AQF III Landscape Gardener

[JoRed4]

After seeing that Landscape Gardener is still on the SS List for SA & breathing a massive sigh of relief, can anyone tell me whether or not they have been through the process for an AQF III qualification for Landscape Gardener.... What is involved, what do we expect? My OH has just sent off his initial application & we are waiting to hear whether or not he will be accepted onto the next stage... Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

Xx

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi JoRed

 

The occupation might be on he SA List at the moment but are you sure that Landscape Gardener will be on the new SOL? DIAC promise that the new, draft SOL should be published on 30th April 2010 at the latest.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[JoRed4]

Hi Gollywobbler,

 

Sorry I don't understand... We will be applyling for State Sponsorship to South Australia, I thought as long as Landscape Gardener was on South Australia's Occupations List we would be ok?? Is this not the case?

 

Cheers

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Gollywobbler,

 

Sorry I don't understand... We will be applyling for State Sponsorship to South Australia, I thought as long as Landscape Gardener was on South Australia's Occupations List we would be ok?? Is this not the case?

 

Cheers

 

Hi JoRed

 

In order for your current plan to come right, the following has to happen:

 

1. Your OH needs to get his AQF III certificate; I don't know how long that process normally takes but I suspect that it would take you well into May 2010 and possibly into June;

 

2. After you get the AQF III certificate, you then have to apply to TRA for a skills assessment. TRA take at least 30 working days (not calendar days) according to their website.

 

3. SA will not entertain an application for State sponsorship until Steps 1 & 2 above have been completed first.

 

Step 1 will cost you at least £1,500 GBP as I understand it. Step 2 would cost you another $300 AUD.

 

You don't actually have to wait for State sponsorship approval from SA. Provided that OK has at least 100 points of his own, he would be able to apply for a sc 175 visa as soon as steps 1 & 2 above have been completed. Technically he could do this but making a visa application would cost $2,525 and you would not get that money back in the event that the State sponsorship is not approved.

 

Everything I have said above would work, provided that either you are able to apply for a GSM visa before the new SOL becomes Law or Landscape Gardener or something closely related to that occupation is on the new SOL or at least one of the States includes Landscape Gardener on that State's State Migration Plan even if the occupation is not on the new SOL.

 

The issue is that spending money is a certainty and once you have spent the money, nobody would give any of it back. There is a lot of uncertainty here, though, as I have explained above.

 

The AQF III might be useful even if the GSM visa route becomes impossible, so long as you have an employer-sponsor lined up instead. That would be your back-up plan if the GSM route should go wrong on you.

 

However as I understand it from you, there is no back-up plan because there is no employer sponsor?

 

If I am right then you are preparing to risk a considerable amount of money with absolutely no certainty that Plan A would work, without a back-up Plan B either and with a time-scale that definitely doesn't work in your favour. In short, you are deciding whether to gamble with the money or not. The alternative is to shove the same amount of money on a racehorse and to see whether or not the animal wins the race, in my view.

 

It is up to you to decide whether to risk the money or not. I am merely concerned to ensure that you understand the risks very clearly.

 

Cheers

 

Gill