acatack

Hi all. We've been in Oz for a couple of months now, and a previous driving ban from the UK is about to expire (9th of September). Would anyone have any advice about what I need to do to get a new license? Ive got a certificate from the DVLA which states my ban expires on the 9th. Will that be enough? Do I need to do it in advance? I'm trying to ring Vic roads to find out but am struggling to do it on the sly without all my work colleagues hearing about my indescretions.

No, he didnt do brilliantly at his GCSE's so wasnt accepted to do A levels. Hes been doing the first half of pre GCSE Maths and a level 1 IT course in College in the UK. Doing the second half of year 11 and then year 12 sounds like a good route for him as he has the option to go onto the TAFE courses then, as well as getting involved in the VET or VCAL part in school.

Thanks all. There seem to be a few dodgy TAFE colleges which we're not happy with putting him in. At this stage I would say going through the second half of year 11 and then year 12 is his best option given the comments youve all made and the discussions Ive had with schools etc.

Maribyrnong college will accept him for year 11 and year 12 without being classed as international, but thats more of a school anyway. To a certain extent we're happy paying the fees if only the course were open and available to his enrollment.

Hi all. I'm in need of some help. We've been in Melbourne for around three weeks, we've bought a car, secured a long term house rental and enrolled our 10 year old in a school. My wife is desperately trying to find a job, but the thing which the poms in oz forum predicted has come true.....we're struggling a bit with finding something education wise for our 17 year old. We've managed to figure out we can enroll him into a college to redo the second half of year 11 and then go straight on to year 12, but we're exploring other education options. He wants to do an IT course, possibly certificate 3 or 4, but this is where our problem comes in. Is he classed as an international student? We're happy to pay the fees, within reason, but so many courses are not open to international students. Does anyone have experience similar to this? We're here on a 457 visa so from a victorian school point of view he's not an international student.

We've been here for about two weeks now. The first 5 days were in St Kilda (through airbnb), then we moved across to Williamstown to be closer to my work (again through Airbnb). The place in Williamstown wasnt up to much but airbnb sorted us a full refund and we found another place in Williamstown instead. Williamstown is nice, especially south of Ferguson street. Very quiet though. Small areas around Newport and Altona are okay too. We're looking at long term in Maribyrnong on the edgewater estate which is affordable, right by the river and not far from Highpoint shopping centre or the city centre. It all depends what you want though.

Thanks all. There's plenty of rental places in all of the places mentioned for around $700 a week, but some are better than others due to the less expensive areas. I would still like to stick to Williamstown if possible but it doesnt sound like there's anything obvious to put us off the others. What are the primary schools like near yarraville, spotswood and footscray? How does Newport compare? I'll be working in North Laverton so anywhere within around 30 minutes by bike is a possibility.

Hi All. Could anyone give any advice on suburbs west of the CBD? We'll be arriving in Melbourne on the 2nd of June and will be staying in Williamstown for the first couple of months while our furniture arrives. Long term we want to live in Williamstown because of the locality to the beach and harbour, but wondered if there were equally good areas around the same distance from the CBD but which offer more for the money. Our budget is around $700 a week but could do with not going to our max if possible. We need a 4 bedroom place with good primary schools nearby and around 15 to 20 minutes from the CBD. We've been looking at Newport, Footscray, Yarraville and Spotswood and they all seem affordable. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Congratulations!!!

We've already budgeted for the costs as it seems to cost between $6,000 and $12,000, so that shouldn't be an issue (especially if he gets a job to help out. I'll get in contact with a few schools and colleges in the area to find out what he will need to do and provide to be able to register. It looks as though the certificates go from low entry level up to more degree level, so he can work his way through.

Congratulations. Sounds like they may be catching up on their back log hopefully.

The 42 days included sponsorship and nomination too. We were told 4-6 weeks initially, but then after pushing for clarification our agent said more like 6-8 weeks.

Hopefully be too much longer now for you. We'll be leaving just before summer over here and arriving closer to winter over there but still can't wait.

Low risk country (UK). We're heading to Melbourne. Just need to sort out notice period with current employers and organise flight booking with new employers. It's all go now. It looks like the DIBP are sticking to the 40 day mark, which has been pretty frustrating. Hang in there everyone.

Visa approval came through today! Yeeeeeeaaaaaah. 42 days after application lodged.

My Visa application and nomination were submitted on the 25th of February. The DIBP came back and asked for more information regarding my son's permission to be included on the visa from his mum (form 1229) on the 14th of April. It was submitted the same day and we've been waiting for the last couple of weeks. I spoke to my migration agent and they said they are not given a name of anyone that they can speak to, and that they are only informed of the outcome of any reviews (for information or approval/rejection). I'm not sure if they were dodging the question more though.

Thanks Quoll. Sounds like TAFE will be a good option. He loves Geology so anything in that field would be spot on, but he'll find something useful that he'll enjoy I'm sure. Are there any specific qualifications needed to get onto a TAFE course?

Thanks all. Sounds sensible to wait to enrol in that case. The only issue will be employment start times. I have a job on a 457 visa but my wife will need to get one fairly quickly so we'd struggle with childcare with us both working. We wouldn't want to leave him with a child minder either so soon after moving to Aus. It sounds like I was wrong assuming it would be easier for my 17 year old. He didn't do very well in his GCSEs so will have finished his Maths resit and a year long IT course (level 1 I think) by the time we go. I've read that it would make sense for him to go into yr 11 and 12 and he was happy with that.

Hey everyone. We're due out in Melbourne around the end of May, but will need to go into furnished holiday accomodation while the furniture arrives and while we sort out a long term rental property. The issue is that I have a 10 year old son who will need to be back in school a couple of weeks after we arrive. We're struggling to find a holiday rental where we want to be longer term (Williamstown) and wondered whether we can register him in a school outside of the catchment area so that we don't have to move him after we move to our longer term home in Williamstown? We also have a 17 year old with a similar problem but assume it will be simpler...