Ausvisitor

Its not that bonkers, the process costs a considerable amount and uses a lot of bureaucratic time. So no point just checking everyone who asks them to. Instead much easier to make it a condition that you must be able to work (i.e. holding a valid work visa)

2024 is a long way away, it won't be Jan 2024, it might be July 1st 2024 though (start of the AUS financial and immigration year), equally they could delay it to the end of the year or later. Of course it may never happen, the original plan for the change in UK/AUS movement was agreed between the UK Boris team and ScoMo's coalition. Boris is now gone and ScoMo lost to Labours Albanese - so the plan might get dropped yet!

Does this mean they need 4 years? 3 for TRA and one year experience after that? Or just 3 years?

The way I read the 408 rules, once you stop working you have to leave the country, you can't switch to another visa (except some asylum type visas) without leaving Australia first.

I've got access to the one I'm using

Steal away!

The problem with comparing wait times is you are thinking about the process wrong You are thinking about it as a queue with rules, if someone enters 10 days before you and it takes then 270 days it should be your turn on day 280. But it isn't like that at all The queue is more like a 1990s nightclub queue, you stand and wait patiently, all the time the bouncers are walking up and down and picking out the "better looking" patrons and getting them to jump the queue Now immigration doesn't care if you look like Beyonce or Katie Hopkins, it isn't beauty they are seeking but they are looking for a certain profile of skills/experience/language etc and if your "face" fits you will get a shorter queue time And of course just like a nightclub queue, there comes a point where regardless of how long you've been waiting you realise you might never get to the front and get in

Are you still happy in SA or are you still thinking about QLD as you are now over 2 years so you could move as you're over your 2 year commitment to SA?

Unless I'm missing something you express your interest before applying for the visa. Have you sent any money to the Australian government yet (apart from skills assessment) because if not then you haven't applied yet, just filled out forms for your agent. I may have read your post incorrectly though, so very possible I'm wrong

Not intended to dishearten, but if you haven't yet applied for a visa you still have at least 12 months of a wait ahead of you, and possibly longer. The easy part is getting to the application, getting pulled out of the queue is more difficult and submitting all the docs and getting them approved before their validity expires (meds and police certs only valid for a year, skills assessment and language certs for 2 years) is where the real waiting kicks in

I didn't say it wasn't nice, in the same way that Chester is lovely, it isn't London. When the world thinks of Australia only six things actually come to mind - Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, Koalas, Kangaroos and killer spiders. That's Sydney not Melbourne... There are not many truly global cities, London New York Paris Rome Tokyo Sydney All of these are recognisable to anyone in the world, show a picture of Melbourne to people and many Aussies wouldn't know where it was, show Buck Palace, Eiffel Tower or Opera House and even a cave dwelling hermit knows where it is from - that's the mark of a Global City

There are only two of us and we've been looking at property in Sydney around Newtown area. Anything with 2 bedrooms and isn't a hovel is $900k+. If you want actual outdoor space rather than a balcony add another $400k minimum. To be looking at a proper house type thing you'd have to go more than an hour on the train away from the CBD. Unless your job has parking, you won't be driving as car parking in the CBD is $50 per day and probably $15 in tolls and a bit more in petrol. Ultimately if you have any choice in the matter try to be outside Sydney. Out family is two people over here (and a student overseas - who doesn't cost anything due to scholarships) one is a stay at home with one working. The worker earns nearly 3 times what you are suggesting and we have a seven figure house deposit, we still can't find something even remotely equivalent to our UK home. Sydney is expensive - massively. I wouldn't live anywhere else though! There's only one true global city in Australia and it isn't Melbourne!

Right now you could apply to both, you only need to make the call on which to junk when they ask for some money...

So skills wise I'd agree, but nomination and sponsorship can be problematic for tradies... There are often news reports (including one about a Scottish air con guy who had been here over a decade) about tradies who come over on sponsored visas whose company liquidate (to avoid warranty claims) and they have to start again with a new employer. The problem here is you need to do 3 years with an employer, so each time you restart (for whatever reason) the 3 year clock restarts...

I'd agree that it is often the case that people who have an in demand skill and are good at their job and liked can usually transition to a permanent visa. The thing is not everyone is good, not everyone is liked and after three years maybe your role is no longer on the on-demand skills-list Always best to go into these things knowing what might happen (or not) and then it's a choice from a position of knowledge rather than a surprise due to an unknown