent. Perth is very isolated. before you work as a plumber in NSW you will need to undertake white card training (construction health and safety) you can't go on a site without it! This takes 1 day but card takes about two weeks to arrive. Secondly get yourself to services NSW to get your provisional plumbing licence! This takes 8-9 weeks to arrive. This allows you to do plumbing work in NSW under supervision of a licenced plumber. Once you have gained up to 12 months of sufficient employment you can apply for your certificate III in plumbing while attending college. All at your cost. Like I said before, you need to be determined and have good financial backing. You need to expect up to 6 months of unemployment while looking for work. I was lucky to get work so quick. It's going to cost you a lot to get established anywhere you choose to live. In my honest opinion Sydney is too expensive. You won't earn much money there to begin with. Rentals in Newcastle are around £700 - £800 a month for a 3 bed house, £900-£1000 for a four bed. If your looking for a house by the beach with a pool you can be looking around £1200 a month. You can double that in Sydney with the same wage as newcastle. Plumbers are paid to a pay scale over here, there's a minimum they have to pay as per your skill set. Newcastle is a nice area for a young family, it's expanding with loads of work, lots of redevelopment etc. I f you want to know anything else drop me a message I'll be happy to answer anything you want to know. Kind regards Craig

Hey Miriam, Well done for Steven getting the results required. Best of luck on the practical evidence for vetasess. Only a couple of weeks left for us until we leave.

Thank you everyone for your replies. By what you have told me I will just take my children's red books. Saves a bit when so much else to pay for.