ssiri

Your puppy will be fine, COVID-19 is different to Canine Coronavirus and Feline Coronavirus. At this stage unless the breeder has COVID-19 then please don’t be concerned. Your puppy will have had its first vaccine before leaving if it’s 8 week old. I don’t know about your vet but the AVA have told all vets they can only do emergency clinics which doesn’t include vaccinations etc, so for now please don’t worry about any further vaccines. If you are wanting to walk your pup and can’t wait until the restrictions are lifted you may find a vet who will vaccinate or pm me and I will see if I can put you in touch with someone. These are strange times for all of us right now.

Fingers firmly crossed. We are due to get our lab pup in four weeks. Hope he is healthy and safe when he comes to us, and remains that way. ie: we’ve been safe so far, and expect to remain that way, but trips to vets etc. may possibly mean he contracts it and would be too young to survive [emoji53]

You’ll enjoy the Brissy weather after north Scotland I am sure, humid or not!

Good luck and best wishes for the move. In Aus it depends where about you go, maybe. I found that joining various groups, social/gym etc. helps with reference to being less isolated.

However I understand, about feeling isolated and what that can do to a person. The important thing is that you are coming to this with a well rounded assessment of what to expect and that’s great. It helps.

Thank you MaggieMay. I read on DIBP site that both certificates are valid for 12 months. 
Do you think it is better to provide police & medical certs until CO asks? Or provide after 3 month of lodgement as AsimMalik suggested above?
 

That's right sirri you should expect to medals table to go up and down.
I like to see the underdogs do well. In fact the commonwealth games are so friendly I don't care who wins (as long as they don't cheat).

come on G.B ?????....

Come on GB! [emoji636]

Looking forward to it all.

As others have said, there are nasty/racist people everywhere and some of us do have the misfortune of having to encounter them. Thankfully most people aren’t like that though.

That being said, integration and assimilation into the new country is fine. Australia not to long ago celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year - and in Sydney this was done in the mainstream - so it could be said that aspects of Chinese culture have been assimilated into Aussie culture also ( not just the other way round).

Having said that as an immigrant here myself from the UK (since last January), it takes time to get into the swing of things.

You will find things are different from what you are used to (if for me coming from the UK, similarly for you coming from China). You will miss home comforts initially, but what I found is - put yourself out there. Meet Australians from all backgrounds (not just those of Chinese ancestry), don’t wait for people to approach you - approach them. Join clubs and societies etc, that aren’t only based on your heritage.

When I first arrived I missed England terribly for about six-eight months. I joined a gym and it took me about three-four months to be accepted and join in the conversations with people etc and now we all get on and are friends.

The people who go to my gym are mixed - Australian, English, Chinese and Indian backgrounds. Some of them are new immigrants here too.

It’s daunting at first, and it may take time for the ice to melt beyond superficial greetings and general helpfulness- but stick at it and persevere and it will pay dividends.

I don’t think I will ever be 100% Aussie - my home country is Britain, but I have embraced Australia, and what it has to offer and contribute to its society and economy and will continue to do so.

I like the banter with Poms, and Aussies it’s a good conversation starter and breaks the ice - and I will always be me. If I’m not Aussie enough for some that’s to bad, but I will not take on a different persona either. I won’t compare what is different in the UK and Aus to the umpteenth detail because there is no point (they are different cultures), but I will note them. I won’t say one is superior over the other either, just different. I’ll embrace the difference and get on with it - it’s the best way to learn and integrate and get on with things, in general, I’ve found.

Please understand that my reply is not designed to be rude, or nasty. You asked a question and ai want to give you an honest answer.
First thing is that Australia is currently a very different place than the country I knew back in the 80s. It is currently a very divided society and one that looks readily for scapegoats. It is not a comfortable place to be different. Hanson is a symbol of what is wrong. The government is very pro-China, which while the focus is on a different group is fine. But nothing lasts, and Hanson is a symptom of a wider discomfort in Australia and no ethnic or religious group is immune.
Having a family member who lives with Chinese-born person, I would say the real question is will you adapt to life in Australia?
The reason I ask this is based on personal observation rather than my own feelings. You see, this person told me, following a challenge in the relationship, that they hadn't been lying, just not reveling the truth, and that was their right, and culturally acceptable unless a person lies to a blood-relative.
Now, to an Australian that is is a problem. While we may choose to lie, it is with the clear understanding of the fact that it is not right. But it is also random and situation-based and not because one person is less worthy of the truth than another. This person had to learn the hard way why some Chinese people (with his attitude) find it hard to adapt.  I don't wish to suggest that all Chinese people are dishonest, just to use that as an example of different values.
I have lived in five different countries, one in Africa, three in Europe and the USA and often the values of the locals conflicted with my own. I had to learn quickly that I needed to respect the local ways, even where they conflicted with my own. That did not mean I accepted them, I just understood that I was living in their country and needed to respect their culture and rights. And, I learned that, where I behaved in a way they found unacceptable, that I needed to live with criticism and not to be too senstive.
The only other point I would make is for you to be aware that your government and businesses are not popular with many Australians due to the recent purchases of farms, resources and homes. So in some areas you may be seen as part of the reason young Australians cannot afford their own homes. Actually there are many reasons and most have to do with government decisions, but foreign investment is the easiest to focus on.
I will give you the same advice I would give any potential migrant, think carefully about your decsion. Visit Australia for an extended holiday and mix with the locals, avoid areas where Chinese people live and work and areas with high migrant populations. We are very direct, even blunt people. We do not like people that come here just for what they can get from our country. If you are a giving person, one who is willing to call this country home, particpate in the community, mix with us, live among us, apart from the odd unhappy encounter, you will be welcomed. But if you are coming here only for what you can get then please think again.
i wish you well with your decision making and if you do choose to make Australia home then I hope you will be very happy here.

 
I fail to see how the locals' spending habit would affect their attitude towards immigrants. Or why that would be any of your concern.

 
Nah, a spade is a bloody spade!

If they are for reading only, then you can just buy them at the chemist.   
There is no advantage in buying expensive reading glasses at the optician, except that the frames will be stronger.  The ones you get at the chemist work just as well and won't do your eyes any harm at all.   If you buy the more expensive ones (say, $15 to $20 instead of the $5 ones) they will last longer and have better quality glass, that's all.
This is the advice my husband got from his eye surgeon after cataract surgery.  He no longer needed distance glasses, he just needed reading glasses.

Here is an article explaining how the system works. 
http://www.mydr.com.au/first-aid-self-care/australian-health-system-how-it-works
What I'm trying to explain is that the doctors, pathology labs, etc, charge for each individual service.  If a foreigner walks in off the street, he will have to pay that fee.  If you walk in, you hand over your Medicare card instead, so the practice can claim your rebate on your behalf.  So far, you have been visiting doctors and labs who bulk-bill, therefore you're not seeing the invoice, or having to pay anything - the surgery claims your rebate.
So you're right, at the moment you're not having to hand over money to the doctor - but one day, you might attend a specialist who doesn't bulk bill, and then you'll have to pay the difference.
It may sound like a fine distinction but if people understand how the system works, then it's less confusing.  It's not a case of "some things are free and some things are not".  It's the case that some doctors/labs/specialists charge more than the government-approved fee, and some do not. 

My last pair of variable focus glasses cost £400. Not in a hurry to go back thanks.

My pairs are for reading only and I got both for under £250 (yes you saw that right) at spec savers, too! I haven’t had to change the prescription since, so so far, so good.

spot on! Should all be "mechanised" for want of a better word but some surgeries are behind the times. The doc charges whoppetty whop, the gov't pays him whippety whip, you dab your card at whoppetty whop and you automatically get credited with the difference between the two into your bank account.
It all started as a rebellion by GP's who said that whippety whip wasn't enough for a consultation so they upped their fees thinking the Gov't would meet their demands for whoppety wop..........they didn't so that is now "The Gap" which you get refunded.
GP's who still charge whippety whip (bulk bill) are often viewed with suspicion as just being "client gatherers" whose experience/skill/knowledge wouldn't afford them the client base if they charged more. Not necessarily the case as they may consist of a young knowledgeable (new generation) empathetic practitioner base averse to the establishment. That said, they could also consist of a practice who, albeit having Australian recognition, be comprised of migrant GP's with "less than ideal" qualifications or who have cultural differences. How many times have I heard, here and in the UK  "that Indian Doctor was really abrupt"? Sometimes they have to bulk bill to attract clients, whereas without bulk billing, they'd struggle.

That’s because you are going to a bulk bill GP. Some GP’s only charge the schedule Medicare fee I think it’s $37.05 at the top of my head as Medicare give you $37.05 to see a GP then the Dr usually gets you to sign a form to say you allow them to claim on your behalf so that the $37.05 is paid directly to them. Some GP’s don’t even bother about you signing the form and it sounds like yours is one of those, you just walk in and walk out.
Another GP clinic down the road may charge a fee of $78, if this is the case you can either pay them in full at the time of consult and then submit a claim to Medicare, or most GP practices are now linked up to Medicare and can claim for you. So you would still pay the $78 but you would have $37.05 sent back to your bank account by Medicare usually within 48 hours, you would then be $40.95 out of pocket

Yes, I take a form, to the pathology lab from my GP but I don’t sign it. Nor do I sign anything after I’m done with my GP - nothing. My point is I don’t pay anything up front at the moment, as I wouldn’t in the UK.

There may be an arrangement between the lab, my GPS surgery and the Government but Its not coming out of my take home pay. Taxes yes, (like in the UK), but not take home pay. Apart from for a prescription of antacids, I’ve not had to pay for anything so far. I can’t make it any clearer than that.,

I quite agree that the NHS needs to evolve. I'm not sure I like the way the Tories are evolving it. I would prefer it to move towards the Australian system where the wealthy pay rather than just become a failing system.

Are you absolutely sure?  Isn't there a form that you sign when the consultation is finished?   When a test is ordered, doesn't your GP ask you to sign a form which you take with you to the lab?  Read it next time.

Are you absolutely sure?  Isn't there a form that you sign when the consultation is finished?   When a test is ordered, doesn't your GP ask you to sign a form which you take with you to the lab?  Read it next time.

No, I don't mean paid from taxes. Every time you attend the doctor, you are charged a fee.   When I first arrived in Australia, the norm (in Sydney at least) was that you paid that fee, then you took the invoice to Medicare and claimed it back.  Often, the doctor charged more than the fee approved by Medicare, so you didn't get the whole lot back.
Nowadays, many doctors (and pathology labs) bulk bill. What that means is that instead of you having to pay and claim it back, you sign a form authorising them to claim the fee directly from Medicare on your behalf.  If they're charging more than Medicare approves, you pay them the extra - if not, there's nothing to pay.
So yes, Medicare is funded by taxes but you are actually paying and claiming back each time.

However, previously you have conceded that your experience, in a lower-populated area where doctors are less under pressure, is different to the experience in large cities in the UK.

That just isn't our experience at all, my wife has an issue that is in the family if you like and she is sent for regular scans and also various other tests. My GP has bought me in for regular health checks. It took a year almost to the day for my GP to finally send me for a scan which led to me finally being treated for a double herniated disc. We can only talk about our own experiences and obviously those living in one country are going to say it's better in that country whereas there doesn't seem to be anything to back it up other than meaningless anecdotes. If you prefer to think a certain aspect is better that's fine but I can tell you judging by recent experience no-ne will convince me there is a better system somewhere else.