Secondary School Teacher 190/491

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Dean0703 said:

I don’t get the point of a system that has a requirement of 65 points that will never let anyone in at that level. You’d think exceeding the requirement by 10-15 points would be plenty. But of course it’s not! 

The reason the threshold is so high right now is not because they've decided to raise the points to reduce the number who get through.  The threshold is high because there are more than enough applicants with high scores, so they don't need to look at anyone who scores lower.  That's why the threshold fluctuates, it depends on the scores of people who are applying.

Where there are extra conditions or quotes imposed, you have to take into account that there's a strong feeling in the capital cities that the infrastructure is not coping with the existing population, let alone accepting more people. So all the governments - state and federal - are very sensitive to the fact that those cities are exactly where most 189 visa holders head for.  In fact, a lot of 190 visa holders head there too, ignoring their moral obligation to stay in the state that sponsored them).  They don't want voter backlash, hence why the 491 got introduced. 

[Wanderer Returns]

14 hours ago, PickledRic said:

it sounds so much more relaxed and just an all round better environment for working. I think the U.K. has the mentality of working people into the ground and even then it’s not enough; it will be nice to live somewhere that values different things in life.

We’re so excited. The more we hear about it the more excited we get. So looking forward to making a home somewhere new! 

Of the last 20 years I've spent 8 in the UK and 12 in Australia. I've 'ping-pommed' back 3 times now - first time was the end of a working holiday, second time was to do my PGCE (which was so much cheaper in the UK), and third time was to take care of my elderly mum (so nothing to do with not being happy in Australia). I can honestly say with hand on heart, each time I return to Australia nothing much seems to have changed except the house prices have gone up. On the other hand, the UK seems to get that little bit worse whenever I return here. The sad decline of the NHS, knife crime, people smuggling, human slavery, homelessness, just to name a few. The fact that public sector pay was frozen for a decade and people are forced to work 2 or 3 jobs - the 'gig economy' jobs sometimes for as little as £3/hour. You can see the misery written on their faces. There is no longer anything Great about Britain, although ironically people will risk their lives to get here! Australia has it's social problems for sure, but they're just not on the same scale as those in the UK.

I'm sure you will love it down under, but don't make the mistake a lot of Poms do by getting hung up on what they've left behind in the UK, or you will not full appreciate what there is to enjoy in Australia.

[PickledRic]

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

The reason the threshold is so high right now is not because they've decided to raise the points to reduce the number who get through.  The threshold is high because there are more than enough applicants with high scores, so they don't need to look at anyone who scores lower.  That's why the threshold fluctuates, it depends on the scores of people who are applying.

Where there are extra conditions or quotes imposed, you have to take into account that there's a strong feeling in the capital cities that the infrastructure is not coping with the existing population, let alone accepting more people. So all the governments - state and federal - are very sensitive to the fact that those cities are exactly where most 189 visa holders head for.  In fact, a lot of 190 visa holders head there too, ignoring their moral obligation to stay in the state that sponsored them).  They don't want voter backlash, hence why the 491 got introduced. 

It’s completely understandable to me that this is how things are, I think the current economic climate and the way people are feeling about population growth means the government has to respond.

I think the 491 visa is a good idea and hopefully it will serve the purpose it’s designed to; it’s a shame people only want to live in the major cities when Australia has so much else to offer. But I do understand why this happens.

 

25 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Of the last 20 years I've spent 8 in the UK and 12 in Australia. I've 'ping-pommed' back 3 times now - first time was the end of a working holiday, second time was to do my PGCE (which was so much cheaper in the UK), and third time was to take care of my elderly mum (so nothing to do with not being happy in Australia). I can honestly say with hand on heart, each time I return to Australia nothing much seems to have changed except the house prices have gone up. On the other hand, the UK seems to get that little bit worse whenever I return here. The sad decline of the NHS, knife crime, people smuggling, human slavery, homelessness, just to name a few. The fact that public sector pay was frozen for a decade and people are forced to work 2 or 3 jobs - the 'gig economy' jobs sometimes for as little as £3/hour. You can see the misery written on their faces. There is no longer anything Great about Britain, although ironically people will risk their lives to get here! Australia has it's social problems for sure, but they're just not on the same scale as those in the UK.

I'm sure you will love it down under, but don't make the mistake a lot of Poms do by getting hung up on what they've left behind in the UK, or you will not full appreciate what there is to enjoy in Australia.

i really love hearing from people who have a very realistic viewpoint on things and give honest perspectives so thank you.

The UK isn’t a place I enjoy anymore; I work in the third sector and I’ve seen over the years how funding cuts have greatly impacted on this and people are suffering as a result. Staff are underpaid and overworked and the expectations are just outrageous. My partner works 11 hour days and has to do all the school trips etc. And yeah he gets the stupidly long holidays but it doesn’t make up for the stress he has every day. He often says he feels there is very little respect for his profession and parents view school as a day centre for the kids basically. 
 

I can honestly say there isn’t much about the UK I will miss other than my pet rabbit I’ll be leaving behind friends will visit and we have very little family. Everything else is just possessions and I’ll be glad to see the back of it all to start again somewhere new

[Ausvisitor]

26 minutes ago, PickledRic said:

It’s a shame people only want to live in the major cities when Australia has so much else to offer. But I do understand why this happens.

I wouldn't have any issue with the living outside of a major city, I do that in the UK and commute 120 miles or so each way on the train 3 or 4 days a week. 

The problem is that those 120 miles only take 1hr 10m on a UK train direct into central London; nothing comparable in Australia.

I could happily live in the regions, but as regional visas also stipulate work in the region also I'd have problems with that. Big towns and even Small Cities just don't have my occupation - you need 1m+ populations to support that sort of job

[Wanderer Returns]

1 hour ago, Ausvisitor said:

Big towns and even Small Cities just don't have my occupation - you need 1m+ populations to support that sort of job

I have to say I am now overwhelmed with curiosity! 

[PickledRic]

6 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I have to say I am now overwhelmed with curiosity! 

Haha me too! Can you share Ausvisitor?

[Ausvisitor]

On 04/12/2019 at 20:20, Ausvisitor said:

We are in the final throws of getting the visa decision (all docs, meds and police submitted). Hopeful of an answer before the New Year.

Assuming that the decision is a Yes we will go over in June

I can update on the above; woke up this morning to three lovely emails GRANTING us all our visas.

Happy ??? - Oh Yes !!!!

[Ausvisitor]

17 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I have to say I am now overwhelmed with curiosity! 

It's less exciting than it sounds...

I'm a management consultant and I work with two types of organisations

1) Large banks and financial companies

2) Governemnt treasuries

[Lambert]

9 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

I can update on the above; woke up this morning to three lovely emails GRANTING us all our visas.

Happy ??? - Oh Yes !!!!

Amazing!!!!! Well done!!!! Where you moving too?

[Ausvisitor]

1 minute ago, Lambert said:

Amazing!!!!! Well done!!!! Where you moving too?

Sydney unless I can find a job in Newcastle that's comparable as housing a little cheaper up there.

Off now to go job hunt

[PickledRic]

32 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

I can update on the above; woke up this morning to three lovely emails GRANTING us all our visas.

Happy ??? - Oh Yes !!!!

Ahhhh congratulations!!!! (Is that the right thing to say haha)

either way, amazing, can’t imagine a better feeling

[Wanderer Returns]

2 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

It's less exciting than it sounds...

I'm a management consultant and I work with two types of organisations

1) Large banks and financial companies

2) Governemnt treasuries

Oh, I see! Congratulations on your great news. When's the move out?

[Wanderer Returns]

2 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Sydney unless I can find a job in Newcastle that's comparable as housing a little cheaper up there.

Off now to go job hunt

I'd give Newcastle the thumbs up (although Sydney-siders look down there noses at it), although from what you said about your profession it'd be hard to find that type of work there.

[Ausvisitor]

17 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Oh, I see! Congratulations on your great news. When's the move out?

Long holiday over the UK school summer holidays to activate the visa. (Can't go sooner it's A Level year).

Then plan to go out properly sometime around Jan/Feb 2021

[Marisawright]

12 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Long holiday over the UK school summer holidays to activate the visa. (Can't go sooner it's A Level year).

Then plan to go out properly sometime around Jan/Feb 2021

I hope you're allowing yourself enough time to work in the region, to qualify for the permanent visa

[Ausvisitor]

37 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I hope you're allowing yourself enough time to work in the region, to qualify for the permanent visa

It's a 190 so it's permanent straight away isn't it?

That said we'll be there in 13 months with no intention of leaving except a few 2 week holidays for at least the next 5 years

Edited December 6, 2019 by Ausvisitor

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

It's a 190 so it's permanent straight away isn't it?

That said we'll be there in 13 months with no intention of leaving except a few 2 week holidays for at least the next 5 years

Sorry, asumes it was a 489. 

Newcastle is a great place these days. It used to be a real dump hence why people looked down on it

[CapitalS]

Amazing news!! Congratulations!!!

[PickledRic]

22 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

It's a 190 so it's permanent straight away isn't it?

That said we'll be there in 13 months with no intention of leaving except a few 2 week holidays for at least the next 5 years

I hope all goes well for you and you love your new life

fingers crossed for more good visa news over the coming months for everyone else  

[PickledRic]

Hi guys, just thought I'd do a little update on things!

 

Still haven't heard back from QCT about teacher registration, they've accepted all the documents so hopefully this should come through in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, we also decided to apply for the 491 visa for South Australia. Secondary School Teacher is on the supplementary skills list and is available if you have high points - we are classed as high pointers with 95 so could apply under this criteria. No idea if we'll get nominated by SA but we paid up and applied anyway.

Our reasons for applying for SA alongside QLD are that the release of the allocated visas to each state indicates that QLD only have 1000 491's to give out compared to SA which has about 3,500 - we figured more opportunity potentially with SA and we really aren't fussy about states, sounds cheesy but honestly all of Australia is beautiful and we'd just be happy to be there.

 

Hopefully we get one of the two but I'll keep everyone updated!

[Lambert]

11 hours ago, PickledRic said:

Hi guys, just thought I'd do a little update on things!

 

Still haven't heard back from QCT about teacher registration, they've accepted all the documents so hopefully this should come through in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, we also decided to apply for the 491 visa for South Australia. Secondary School Teacher is on the supplementary skills list and is available if you have high points - we are classed as high pointers with 95 so could apply under this criteria. No idea if we'll get nominated by SA but we paid up and applied anyway.

Our reasons for applying for SA alongside QLD are that the release of the allocated visas to each state indicates that QLD only have 1000 491's to give out compared to SA which has about 3,500 - we figured more opportunity potentially with SA and we really aren't fussy about states, sounds cheesy but honestly all of Australia is beautiful and we'd just be happy to be there.

 

Hopefully we get one of the two but I'll keep everyone updated!

Good for you! SA is a beautiful state 

There isn’t as many jobs for teachers in SA as there is in QLD, however, it does all depend on subject. If you really want it, you’ll get it

[PickledRic]

Just thought I’d update; 

two days ago I put in a separate EOI for the 491 for Queensland as I wasn’t wholly convinced that if you’d applied for the 190 and 491 together they would consider you and I must be right because we got an invite this morning for the 491 that I submitted two days ago!

So super happy, we really didn’t think we’d get an invite with the competition being so fierce but yey!!

[Ausvisitor]

5 hours ago, PickledRic said:

Just thought I’d update; 

two days ago I put in a separate EOI for the 491 for Queensland as I wasn’t wholly convinced that if you’d applied for the 190 and 491 together they would consider you and I must be right because we got an invite this morning for the 491 that I submitted two days ago!

So super happy, we really didn’t think we’d get an invite with the competition being so fierce but yey!!

Well done, you must be super happy.

Competition is different for 189,190 and 491

189 is super competitive

190 is pretty competitive as it still allows you to live in big state capitals

491 is not as competitive as most people moving to Oz don;t want to live in nowheresville (I realise in some states 491 still allows you to live in decent sized places)

 

Ultimately if you are willing to take the trade-off of being in a slightly more "out of the way" place, then you are of more use to a country that has trouble "staffing" it's regional areas than someone who only wants Sydney/Perth/Melbourne

[PickledRic]

2 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Well done, you must be super happy.

Competition is different for 189,190 and 491

189 is super competitive

190 is pretty competitive as it still allows you to live in big state capitals

491 is not as competitive as most people moving to Oz don;t want to live in nowheresville (I realise in some states 491 still allows you to live in decent sized places)

 

Ultimately if you are willing to take the trade-off of being in a slightly more "out of the way" place, then you are of more use to a country that has trouble "staffing" it's regional areas than someone who only wants Sydney/Perth/Melbourne

Thank you, yes we're ecstatic about it, we've wanted to live in Australia since we were kids so as cheesy as it is this really is a dream come true for us  

 

I'm surprised about the 491, especially as for most states you can live pretty much anywhere like you said and the earnings things doesn't make much difference to us (hopefully) as the average salaries for both of our jobs is quite a bit higher so fingers crossed we find something. 

We're planning on living in the Caloundra area but honestly it's so hard to choose considering all of QLD looks stunning, we both have jobs that will be pretty much anywhere and we're just happy to be out there! 

Any tips or suggestions on good areas for two young people who like outdoorsy stuff, not too bothered about night life etc. and prefer quieter spaces rather than bigger cosmopolitan areas would be much appreciated!

[Wanderer Returns]

On 31/01/2020 at 16:51, PickledRic said:

Just thought I’d update; 

two days ago I put in a separate EOI for the 491 for Queensland as I wasn’t wholly convinced that if you’d applied for the 190 and 491 together they would consider you and I must be right because we got an invite this morning for the 491 that I submitted two days ago!

So super happy, we really didn’t think we’d get an invite with the competition being so fierce but yey!!

Congratulations! I don't know whether a 491 would allow you to work in Cairns, but I taught there for 3 years and was very happy. Cairns is a great place - loads to do there and around and about - just too hot for too many months of the year, but I'd recommend it for a couple of years or so.