Anyone in ACT on 457?

[Guest Giancarlo]

Hi Everyone

I'm looking into the possibilty of moving to Canberra on a 457 visa but we have a 5 yr old daughter starting school and I'm concerned about the school fees on a 457 visa. I had heard that if your occupation is on the MODL (mine is on the CSL) you can get a 100% rebate on school fees? Is there anyone in a similar position who can shed some light on this for me?

Other than that what is Canberra like for a young family and is the lack of a beach close by an issue? (ie are there other nice watering holes nearby!?)

Thanks.

[Quoll]

The school fees thing seems to be a bit up and down - and it may have been me who mentioned that they will waive fees if your occupation is on the list. However that is not policy as stated http://www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/19461/ETV2005chargingpolicy.pdf and it seems the director who made those decisons has now moved on. The fees would be Years K-6 A$9,500 which is a rather large amount! The best thing to do would be to email the department and get a decision in writing and see which way they jump, you could be lucky, you never know.

 

However, the private schools - Catholic schools especially will only charge the basic Catholic school fees if you are on a 457 and they are much cheaper than the govt international fees. (Well that was their policy in 2007 when I asked them)

 

No Canberran bothers about the lack of beaches:nah: We have lots of pools, most of our town centres are built on lakes and if you go out in the bush there are river swimming holes which are quite popular. If you do crave the beach it is only a couple of hours drive away at most. Good facilities for kids here really. It's as good a place as any to bring up kids I reckon.

[Guest Giancarlo]

hi Quoll

Thanks for your reply, I finally got a reply from the department of education and I look to be in luck regarding the school fees. I was also glad to hear that there are places for swimming! We are originally from South Africa so used to the beach and outdoor life and so finding the UK a miserable place to be living and can't wait to get to Australia! We originally looked at Perth but it seems quite tricky to find sponsors. Would we (2 adults, 1 child) be able to survive realistically on 1 salary (44k) in Canberra until OH can get a job or are we just dreaming? I heard the rents are quite high and difficult to come by. Do you know which primary schools are good and which areas are good to live in? Also do they have many veterinary clinics in Canberra? Sorry if I sound ignorant!!

Thanks again

Giancarlo

[Quoll]

hi Quoll

Thanks for your reply, I finally got a reply from the department of education and I look to be in luck regarding the school fees. I was also glad to hear that there are places for swimming! We are originally from South Africa so used to the beach and outdoor life and so finding the UK a miserable place to be living and can't wait to get to Australia! We originally looked at Perth but it seems quite tricky to find sponsors. Would we (2 adults, 1 child) be able to survive realistically on 1 salary (44k) in Canberra until OH can get a job or are we just dreaming? I heard the rents are quite high and difficult to come by. Do you know which primary schools are good and which areas are good to live in? Also do they have many veterinary clinics in Canberra? Sorry if I sound ignorant!!

Thanks again

Giancarlo

 

Good news from education then! Make sure you have it in writing (make multiple copies of your email:biglaugh:)

 

Survive on $44K - that will be hard. It sort of all fits together like a jigsaw with respect to schools, housing, work etc and with a low income that sort of puts you in the areas where other people may be on low incomes and - not being disparaging of course - they may not be the type of folk you want to knock around with! Hence you may not like the school in your area. You are going to have to sacrifice something and it may be that you dont go for a glamorous house to begin with - look to paying about $400 pw for anything really. Check out Real Estate & Homes for Sale, Rent and Share | allhomes for what is available. At this time of year it is incredibly difficult to get a rental as every man and his dog seems to be moving here but that has eased off by March. Every day living costs are quite high here too and by the time you have paid for power, internet, medical insurance, petrol/parking/car-running, food, phone, other insurances etc there wont be much left out of your salary.

 

Quite a few vets around google search but being pet-less I dont really know - I see a couple in Ainslie when I walk to work but I know there are quite a few.

 

I guess it all depends on how much you will be bringing with you to bolster your salary in the first instance. Also where you live and go to school will probably be related to where you work - you wont want to live at one end of town when work is at the other end. If you can be more specific I would be happy to give you the low down on schools. I dont know what your DH does but employment is also a bit tricky here at the moment too - he should pick up something if he isnt too particular about what it is in the first instance unless he has a specialized skill that is much in demand.