PhoebeW Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 When speaking to our son and d-i-l yesterday (who live in Loganholme and work in Underwood area) they said it is very surreal for them only having the rain and few areas that have higher than average water levels when an hours drive away people are being flooded out. Lucky for them the Logan river is fed from a different source. Fingers crossed that you can still make your journey safely. My daughter is much the same she lives in Varsity Lakes near Robina the have a river at the bottom of their garden but are on a slight incline so keeping fingers crossed so far they are all safe with a 6 and 4 year old and 6 months pregnant it's a real worry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Avalook Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 As some of you may know we got our CO on 23/12/10, as our son cannot get an interview with Centrelink for Aos we felt we should update our CO. Imagine our surprise to get a email reply today that they are out of the office from 24/12/10 until 07/02/11. :chatterbox: Good job we did not get the Meds, and Police checks carried straight away (if Xmas had not got in the way) as they would have sat on the shelf for at least a month. I guess another way to look at it if we had not sent a 'how are things going' email a few days before that then we may not have got the CO until February. It is useful to check on Steve's tracker to make sure you remain in the time frame of your fellow CPVs, i.e. when we had dropped more than 2 weeks behind Framboy who we were 1 week behind on acknowledgment we gave them a nudge. It will be interesting to see who and when the first new CO of the year appears (unless they all have the same time off:shocked:). Regards Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Aged Parents to Australia Hi everyone, My wife and I are considering a move to the suburbs of Melbourne in the Mentone/Parkdale area on a Contributory Parent visas of some sort. Just feeling our way at the moment - transferring of State and Private Pension, working out cost of living etc. Any ideas on basic medicare. I need medication for life for Type 2 Diabetes but apart from that I am pretty healthy and we enjoy long walks and swimming to keep us ticking over. Andy ideas? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirmatt101 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 As some of you may know we got our CO on 23/12/10, as our son cannot get an interview with Centrelink for Aos we felt we should update our CO. Imagine our surprise to get a email reply today that they are out of the office from 24/12/10 until 07/02/11. :chatterbox: Good job we did not get the Meds, and Police checks carried straight away (if Xmas had not got in the way) as they would have sat on the shelf for at least a month. I guess another way to look at it if we had not sent a 'how are things going' email a few days before that then we may not have got the CO until February. It is useful to check on Steve's tracker to make sure you remain in the time frame of your fellow CPVs, i.e. when we had dropped more than 2 weeks behind Framboy who we were 1 week behind on acknowledgment we gave them a nudge. It will be interesting to see who and when the first new CO of the year appears (unless they all have the same time off:shocked:). Regards Les Hi Les We were going through the final visa stages over the holiday period last year and our CO emailed to say that she would be away on holiday, but that she was handing her charges (us) over to another CO, copying him in on the email. They shouldn't expect you to come to a standstill whilst they are enjoying their hols. If I were in the same situation as you I would email the general queries (parents@immi.gov.au) and ask who is standing in for your CO as you have some important matters to discuss. Keep pushing them. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveandaileen Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi Les We were going through the final visa stages over the holiday period last year and our CO emailed to say that she would be away on holiday, but that she was handing her charges (us) over to another CO, copying him in on the email. They shouldn't expect you to come to a standstill whilst they are enjoying their hols. If I were in the same situation as you I would email the general queries (parents@immi.gov.au) and ask who is standing in for your CO as you have some important matters to discuss. Keep pushing them. Cheers Matt Lez, I agree with Matt, as I know ours is working at moment as we have been in contact several timesa by email over holiday period Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirmatt101 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi Matt This is a really tough one for you; the news from Queensland paints a picture of unmitigated catastrophe. We can all see the pictures. I'd be inclined to delay or head temporarily for somewhere slightly drier (the Arabian desert perhaps) if you can - not easy I know (and it absolutely chucked it down last night in Melbourne, so even Vic is getting a soaking). And who knows when the Qld deluges will stop log enough to allow mopping up to start? Pretty awful. Steve Hi Steve Not sure if the Arabian desert is any better anyway! I was in Bahrain for 13 months back in 1972 and we planned a big trip down the Island for Good Friday, quess what, it was the only day in 13 months that it rained and none of the mini mokes we hired would work as they got wet on the electrics. So is it just me?? :confused: We have talked over the pros & cons of delaying, going elsewhere and have decided to "keep on going", so unless the airport is closed we WILL be there on 27th January. We can stay with our daughter who luckily rents a house at the top of a hill, but is in an area unaffected by the floods anyway. There may well be a shortage of rental properties for some time to come as people have their flood damaged homes repaired. They will likely be a shortage of everthing we need, but hopefully there will be a requirement for more people to join the work force as the clean up and return to normality begins. My son lives 40km from the centre of Brisbane and also says how surreal it was to be watching the disaster unfold on TV, yet where he was he had been mowing his lawn and even swimming in the pool! His workplace is one street away from the river in the city so hes not sure when he will get back there! And to finish off, my son tells me a cyclone is forecast bewteen 26th - 28th Jan, just to welcome us there!! :shocked: Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linday Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Aged Parents to Australia Hi everyone, My wife and I are considering a move to the suburbs of Melbourne in the Mentone/Parkdale area on a Contributory Parent visas of some sort. Just feeling our way at the moment - transferring of State and Private Pension, working out cost of living etc. Any ideas on basic medicare. I need medication for life for Type 2 Diabetes but apart from that I am pretty healthy and we enjoy long walks and swimming to keep us ticking over. Andy ideas? Thanks. Hi, welcome to the forum, Here are a couple of links to get you started: About Medicare - Medicare Australia PrivateHealth.gov.au - Australian Health Insurance Information I think there is something called a Seniors Commonwealth card, available after 2 years for over 65s which gives discounts on medication etc. Your state pension would need to be paid in sterling and tranferred vai a central bank account to your account in Australia. The State Pension service has this system set up. With regard to privat pensions, you would need to be under 65 to transfer your pension to an Australian pension scheme. Everyone's situation is different and it is advisable to take professional advice on whether it is the best thing to do. I can send you some contacts if you want to take this further. The cost of living is a worry for all of us, but you need to consider whether it is worth it to be near your family. I am sure others on here can add to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linday Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We are just trying to work out timescales for when we might need to go offshore if we are in Australia when we get our case officer. As I understand it from Steve's tracker and various posts, when you get a case officer you get 28 days to produce medicals and police checks and then when you have submitted these, another 28 days to pay the second VAC. (We are initially going for a 173 so no AOS involved). Can anyone please confirm this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirmatt101 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We are just trying to work out timescales for when we might need to go offshore if we are in Australia when we get our case officer. As I understand it from Steve's tracker and various posts, when you get a case officer you get 28 days to produce medicals and police checks and then when you have submitted these, another 28 days to pay the second VAC. (We are initially going for a 173 so no AOS involved). Can anyone please confirm this? Yes, you get 28 days from being appointed a case officer to sending them the details/documents they ask for. You can pre-empt this and have your medicals & police clearance checks done early and even submit them before getting a CO. Just remember that meds are only valid 12 months! You can ask for an extension to the 28 days if you need and COs are quite obliging. The request for 2nd VAC will come from the CO once he has all the info asked for, you can even request an extension to that if the money is tied up somehwere, there have been some on the forums that have been offered a 3 month extension for 2nd VAC. So you can see it is not strictly all done to the exact timeline! Hope this helps somewhat. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linday Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Yes, you get 28 days from being appointed a case officer to sending them the details/documents they ask for. You can pre-empt this and have your medicals & police clearance checks done early and even submit them before getting a CO. Just remember that meds are only valid 12 months! You can ask for an extension to the 28 days if you need and COs are quite obliging. The request for 2nd VAC will come from the CO once he has all the info asked for, you can even request an extension to that if the money is tied up somehwere, there have been some on the forums that have been offered a 3 month extension for 2nd VAC. So you can see it is not strictly all done to the exact timeline! Hope this helps somewhat. Cheers Matt Thanks, yes that's what I thought. Wish I had a crystal ball - it would make planning so much easier! Our daughter really wants us to go over in June for a long stay on a visitor's visa as she is expecting our first grandchild. We need to plan whether we will come back here or go offshore somewhere else. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I know you must have other things on your mind at the moment. You must be on permanent floodwatch! I will keep everything crossed for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoebeW Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks, yes that's what I thought. Wish I had a crystal ball - it would make planning so much easier! Our daughter really wants us to go over in June for a long stay on a visitor's visa as she is expecting our first grandchild. We need to plan whether we will come back here or go offshore somewhere else. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I know you must have other things on your mind at the moment. You must be on permanent floodwatch! I will keep everything crossed for you. We are going out on a visitors visa in April, my daughter is expecting our third grand child and I can't imagine not being there when she has it :biggrin: We are staying for 8 weeks this time (can't push work for any more time ) or we would have stayed the 3 months :jiggy: Our family is safe so far thankfully but our thoughts are with all those who have had to go through this horendous ordeal.....stay strong.... Phoebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mombie58@hotmail.com Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 My daughter is much the same she lives in Varsity Lakes near Robina the have a river at the bottom of their garden but are on a slight incline so keeping fingers crossed so far they are all safe with a 6 and 4 year old and 6 months pregnant it's a real worry... ................ hello Phoebe just a note - we really must get together - my daughter - in Carrrara - is having a baby in june and catherine and I will be there in april! thank you to Matt, Peter, Fiz et al who have been so kind in our situation. spoke with heather this morning and all seems ok still on the gold coast but I suggested stocking up on water etc just in case. Matt, steve's idea sounds good, but you must be so looking forward to seeing the family - difficult choice I imagine, a safe trip to you and LadyMatt! so glad to be back with the people who are with us on this journey take care of yourselves and your families in the UK and Oz audie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi, welcome to the forum, Here are a couple of links to get you started: About Medicare - Medicare Australia PrivateHealth.gov.au - Australian Health Insurance Information I think there is something called a Seniors Commonwealth card, available after 2 years for over 65s which gives discounts on medication etc. Your state pension would need to be paid in sterling and tranferred vai a central bank account to your account in Australia. The State Pension service has this system set up. With regard to privat pensions, you would need to be under 65 to transfer your pension to an Australian pension scheme. Everyone's situation is different and it is advisable to take professional advice on whether it is the best thing to do. I can send you some contacts if you want to take this further. The cost of living is a worry for all of us, but you need to consider whether it is worth it to be near your family. I am sure others on here can add to this. Hi Linday Trying to sort out private pension also. Could you PM me if needbe the contacts you have. Would be a great help. many thanks peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks, yes that's what I thought. Wish I had a crystal ball - it would make planning so much easier! Our daughter really wants us to go over in June for a long stay on a visitor's visa as she is expecting our first grandchild. We need to plan whether we will come back here or go offshore somewhere else. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I know you must have other things on your mind at the moment. You must be on permanent floodwatch! I will keep everything crossed for you. G'Day Linday I did once have an email correspondence with someone in Perth, who told me that if you are onshore when the visa is about to be granted – so long as the CO knows about it – they are quite happy to give you prior warning so that you can scoot off to Singapore or Wellington, say, for a few days while Perth issues the visa, then you come straight back to validate it. She says it happens quite often. Good luck, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi, welcome to the forum <snip> With regard to privat pensions, you would need to be under 65 to transfer your pension to an Australian pension scheme. <snip> I don't think that is correct - so long as the work test can be satisfied it is possible to transfer UK pension benefits into an Australian superannuation fund, and derive the resulting tax benefits. Note that a transfer of UK pension benefits into Aussie super cannot take place once a pension is in the payment or annuity phase. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Avalook Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Yes, you get 28 days from being appointed a case officer to sending them the details/documents they ask for. You can pre-empt this and have your medicals & police clearance checks done early and even submit them before getting a CO. Just remember that meds are only valid 12 months! You can ask for an extension to the 28 days if you need and COs are quite obliging. The request for 2nd VAC will come from the CO once he has all the info asked for, you can even request an extension to that if the money is tied up somewhere, there have been some on the forums that have been offered a 3 month extension for 2nd VAC. So you can see it is not strictly all done to the exact time line! Hope this helps somewhat. Cheers Matt Hi Matt & all. Our letter has 49 days to provide the requested information, but that may have been because they (CO) knew they would be away for more than 28 days. Just to be clear, we have no personal need to hurry our application, (but our CO does not know that) I posted the information just to let people know if you are in a rush and have pre-loaded your meds etc, it may not help you get the visa done quickly in some circumstances. Sorry if I gave the impression we were upset about things. We will not be making the move until our house is sold so the post Xmas timing of our meds and police check gives us the chance of a validation trip to Oz right up to next Christmas if the housing market slows even more. To be fair they have given a email address for any general inquires will the CO is away. They have said they want the Aos sorted within 28 days, but in Qld that is out of our control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMavis Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi, to everyone,never posred on this or any other forum before I am the Mike part of the name and we have been following the forum with interest for some while now and have been gratefull for the information received and I am sure we will be gaining everytime we visit. Applied 173 CPV Sept 2010,both sons in oz one in Melbourne the other watching cars sail past his windows in Brisbane cant wat to go join em despite flods exchange rates medicals etc etc etc well get there, weve all coped with a lot worse in the past and we know our generation are suvivors. good luck and thanks once more to everyone on hear hope to stay in touch. Cheers Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoebeW Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi, to everyone,never posred on this or any other forum before I am the Mike part of the name and we have been following the forum with interest for some while now and have been gratefull for the information received and I am sure we will be gaining everytime we visit. Applied 173 CPV Sept 2010,both sons in oz one in Melbourne the other watching cars sail past his windows in Brisbane cant wat to go join em despite flods exchange rates medicals etc etc etc well get there, weve all coped with a lot worse in the past and we know our generation are suvivors. good luck and thanks once more to everyone on hear hope to stay in touch. Cheers Mike. Hi Mike Welcome to the forum. We applied for the CPV143 also in September....3rd to be exact :cute: Have you put your name on Steve's tracker it give you an idea of how long it is taking for CO's etc :biggrin: My daughter is about 1 hour South of Brisbane and luckily have so far been ok apart from 'king tides' although apparantly a Cyclone is due on Australia Day :swoon: Good Luck with everything :cool: Phoebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linday Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 G'Day Linday I did once have an email correspondence with someone in Perth, who told me that if you are onshore when the visa is about to be granted – so long as the CO knows about it – they are quite happy to give you prior warning so that you can scoot off to Singapore or Wellington, say, for a few days while Perth issues the visa, then you come straight back to validate it. She says it happens quite often. Good luck, Mike Hi Mike Thanks for that; yes, that's what I was hoping. We have friends in Bangkok so hopefully can go and stay with them for a while. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linday Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I don't think that is correct - so long as the work test can be satisfied it is possible to transfer UK pension benefits into an Australian superannuation fund, and derive the resulting tax benefits. Note that a transfer of UK pension benefits into Aussie super cannot take place once a pension is in the payment or annuity phase. Best regards. Thanks for correcting that Alan, just goes to show why it's vital to take professional advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cakey Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi Mike and Mavis....... Welcome to PIO We are also playing the waiting game.....waiting to join our daughter and family on the gold coast at Pacific Pines..........Thankfully far away from the terrible floods....But despite the rain and floods we all still want to go! and can hardly wait to get there. Cheers Cakey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirmatt101 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 G'Day Linday I did once have an email correspondence with someone in Perth, who told me that if you are onshore when the visa is about to be granted – so long as the CO knows about it – they are quite happy to give you prior warning so that you can scoot off to Singapore or Wellington, say, for a few days while Perth issues the visa, then you come straight back to validate it. She says it happens quite often. Good luck, Mike Thats exactly what we did this time last year, we were in Brisbane when the visa was ready to be issued, so we flew to Auckland (the cheapest trip) for a week, got the visas, had a few days break there, flew back to Brisbane and then a few days later back to the UK. Other wise we would have had to return to Oz by June 15th to validate! We just arranged it all with the CO by email. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirmatt101 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi Mike and Mavis....... Welcome to PIO We are also playing the waiting game.....waiting to join our daughter and family on the gold coast at Pacific Pines..........Thankfully far away from the terrible floods....But despite the rain and floods we all still want to go! and can hardly wait to get there. Cheers Cakey I think that if you live in Queensland, it doesn't matter how far from or close to the floods you are everyone is going be effected in some way or other, whether its shortages of fuel, food, rental properties & so on. Its going to take a lot of money & a long time for the whole state to recover & hopefully everyone will pull together to get there. Its the people most closely effected that need everyone elses help & support. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi, to everyone,never posred on this or any other forum before I am the Mike part of the name and we have been following the forum with interest for some while now and have been gratefull for the information received and I am sure we will be gaining everytime we visit. Applied 173 CPV Sept 2010,both sons in oz one in Melbourne the other watching cars sail past his windows in Brisbane cant wat to go join em despite flods exchange rates medicals etc etc etc well get there, weve all coped with a lot worse in the past and we know our generation are suvivors. good luck and thanks once more to everyone on hear hope to stay in touch. Cheers Mike. G'day from another Mike. We are a little ahead of you, having applied for a 173 in June. I echo what Phoebe says – get yourself on Steve's (stevech) tracker at Australian migration, contributory parent visa, information and progress tracker, and you can watch yourself gradually moving closer to the finishing line! Good luck, Mike PS: Correction – I've just seen that you are already there! Welcome to both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratchet Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi to you all. Ive tried to find out if my questions have already been discussed in the thread, but havent seen so far. Sorry if this is a repeat post. A bit of background - Spoke to Dad today, who informed me they are closing down where he works and are looking at placing at another office, but it may result in redundancy. He semi retired Feb 09 and has been working part time in his role since. When we moved out to Melb Sept 09, Dad was interested and managed to get some basic info about parent visas. Im aware that some may have changed so i thought it would be best to get some up to date info. Dad has skills as a mechanic and about 30+ yrs in the prison service. He would be happy to continue working, plus he will have his pension every month paid to him. Im the only child so 100% of his offspring are perm residents in Aus. He will turn 58yrs in Feb My confusion lays with what visa is the most appropriate to go for. I know there are costs involved, any idea on what that might be? Can the visa be applied for while he is here on a visiting/holiday visa? if so, would that offer him a bridging visa? (is there such a thing as an onshore parent visa?) Is an agent needed or is it simple enough to do it yourself? Thanks in advance, Kelly. :clown-smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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