Sarah457

I've been with my employer for over 12 months. My employer gives 12 months off, but not paid. So they cannot terminate my contract. With regards to my employer being annoyed, they knew when they offered me the job that I wanted to start a family, we had this discussion openly. I asked about what maternity entitlements I'd get and was told I'd be covered under statutory pay, but it now seems I'm not. So they brought me out here on false information if this is the case. I'll check out fair work to see if I can get more information there. I'm not a permanent resident and won't be able to apply for PR for over a year. I'm am aware that the baby won't get Australian citizenship for just being born here, until the parents are on PR.

I moved to Sydney on the 457 and I'm starting to think more about when and where to try and start a family. I've recently seen some things online (social chats, nothing official) which says that you are not eligible for any finances at all if you are on the 457. I'm way off being able to apply for PR and can't wait for that, not sure my body clock would still be ticking for pregnancy. Is anyone else in the same situation and have some concrete information about this or know where to find out? The information I'm seeing at the moment is... I'm not eligible for state maternity pay on the 457 visa, Medicare doesn't cover everything (scans, anesthetists, other things not covered?), private insurance with pregnancy cover is only valid once you've had it for a year before getting pregnant and costs a lot to cover pregnancy. So I'd be off work with no pay and forking out for healthcare. I also saw something about he 457 becoming invalid if you're off work for 6 months. Not sure if this is the case. Lots of questions! I'd really appreciate any information or pointing me in the right direction of info.