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Hello all, I'm after any advice, whether it's good or bad, anything! I'm a qualified Crime Scene Investigator, having worked 4 years for South Wales Police before resigning to travel the world. Almost a year after returning home, having dead end, minimum wage jobs, I've decided to up sticks and move to Australia! However, I'm having trouble finding any information relating to my profession. Either I have to be a Police Officer, or there's just nothing written about being a civilian. I don't really know where to go from here, and can't help feeling a bit lost! If anyone can help out, or knows someone in a similar situation, or can point me in the right direction that'd be fantastic Thanks, Beth

Hi I am a uk qualified primary teacher with (QTS) who moved out to oz with our family in 2005. It just hasn't worked out the way we thought it would over here , I've never been able to secure a FT teaching post, Husband has always been very keen to go back I'm wavering wondering what is the best thing to do.Our children also happy enough to go back one 16 one 10. My concerns are whether I would be able to get work, happy to do supply to gain experience and how our older child would get on at school, he has just completed grade 10 and does well. He want a to go to university/ army to do electrical/mechanical engineering degree and had planned to apply to the oz army officer training college in Canberra. We are thinking about moving back to Wales , brecon area. Any advice welcome:)

hey there.. The names Beth. I'm new to all this, Ive just moved to Australia, all the way from wales in the united kingdom. I'm currently living in dunedoo (nsw). I'm interested in finding out about activities to do here. id really like to go exploring, and see what Australia has to offer. I'm a fan of all creatures great and small. And love a bit of an adrenalin rush.! any extreme sport opportunities and I'm there! I do like horse back riding. and galloping across the great outdoors. I love meeting new people and getting to know different cultures. so if you have any ideas or know of any good places to visit, or if you just want to make a new friend then write back..

Only another 6 days to go before the above match goes ahead in Sydney. Course, being a Fanatical Welsh Rugby supporter (Yep..........it is me), I would like to draw on any individuals who would care to pray for my fellow country men next Saturday at 10.30. Never mind, even if we do get stuffed, I can always be a 'top of the league supporter' and wear my aussie shirt....My god, how sad is that?:redface: Dan

heya , well me and my partner have decided to make the move to perth from rainy cold wales, we are currently in the first steps of applying for our visas. the only thing is we are using 'global visas' and im a bit weary of them. could anyone give any good recommendations on visa agents or how you got yours.. we have 3 family members in perth so will be easier when we get there but i dont know which way to go, my partner has been told he qualify's for the 175 visa and has 85 out of 65 points in the intial assesment. much help would be greatly appreciated, please share your hints and tips of who to go through and what to do.. thanks, and to anyone in perth who helps me, il buy you a drink or two when i get there much love a xx

Hi All, In this PDF of NSW, it i Systems written that we require IELTS score of 7 Can anyone please clarify that whether we need 7 in each band or an overall score of 7 would be fine ? Also, what VISA will I fall in ? Is it Skilled Regional Sponsored 475/487 or Skilled Sponsored 176/886 For sake of information, I have never been to Australia and have 5+ years of experience as an IT professional and have got my ACS skills positive. Best Regards, Jyoti Khatri

This is one for all our Welsh member's, We have just spent a week in Tenby which is the first time we have been to Wales even though i am 40:shocked: and have to say what a beautiful country it is with some extrodinary views, instead of driving along the motorway we decided to travel along the A40 all the way and went up through the north of the Brecons and were rewarded for this with spectacular scenery :yes:, their is an enormous amount to do there which kept the kids entertained including seal watching, my first ever round of golf :shocked:, fishing, surfing on Tenby beach which is one of the best beaches we have been to, and loads of other stuff. My son also had a go at bog snorkelling in the tiny town of Llanwrtyd Wells, if you have never heard of it it is exactly what it says on the tin snorkelling in a bog :yes: my friend who we went with is a presenter for the BBC and was recording for the news and it will be on in a couple of weeks so you will be able to have a closer look at this strange sport then:cool:, you may even get a sneaky peek at yours truly :wink:. But anyway Wales is a top place, just needs a bit less rain :yes:

Hi all, I had the idea to create this thread, so we can all know how many of us are there waiting for NSW SMP, and each one´s current situation. So please join us! NSW Sponsorship applied = Green NSW Sponsorship approved = Blue Received a CO = Pink Visa granted = Purple Please enter your details: Name: Date of Visa application: Trade/profession: Nationality: IELTS (if applicable): Visa type: DIAC Priority (if applicable): Date of SS application: Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: comments: ................................................ 2009 applicants ................................................ Name: SC80 Date of Visa application: 03/03/2009 Trade/profession: External Auditor Nationality: Malaysian IELTS (if applicable): 8.0 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Priority 3 for now Date of SS application: Cant remember Delays/further docs requested: None yet Date SS received: 10 September 2009 comments: No longer on NSW current demand list, will they still keep my occupation on the yet to be released SMP? Name: sparrow(jimmy) Date of Visa application: 04/04/2009 Trade/profession: vocational teacher (non trades) Nationality: indian IELTS (if applicable): 7 Visa type: 475 DIAC Priority (if applicable): 4 Date SS received:26/03/2009 CO allocation: 16/03/2011 Name: Cazhoney (Carolina) Date of Visa application: 11/06/2009 Trade/profession: Environmental Engineer Nationality: Brazilian IELTS (if applicable): 8,0 Visa type: 175 then changed to 176 after obtaining SS DIAC Priority (if applicable): 3 Date of SS application: 29/01/2010 Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: 02/02/2010 CO allocation: 10/03/2011 Medicals and PCCs: 13/04/2011 Visa granted: 03/06/2011 comments: have withdrawned my SS application on 01/06/2001, and received the 175 visa!! Name: AITUHIN Date of Visa application: 19/08/2009 Country: Bangladesh Trade/profession: MARKETING SPECIALIST Visa type: 475 SS: NSW regional sponsored DIAC Priority: 4 Medicals submitted: FL Sep 09 Police check submitted: FL Sep 09 Date CO assigned: Not yet Date of employment verification (If applicable): Date visa granted: No hope Additional Info (IF applicable): Nothing Name: rebe0007 Date of Visa application: 19/09/2009 Trade/profession: life scientist (nec) Nationality: Indian IELTS (if applicable): 8.5 Visa type: 886 DIAC Priority (if applicable): priority class 4 Date of SS application: 07/2009 Delays/further docs requested: none Date SS received: 08/2009 comments: submitted a complete application to diac but now most documents have expired due to the long processing time. Eagerly awaiting the NSW SMP and hoping it bumps my priority class up a notch or two Name :Wensmal Date of application:21-09-09 Visa Type:475 Nationality: Indian IELTS:7.5 DICA priority [?] medicals and pcc: submitted in May 2009 Name: asereht01 176 visa lodged: 12/10/09 Occupation: Life Scientist 457 visa granted: 28 Sept 2010 1st step to australia:10 Oct 2010 Moved to priority 2: 03 March 2011 Medicals frontloaded: 21/03/2011 PCC: months ago.... CO allocated: 25/03/2011 Visa grant: 29/03/2011 Name: Ben (rooperman) Date of Visa application: xx/11/2009 Trade/profession: Life scientist (NEC) Nationality: British IELTS (if applicable): NA Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Currently cat 4 Date of SS application: 2009 Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: Nov 2009 Visa Grant: 30/03/2011 ............................................... 2010 applicants ............................................... Name: Colorana Date of Visa application: 15/04/2010 Trade/profession: Environmental Engineer Nationality: South African IELTS (if applicable): 7.5 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): 2 Date of SS application: 23/03/2010 Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: 30/03/2010 CO allocation: 24/03/2011 Comments: Visa Grant: 18/05/2011 Name: Austranglian Date of Visa application: 14/10/2010 Trade/profession: Accountant Nationality: British IELTS (if applicable): 8.5+ (general), 7.5+ (academic) Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Currently 3. Date of SS application: 01/09/2010 Delays/further docs requested: no Date SS received: around 08/10/2010 CO allocation: 19/06/2011 Visa granted: 27/06/2011 Name: sydneyCE (Heather) Date of Visa application: 14/10/2010 Trade/profession: Civil Engineer Nationality: USA IELTS (if applicable): 9.0 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Priority 3 for now Date of SS application: 15/09/2010 Delays/further docs requested: None yet Date SS received: 13/10/2010 CO allocation: 19/04/2011 comments: Impatiently waiting for NSW SMP and Priority 2 Visa Grant: 04/07/2011 Name: edjaiger Date of Visa application: 26 October 2010 Nationality: British High/Low Risk: HR Trade/profession: Accountant Visa type: SC 176 Which State Sponsored: NSW Date of SMP Applications: 15 September 2010 Date of SMP Granted: 06 October 2010 Onshore/offshore: Offshore Pre-November 2010 Category: N/A Medicals submitted: Not yet Police check submitted: Not yet Date CO assigned: 16 March 2011 Date of employment verification (If applicable): N/A Date visa granted: 30/05/2011 Name: VeeTix Date of Visa application: 31 Oct 2010 Nationality: French (hubby), South African (myself) High/Low Risk: HR Trade/profession: Developer Programmer Visa type: 176 Which State Sponsored: NSW Date of SMP Applications: Aug 2010 Date of SMP Granted: Oct 2010 Onshore/offshore: Off Pre-November 2010 Category: Medicals submitted: Yes Police check submitted: Yes Date CO assigned: Date of employment verification (If applicable): Date visa granted: 12 April 2011 Name: Lobsters Date of Visa application: 13/12/10 Trade/profession: Aircon & refrigeration mechanic Nationality: Dutch IELTS (if applicable): 6 Visa type: 475 DIAC Priority (if applicable): 2 Date of SS application: 28/10/10 Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: 06/12/10 Visa grant: 05/05/2011 ........................................................ 2011 applicants ........................................................ Name: akosicoco Date of Visa application: 02/01/2011 Trade/profession: Developer Programmer Nationality: Filipino IELTS (if applicable): Yes Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Priority 2 Date of SS application: 14/12/2010 Delays/further docs requested: Date SS received: 17/12/2010 Date C/O assigned: 16/03/2011 comments: My CO gave me 28 days to send medical and PCCs. I requested for extension since I am waiting for my FBI clearance which takes quite sometime. My CO gave me until end of May. Done with my medical last 19/03/2010. PCC's on-going. Visa grant: 30/04/2011 Name: nagliyvred Date of Visa application: 25.02.2011 Trade/profession: Software Engineer Nationality: Russian IELTS (if applicable): 8.0 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): 2 Date of SS application: 08.02.2011 Delays/further docs requested: None Date SS received: 24.02.2011 Medical: referred 20 Apr 2011, finalized 30 May 2011 PCC: 13 Apr 2011 CO: 20 March 2011 Visa Grant: 30 May 2011 Name: rex123 IELTS :Sept 2009 EA Assessment : Dec 2010 NSW Orana SS: March 2011 475 NSW Orana: 18 April 2011 DIAC Acknowledgment : 10 May 2011 Form 1100 SENT : 13 May 2011 Medical: PCC: CO: 21/06/2011 Visa Grant: Name: mevans12 Date of Visa application:25/05/2011 Trade/profession:Management Accountant Nationality:British IELTS (if applicable):8.5 Visa type:176 DIAC Priority (if applicable):N/A Date of SS application:10/05/2011 Delays/further docs requested:N/A Date SS received:13/05/2011 comments:Only took 3 days for approval! CO: 14/06/2011 Name: Mon Date of Visa application: 25.06.2011 Trade/profession: Analyst Programmer Nationality: Filipino IELTS (if applicable): 7.5 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Date of SS application: 13.06.2011 Delays/further docs requested: None Date SS received: 25.06.2011 Medical: PCC: CO: Visa Grant: Name: Baazighar Date of Visa application: 29/06/2011 Trade/profession: Developer Programmer(261312) Nationality: Indian IELTS (if applicable): 8.0 Visa type: 176 DIAC Priority (if applicable): Prioirity 2 Date of SS application: 16th June Delays/further docs requested: None Date SS received: 29th June 2011 comments: NSW sent Form 1100 to DIAC

Hi All I just joined the forum so i could ask - I'm Welsh and living in Sydney in the eastern Suburbs. I was just wondering if anybody has any ideas on a great venue to watch the RWC Semi Finals? I've tried the Harlequin Inn in Pyrmont for the Ireland game and not so good and the Trinity in Surry Hills which was better but standing room and still lacking.......Welshies! Can't seem to find a place with a good mix of welsh and Irish / french etc. Thought I'd ask here. Thanks all. Mark.

Did i just say that? :yes: The Welsh are digging in in the semi final, they have had their captain sent off after only a few minutes yet they are still the better side, France have been crap so far, they were crap when they beat an even worse England side last week so imo Wales would be by far the better opposition for either NZ or Aus. Come on Wales you can do it :jiggy:

As an Englishmen , iam disappointed about the revelations and behaviour of some of our rugby players in NZ. I thought only our so called footballers were capable of such stupidity and naivety. In contrast the Welsh have got their act together .....a new young ,focussed captain in Sam Warburton , a togetherness in the team , which hasnt always been the case. As they have such strong minded individuals , like the Dutch soccer team , its often hard to galvanize them .....but not this time. Apparently the Welsh players havent had a beer for months now , and their training has been extensive . The game between Ireland and Wales should be a cracker ,and i think one of these will rightly represent the Northern hemisphere in the final.

So is there any welsh or irish havin a party that we can join in on!! Im so fed up with watchin the world cup with Aussies and sing the welsh anthem on me own!! HAHA No babysitters mean no pub which was traditional :sad: I really really really miss a good drink on an international day!!! Just havin a sulk really, what you all doin??? :wink: One welsh mad lady Jules xx

Couple required for full time position on sheep, cattle and cropping property 1 hour from Mildura in Outback NSW. Full time station hand and full time governess/nanny with relevant farming experience essential. All enquiries to turleestation@hotmail.com

Tourism Australia is running an online campaign at the moment, promoting locations around Australia in short online videos, featuring, backpackers, tour guides etc to lure more young people Down Under to work and play. The Tourism Australia campaign, 30 days in Oz, consists of 30 online videos, each following someone different in locations around Australia, with each demonstrating in 60 seconds why "there's nothing like Australia for young travellers." Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said the campaign would promote the Working Holiday Visa and encourage young people to consider Australia as a place to work or travel, particularly those leaving school or on a Gap Year. "One of Tourism Australia's objectives is to get more young people to holiday in Australia. These travellers often become lifelong advocates, influencing friends and family of all ages to holiday in Australia and returning themselves later in life," he said. "We also know from research that many of these visitors are backpackers, who spend more time travelling and explore more of Australia than other travellers, which is one of the reasons the youth market is such an important one for us." The video's showcasing New South Wales are below: 76oo7RQcruI 8tJfsMgFH9s bKNLrnJjdA4 Feh0l5aBH2U nOOyd_CHoVo 567Dp8qrmzs

Just found out that I've got myself a job in Dubbo. Done a bit of research and it looks a nice place and of course I'll join one of the rugby union teams straight away and transfer my RSL membership to get involved with the local community. I've checked on the net and there's a couple of catholic schools I can transfer my daughters to - and hopefully my wife can get some work at; she's currently a teacher at my daughter's catholic school in Adelaide. I'm very much at the beginning of my research (hopefully we'll drive up there as a family during the school holidays in a couple of weeks to have a propper recce) and was wondering if any PIO members live in Dubbo or know it well so that they can give me a few pointers. Thanks in advance, Gareth

Hi... Anybody know if the England v Wales rugby game is being shown on TV in Oz. I've found the Ireland v Scotland game but who wants to watch that....!!??!! :wink: Thanks in advance.... S

Hi there we are a family of 5, me 27, hubby 32 and 3 kids, 2, 3 & 10! Any other families local to us in South Wales thinking of going or on their way, be great to hear from you x

Hi to all poms in perth:biggrin: My name is Tracy and i hope to be joining you all very soon, my husband has accepted a job with Ausdrill( FIFO )and are just waiting for a date to be set. I hope to find work with horses or a bar job I am a qualified beauty therapist but prefer the horses to be honest ha, We are looking at north of the river,we want somewhere not to far from the beach and obviously accessible to a decent school seems like a mine field and i am completely blank, my son wants to go down the engineering side and want to find the best school, he is more practical than academic ! not really the ideal time to move him as he is just taking his options. We have 2 children Ashley 14 and jess 7, i have been looking through the site for quite a while and have found so much help on here you really all seem a great bunch. Of course like many others on here i have many questions to ask and hope that you all may help. I look forward to posting with you all :smile:

Reading one of the threads that were on yesterday involving "banter" between the scots and english so just thought i'd ask...... Do you see "them"(others)as different to you?the other countries that is. Where i live is roughly 200 miles from London,200 to Glasgow,think about 180 to Cardiff and 140 to Dublin,so pretty equidistant to all the big cities of these countries. I dont realy have any gripe or dislike of any of these nationalities,maybe its because were in the middle as it were? I also admit im not big on nationalism,i care about my city more than anything,i think that feelings grown in Liverpool since the thatcher days and the right wing press associated with her that attacked my city and its people for over a decade("some" of it deserved i admit). In fact when theres "banter" directed at my city its invariably from other english people,deffo not from the scots or irish, i find anyway,the north welsh have a bit of an excuse because wales was one of the "soft targets" for our bad 5% to go on the rob in tbh. Coincedence or not,but when were on holiday or working away we allways seem to end up with scots(glaswegians esp)or irish,we DONT avoid other english people but we do tend to end up with scots and irish for some reason,and we dont do that consciously btw. So do you think the banter thing between scots and english is more pronounced between say Londoners or the home counties,ie the south,do you see them as different to you/us?because i dont tbh,i dont even think of nationality,just wondering:wideeyed::wubclub:

Hi, been back a month now and spinning but thought some people might find our report useful, I know i have really enjoyed reading other peoples. We departed on feb 13th from london, first stop Brisbane, we flew china airlines, to be honest for no other reason than it was literally half the price of all its competitors. They get a bad press but were fine, seemed to have all the services, films etc from other flights i have been on. Not posh but fine. well worth saving two grand! I should introduce us, me, my partner and our three children aged 1,4 and 7 !! needless to say the trip was not relaxing !:eek: They were good kids on the plane and we had a bassinet for the baby which really helped. Stayed initially for ten days on the gold coast. Cheap but nice apartment in broadbeach near surfers.It was a little tired but clean and dead cheap. Had the lot including pool. I was amazed at how much i loved the gold coast, had been once years ago and not keen but it was great fun.Lovely weather, loads to do and i particularly loved the area's away from surfers such as curumbine and thereabouts. Could live there in a heartbeat!! the kids adored it ! My o.h looked for jobs in her speciality and had a look around and a visit but looks like jobs don't come up that often which was very disappointing. Last job that came up ten people applied! She is not on the skills list and we are appying for defacto as i have an australian passport so are fortunate that we can go anywhere. we drove down from the gold coast and had an idyllic two days in byron bay before stopping for three nights in port mcquarie. We stayed in a caravan site there and i would really recommend this to anyone, wild parakeets in the morning!! Beautiful. Drove down to sydney for the rest of the month. Had a shock there. Found out my oh could not work there as her job does not really exist in the same form. That was a shocker and wish we had researched better before planning our reccie ! Was really suprised to find my feelings had changed towards sydney.Loved it when i worked there years ago but that was as a single younger woman. Found it too cityish and big, with dreadful traffic!Not great for kids. Also found we could never afford to live there. Had a great time, went to mardi gras, visited beautiful beaches, coogee in particular but realised could not live there!Maybe its an age and stage thing! So home we came and it has been a whirlwind!! Made our mind up that we definately want to do it but feel cheated that we did our reccie in two places we cannot go !! With the benefit of hindsight should have included a trip to western australia as that is where we are now looking.!! What did we learn ? We absolutely love australia,:biggrin: my partner had never been and was blown away by its beauty and cleanliness. We both could not believe how friendly everyone was, compared to the uk. My health was so improved, i have arthritis and my joints were so much better, i cut down my pain meds by 50 per cent and swam every day!!so it is the place to go for a better future, at least for me ! Cost wise ? there is no doubt that things are more expensive. We shop cheap and found that a weeks shop was a about 120 dollars compared to 60 pounds here. However in my opinion the cheap stuff was better value and good meat and wine a lot cheaper. We also found that k mart was cheap for bits and bobs...body board 4 dollars! Beer was silly money!!Petrol of course alot cheaper. We felt the money even's out as we spent so little in the day and everywhere had clean and free barbies in parks and by beaches so could take our food and drink and spend the day there. It was amazing to see the children body boarding and swimming everyday,especially coming from a cold long winter! Sorry this has gone on a bit but really wanted to share our story so far! So now starts the long process of visa application. Just a word of caution, if , like us, you are not rich think really carefully about if you need that reccie! We had a ball,caught up with friends and of course now know its the right thing to do but the downside is we have spent alot of money just when we need it ! Good luck to everyone and thanks to all for sharing your stories and insight!

Hello I am new to the site and was hoping to get some advice off some of you experienced lot out there. We lodged our 176 visa on 02.08.2010 we are being sponsored by family in NSW and my husband is a physio (on the SO list). We are hoping to move to sydney. Does anyone have any idea or any experience of how long it will take for a CO to be assigned and our visa to be granted. I know NSW has not released a state migration plan so i am guessing it takes longer than for other states. We want to get out there as soon as we can but our agent said it could take over 2 years. If this is the case we are thinking of getting sponsored work over there until our visa comes thorough but not ideal as it would mean moving twice and we dont really want to uproot the kids more than we have to. Has anyone else on a NSW 176 got any experience of how long thier visa took? Thanks Claire

Hello all... Does anyone know if/when NSW will be releasing their state migration plan occupation list? Thanks Simon

Hi can someone help i live in north wales how can i find the closest medical centre to me thanks

please please can someone tell me where i can watch this live, i've got internet and foxtel so if anyone can tell me if i can watch it live tonight i'd be very very grateful. Thanks

Hi, My name is Lara and I work for the BBC. I am currently researching for a series called 'Wanted Down Under', which is broadcast on BBC1. I just thought I would write a thread to see if anyone was interested in getting involved. I am looking for some quite specific groups of people to have a chat to about their move to Adelaide, Australia. I am looking for Welsh families that have come here to start a new life. I am also looking for a British self-employed wall and floor tiler that has started their own business here in Adelaide. I would love to hear from anyone from these areas or who might know of someone as I have described. With thanks and hope to hear from you soon, Lara Bickerton Adelaide Fixer BBC - Wanted Down Under