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Hi all, Does anyone know what tier stamp duty I fall under if I buy a property for my parents to stay in? We've already got our residence. They're both in Queensland. Thanks

Happy New Year All! My wife and I have been going through the visa process for 14 months now and only just about to lodge our EOI. we were looking at Brisbane but have lost a little hope as there seems no movement at all , every now and then we’d get a glimmer of hope and then be left disappointed. My wife is a registered nurse in the UK working in aged care , we’ve decided that our best chance is to go for the 190 for nsw we currently have 65 points. im wondering if anyone else is in a Similar situation and had any success and how long it took after lodging the EOI ? TIA

Hi again guys , just following on from my last post , I know Queensland is not currently open to offshore applications this being the case is sponsorship a no go also ? as previously mentioned we’re now in a position to submit our EOI but wanting BRISBANE Queensland ! Just trying to explore all possible Avenues to get out!! my wife is a registered band 5 nurse in the UK and has been working in ages care for the last 10 years

Hi guys, looking for some advice. My partner (soon to be wife, 25 years old), son (currently 4 weeks old) and myself (27 years old) are looking to emigrate to Cairns in the next 2-3 years. My partner is an adult staff nurse with 3 years experience and 2 years experience in the emergency department. I am a newly qualified Paramedic with 5 years ambulance experience. I'm aware that nursing is currently on the skills list, but does anybody have some advice with the best way to go about enquiring for a visa/emigrating. I have family in Cairns, who are my aunty and cousins so not immediate. Although my aunty is director of nursing at Cairns hospital, would she be in a position to sponsor us to move over? Any information/guidance would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks in advance. Chris

Hi, does anyone know if after you arrive at your destination ie Brisbane airport you then undergo quarantine for14 days ..after this time are you free to catch an interstate domestic flight within Queensland without undergoing quarantine again??

Any idea what spider this is?

Continuing from the Tasmania photo thread I thought we could have one in Queensland. I know a few members are great with their camera and take excellent photos so I'm hoping they will join in. A few that spring to mind are @Johndoe @Bobj Cape Hillsborough- North of Mackay

Hi all, For 190, BSMQ requires me to have an offer of employment from my employer foe 12 months. I have spoken to my employer and they will only be writing that 'employment is ongoing', NOT 'employment is ongoing for 12 MONTHS'. My migration agent thinks we can give it a try with just this. What are everyone else's thoughts on this?

Hi everyone, dealing with a Qld 190 state nomination... so pleased to get an invite but have 14 days to submit any extra required documentation.. including QCT (teaching certificate ADDITIONAL) to skills assessment which might take 4-6weeks! does anyone know if your EOI case officer has the authority to ‘hold’ your application open whilst you await a document? We asked for extension and got a week.. just wondering if they have much say over what happens to invitations/pending applications?! Also if anyone has experienced this and has recently had their QCT from overseas, how long did it take... thanks in advance jack

If you are moving to Queensland and want to know about schools in the area, suburbs or need help finding accommodation or friends in the area, then why not take a look at our sister site: Life in Queensland.

Hi all I was hoping someone could give me some advice! I'm an electrical fitter that works in substations and would love to emigrate to perth or Brisbane and surrounding areas. For some reason cable jointer and overhead lines are listed under electrical distribution tradespeople on the ANZSCO website but my job is not. To get a 190 visa i would need to get my skills swapped over to aussie qualifications, the agent i spoke to said i would have to fiddle it a little bit and try to go via the electrician (general) category. This job is quite abit different from what i do. The fees for this whole process are alot of money and I'm abit worried i will struggle passing an assessment for a job i don't do, plus i will have to get experience once I move to oz including studying oz electricity regs. Who's going to employ me for something I don't have experience or qualifications in!!??Is there anyone who has been in this position and got any advice please? It seems really crazy because my job is advertised by electricity distribution companies in Australia and the description of what I do is on the ANZSCO site but under cable jointer instead of under my trade which doesn't seem to be recognised

We're looking to settle in Hervey Bay. Originally being from Brisbane I can't envisage us living back in a big city. Does anyone have any links with HB and know if it would be well suited for a family of four with their children of Primary school age. What is the employment scenario like there? I've looked online and that's been helpful but I was hoping some of you would be able to give their insight. Are there any areas around HB (Not Maryborough) that you think is worth checking out? Keen to go anywhere from Bribie Island area right up towards Bundy but not quite as far as that! HB preferable.

Hi We are a French family already living North Sydney. We are considering moving to the Sunshine Coast with our 3 kids (15,12,9). We are looking to move to a very good neighbourhood to have the best public school possible. What are the highest social neighbourhood cities and the best state high schools please? Thanks

Hi, I am new to the forum. I lodged my EOI on 2nd December 2018 and received the invitation form BSMQ to apply on 19th December 2018. I submitted all required documents by 27th December 2018 and did the payment for application for which I received the payment invoice. Till today, I didn't receive any feedback from BSMQ. Now I am getting nervous as my friends, who have applied earlier, have received State Nomination in 3-4 days? Can some one please advice me on the reason for this delay? and How does BSMQ inform you if there are any problems with the 489 application.

Hi guys, My partner (Aussie) and me (Dutchie) moved to Cairns almost a year ago on a 309, since then i've been applying for heaps of jobs, and went in to places to drop of my resume. I made it a few times to the last round but no luck thus far. (3 times to last 2 and once to last 3) so I am getting close but frustratingly enough not close enough. I am a professional with years of team leading experience in supply chain. There are virtually no supply chain jobs in cairns because it's the end of the line, which makes it a whole lot harder. My partner does have a permanent job here in Cairns. Problem is that there are not many jobs here in Cairns, let alone professional jobs. If I make it to the last few they choose for a local with local experience, which seems to be more important here than extensive international (EU) experience. They rather choose some local worker with 75% of my skills and resume over me because i'm on a 309 and non permanent resident (yet) . Many many entry shitkicker jobs here, but very hard to land due to competition from desperate locals applying under their skillset, so many people have the same problem as me. I asked how many applicants I was up against and i was always in the 50-200 range. I apply for many entry jobs, but never hear something back and if i do get a phone interview I notice they always mention ' we are looking for someone long term' , I always say I am committed long term but they don't buy it because of my resume. So the whole situation is sh*t. I might be able to go to Melbourne soon if nothing serious comes up, with my partner and me living apart, which we absolutely don't want to do anymore. For comparison: I applied for a job matching my resume and skills in Melbourne and secured a job interview right away. People have had similar experiences? Any tips or tricks? Please don't hesitate to reply. Thank you! Cheers from a desperate Dutchie

So me and my boyfriend moved to Queensland from the uk about a year ago maybe less. It’s probably just because we chose Queensland and not nsw or vic but we are very excited to get back to the uk after how disappointing it has been here. We were so excited to visit this country that is spoken about like it’s so wonderful but we Just seen to have no liked it. We visisted Sydney and Byron bay we have seen Australia zoo and lone pine, visited Brisbane city and all the Gold Coast theme parks and my favourite eat street. But unfortunately they all cost a great deal of money and take a very long time to get to. Is there anywhere else people would suggest going before we move back preferably on the cheaper side of things. Thanks

Hi Everyone, Im going to be moving to Brisbane next year with my girlfriend as her family are from there and I also really enjoyed the city. I can get the partner visa as we have been together for 7 years and can prove our relationship. The only thing im worried about is getting my refrigeration engineer skills and qualifications accepted over there. Ive been told that i need to apply for an OTSR from an approved trades recognition service. After following all the links on the websites i was given by the Trades Recognition Australia I was sent to the website of Vetassess. But when I got in contact with the australian refrigeration council they told me that they dont accept OTSR from Vetassess as qualifications. So my question to anyone out there is this. Has anyone else had experience of getting their skills recognised before they enter Australia but not for needing it as part of their visa application? Also can anyone tell me what is the correct process for getting their qualifications and skills transferred over in refrigeration? And finally has anyone had any experience in the context gap training that i have been told i will have to do when i get there? I find it hard to believe that for a country almost entirely made up of immigrants its so difficult to get your previous qualifications accepted. Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on this subject

Hi all. I'm being sponsored and likely to have two locations i'll work in and have had Logan as a place advised to live, South East. I've received some pretty mixed feedback on Logan so just wondered if i could get some feedback. Cheers

This is sad news for immigrants living in QLD.https://migration.qld.gov.au/latest...ations-for-business-and-skilled-applications/Does anyone have any idea or prediction of when they will resume again?I feel so devastated now ?

After years in the doldrums, Queensland's economic tide has finally turned as more people flee high interstate property prices, the latest Deloitte Access Economics quarterly business outlook has concluded. The report noted that in the past year Queensland had overtaken Victoria as the state receiving the highest number of interstate migrants. "The rate of population growth is still faster in Victoria than Queensland, but the trends have turned," Deloitte partner Chris Richardson said. "Sydney house prices are begging people to sell up and move to Brisbane." The number of overseas migrants also has risen, but the report found the Queensland economy was "still running well below full speed". It concluded "many of the interstate migrants to Queensland may be mainly fleeing the mind-blowing cost of housing in Sydney — that is, the key is the push factors rather than the pull factors". LNG projects boosting export income Exports had risen thanks to new LNG capacity that, while it lagged, was still an "800-pound gorilla", Mr Richardson said. "Finally, the big spend on building these mega gas projects is turning into export earnings." The report found Queensland was through the worst of the economic slowdown with a "surging" jobs market that had created nearly 130,000 net new jobs in the past year alone. "The bottom line? There's good job growth, but the economy needs a lot more of it, because to date it hasn't put much of a dent in unemployment," the report said. The report also found retail spending was "pitifully weak" but on the improve, while the Brisbane housing market remained soft. The winding down of $66 billion in LNG construction developments was now "safely in the rear-view mirror" with new works projected on Adani's proposed Carmichael coal mine, as well as the Brisbane Cross River Rail scheme. "All up, there are $28 billion worth of projects under construction in Queensland," the report said. Acting Queensland Treasurer Steven Miles said he was not surprised by the report's buoyant predictions. "This report projects that Queensland will be at the top of the growth rate in gross state product as well as the upper end of the population growth rate," he said. "I think people in other states are seeing that Queensland is a great place to live, that there are jobs being created here and people are moving here for that reason." Queensland's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIQ) said that while the headline was positive, there were still several key imposts holding small and medium businesses back. "High energy prices, payroll tax and of course punitive levies which we've seen in the last four months," CCIQ spokesman Dan Petrie said. He said it was crucial for regional and rural Queenslanders to have more support for continued economic growth. "Regional Queensland needs to come up … to have a robust Queensland economy. "Without the regions there's no point even having a good discussion about Queensland."

This is one National Park you must put on your to do list. Kroombit parks is known for its natural beauty but more importantly as the final resting place for “Beautiful Betsy” a B24 Bomber and her 8 crew members which departed Darwin on the 26th February 1945. The wreckage of "Beautiful Betsy" was not discovered until 49 years later on 2 August 1994, when park ranger, Mark Roe, was checking a controlled burn. I would like to say that I am astonished on how intact everything still is, there are pieces of the aircraft including the radios and engines all over which could have easily been looted. The drive in to the park isn’t easy and I wouldn’t recommend it in a 2 wheel drive. When you look at the map it looks like Biloela is the easiest entrance but it wasn’t so we ended up driving to Calliope and then down the Development Road which is an unsealed Road and suitable for 2wheel drive vehicles if there hasn’t been any flooding. If there as been rain forget it as there are numerous river crossings. We had the park to ourselves nearly with the exception of two other vehicles one who we passed exiting the park and the other as we were heading home. This park will take you a minimum of 5/6 hours to get around so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time. The Development Road in - Suitable for 2 wheel drives in the dry season. The Lookout The Bomber Crash Site

hi, I'm moving to hopefully Cairns in September if not will be in rural qld where-ever the wife can get a job, but I'd like to do a short training course in a popular trade in rural qld, but I have no idea what trades are popular or in need, if any can suggest something that'd be great. I currently work in IT.

As it says: https://migration.qld.gov.au/latest-news/bsmq-update-qsol-finance-manager-cafe-restaurant-manager/ Any migration agents here? I just would like to know, as your estimation, do you think any possibility that Skilled Migration in QLD will issue more invitation for this occupation? As far as I know, they will revise the occupation list every 6 months.

Hi all We are looking to see what options are available for short-term accomodation (up to 6 weeks) until we find a rental property. Looked on the likes of WOTif etc and AirB&B, Stayz but looking to see if any other options are out there. A family of 2 adults, 1 toddler, 2 cats. I will be looking for work in / around Brisbane CBD so most be able to commute. We are thinking about renting longer term Karana Downs area. Thoughts or Suggestions? Thank You

Hi Everyone, My husband and I are moving back to Australia in September and are planning shipping now. Sorry for all the questions, I am getting lost in information online and struggling to find real answers. Shipping companies havent been overly useful either and don’t really want to give much advice. We will be taking two sportsbikes (sv650 and a 600 ninja) back with us and about 10-20 medium size boxes (not sure how much stuff yet) and no furniture (but considering taking our new 50 inch tv as we got it extemely cheap here due to an argos mess up ha) I’ve never had to ship anything before aside from a few boxes when we moved here from aus so wanted to get some advice. So far we’ve had one quote from White and Co who work with a firm in Townsville, Queensland (where we are moving back to) I was interested in them as we want door to door shipping and the local company in Townsville recommened them. As I havent had quotes from anyone else yet not sure how competitive they are. I also cant see much mention of them on this forum. I wanted to ask a few questions: Has anyone used White and co before and how did they find their service? (Im going to get quotes from other companies recommeneded on here as well) I think im going to grab spare boxes from work and roughly pack the majority of the stuff up and stack against a wall so we can get very specific quotes without speculative over estimating on the salesmans behalf. I will still get the shipping company to pack everything in their own boxes for the move. Which brings me onto my next question, is it definately better in terms of passing customs quickly if the boxes are marked as packed by the shipping company? Because we are shipping motorcycles I’m concerned that not all companies specialise in this and I need to be careful with who we choose? white and co for example say they take our bikes away and fully crate them individually before going into the container. Slightly concerned I don’t get to see the bikes being packed and crated, especially since all insurance terms ive been reading state they dont cover vehicle scratches/dents etc. Nothing to stop someone messing about on our bikes in a warehouse somewhere and dropping them before shipping! Also regarding the bikes, if anyone has experience, how clean did you get the bike before shipping, do we need to strip them back and get every crumb of dirt off them basically to showroom condition? Did you remove the fuel, oil and battery before the shipping company took it, do they pack the battery separately or can it not be shipped? I’ve looked into the import permit and docs required and we meet the conditions so i will make application for that soon. Aside from the import permit im under the assumption that I dont need to do any other paperwork if i hire a company managing the move of the bikes along with our boxes? Once the bikes get to Aus, what experience has anyone had in terms of additinal fees that might crop up and any further paperwork i might need to deal with even when the shipping company are managing the move for me door to door? When do customs value your bike and issue you costs for duty, does this get sent to the shipping company and passed onto us? Any other hints, tips, advice or warnings anyone can give regarding shipping the bikes would be much appreciated, i’m really anxious about seeing them at the other end to find theyve been messed with or a scratched up/ had parts stolen etc. Regarding electronics, we would be taking our 50 inch tv, a custom gaming pc and a playstation. Any advice on shipping electronics appreciated as well. I’m reading on here that basically everyone gets insurance through a separate company and most seem to go with Letton Percival, any other suggestions also? Sorry again for so many questions, i have been reading alot of forums but couldnt seem to find much info on what I’m seeking more clarification on. Thanks very much in advance for all advice!