Autism is it a visa stopper?

[Sids Dad]

Hi all, well I have made my gums go about living the dream long and loud to all of my friends and relatives since arriving for good last year.

My brother is starting to take a real interest in wanting to follow in our footsteps although he is dubious as to whether his 12 year old son would get through the medical.

He is Autistic although he is on the bottom end of the spectum. he also has medical problems with his leg and back although it's not really noticable. They have had hundreds of Hostital visits since he was born and it's still continuing today.

Can anyone tell me if they have managed to get under the radar with a similar problem?

I don't want to give him false hope and would rather he accept disapointment now.

Any wise words would be helpful.

[Quoll]

Could well be a visa stopper but you would probably want to seek advice from an agent who specializes in medical issues. George Lombard and Peter Bollard are the two most frequently mentioned in this sort of case. If a child is receiving special ed assistance and is in a special school for example then they have less of a chance than a kid who is doing it almost independently in mainstream. Get good advice I suggest.

[Sids Dad]

Thanks Quoll, As far as I know he is not in a special school, he is in mainstream but has a lot of issues with anxiety and lacks a few social skills, he might have one friend, not sure.

[Guest Manj]

Hi all, well I have made my gums go about living the dream long and loud to all of my friends and relatives since arriving for good last year.

My brother is starting to take a real interest in wanting to follow in our footsteps although he is dubious as to whether his 12 year old son would get through the medical.

He is Autistic although he is on the bottom end of the spectum. he also has medical problems with his leg and back although it's not really noticable. They have had hundreds of Hostital visits since he was born and it's still continuing today.

Can anyone tell me if they have managed to get under the radar with a similar problem?

I don't want to give him false hope and would rather he accept disapointment now.

Any wise words would be helpful.

 

 

Hope this answers your question Sids Dad if you plan to apply for NSW state sponsorship....

 

NSW joins health waiver scheme for skilled migrants - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

I'm not quite sure if the other states have participted in this 'Health waiver' thing and what Occupations qualify or anything else...

[Sids Dad]

Hope this answers your question Sids Dad if you plan to apply for NSW state sponsorship....

 

NSW joins health waiver scheme for skilled migrants - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

I'm not quite sure if the other states have participted in this 'Health waiver' thing and what Occupations qualify or anything else...

 

Thanks for that but I think he would struggle with this as he is not a doctor or a professional that is mentioned here, he is in fact a humble pipe fitter who works offshore in the North Sea. Maybe things may ease in the future so we will just have to get him over for a holiday and test the waters.

[gareth and lisa]

Hope not although were ready for a fight!!!. Our son Ethan has high functioning autism, in mainstream school doing very well but you never know.

[Sids Dad]

Thanks Guy's, it does give them a bit of hope and warrants further investigation. I would hate it if he put in an application and wasted a lot of money though.

Good Luck Garath and Lisa please let us all know how things go.

[Sids Dad]

My 2 year old is at the lower end of the autistic spectrum he has aspergers syndrome, he hadnt been diagnosed when we went for our visa medical, but shortly after, we did inform them when we found out and they said it was fine and he was on no drug therapy.

Good luck

Great, I hope all goes well for you all. Incidently are you both well qualified and on the "Wanted" list? I think this is what will make the difference.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Alan (Sids Dad)

 

I've been aware of your query for a couple of days but I needed more time in order to deal with your query properly than I have had until now.

 

Your nephew's medical issues are not necessarly a show-stopper. Please leave that question aside for the moment and let us focus on your brother instead because unless he is assured of a visa, his son's meds are irrelevant.

 

Now - you say that your brother is a Pipe-fitter. How old is he, please? His visa options depend on his age so this is more important than anything else at the moment.

 

The next thing is your brother's occupation. You say that he is a Pipe-fitter, which is a British idea. What is a pipe-fitter according to the ASRI list below, please?

 

A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information

 

I'm not sure whether a pipe-fitter is a type of Metal Fabricator (or similar) according to the ANZSCO dictionary or whether a pipe-fitter fits into one of the other occupations described in ANZSCO.

 

The way to work it out is as follows:

 

Question: Is he a Metal Fabricator according to ANZSCO?

 

1. Metal Fabricator - 322311

 

2. Let us see what ANZSCO says a Metal Fabricator does:

1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, 2006

 

If my theory does not produce a close enough fit, what about Metal Fitter? If not Metal Fitter then what about something else?

 

This is not rocket science, especially not if you are Roger Laws! He lives in Canberra. If I phone Roger and say, "British guy - called a Pipe-fitter in the UK," Roger instantly says, "He is an XYZ according to ANZSCO."

 

I spent 4 hours one evening sweating over a man who deals with aircraft hangar doors and similar. Huge doors, not house or office doors. Eventually I concluded that he is a Fitter but I couldn't work out what sort of Fitter. As soon as Roger was asked, he knew exactly what the rest of us were yammering about and said that the guy was a Fitter nec. (NEC = Not Elsewhere Classified.) Asking Roger rather than sweating over it myself would have saved 4 hours of head-banging!

 

A Registered Migration Agent had earmarked the same man as being a Home Improver or something similar - which was obviously nonsense. Unless the person concerned knows exactly how to work it out, that person will be inclined to trust whatever the RMA says but the RMA might be wrong. Some of the RMAs have more front than Marks & Sparks but are well short of any real, underlying knowledge of different skills, so one does have to be very careful about this.

 

I know that lots of Pipe-fitters have migrated to Oz in recent years because I dealt with one on here a couple of years ago. The PiO member was called Giovanni or something and he was Italian, with very poor English. He said that he was a Pipe-fitter and asked about his visa options. He was on a temporary, employer-sponsored sc 457 visa and was working in Adelaide, he said, but he feared that his employer was about to go bust. I asked him to tell me what a Pipe-fitter is according to the ASCO Dictionary of Occupations, superceded by ANZSCO on 1st July 2010. Giovanni didn't reply so I never found out what to call him in Strine and he didn't discover his visa options via Poms in Oz either!

 

So, before we worry about your nephew:

 

A. How old is your brother? and

B: How does ANZSCO describe his occupation?

 

The answers above will deal with his visa options and as I say, there is no point in worrying about your nephew's meds (which do not sound too bad at all to me) unless we have first worked out how likely his father is to be able to get a skilled visa for Oz.

 

I take it that your sister in law isn't an Aussie or anything useful like that?

 

Also, where do you live, please? I think you have said Byron. Where is that? North NSW? The Gold Coast? I know roughly where Byron is but I don't know what to call the area/the State involved.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Sids Dad]

Hello Gill, Phew, trust you to strain the soup!! well i would guess that being a pipe fitter would drop him into the Boilermaker slot here. My brother is 45 ( maybe a problem methinks).

 

Now, where am I? Well first it was Byron bay ( Northern Rivers in NSW) which is one hour drive from the QLD border. Then it was Melbourne City for two weeks, then Mornington for two months. I was then back for two weeks in Melbourne on the Southbank (City), then Port Melbourne for 6 weeks. We then drove the 1700+K up to Brisbane where we are staying in an apartment in Kangaroo Point (Ferry across from the City).

You were maybe right Gill I could write a book!

 

This may go full circle within the next 6 weeks as I'm getting close to throwing my hand in here ( Refinery is a bit too tame for me). So it's most likely we will be back down to Byron which will be near Simon our son. He is running his own business and said he is desperate for a hand. Rather than explain what Simon does it would be easier to have a look at his website aerobot.com.au which says it all. the lucky pup is off tio Cairns next week to do a photo shoot on a 90' boat filled with girls modleing swimwear!!

Alan.

[Guest 987nicole]

Autism support is something that you MUST consider!!!!!! The UK is miles ahead of Australia in supporting Kids with Autism, A lot of people with Autism kids move back to the UK as the support in Australia is so poor. The goverment only provides very limited help, like almost nothing. The visa is one issue but could you life in Australia with very limited support?

[Quoll]

Autism support is something that you MUST consider!!!!!! The UK is miles ahead of Australia in supporting Kids with Autism, A lot of people with Autism kids move back to the UK as the support in Australia is so poor. The goverment only provides very limited help, like almost nothing. The visa is one issue but could you life in Australia with very limited support?

 

And you raise the Catch 22 there - those kids who are likely to need more support are those most likely to get knocked back for a visa. Certainly, support is patchy at best - some states do it better than others but all have eligibility criteria for disability support which rules out some kids who may be supported in other jurisdictions.

[Sids Dad]

Autism support is something that you MUST consider!!!!!! The UK is miles ahead of Australia in supporting Kids with Autism, A lot of people with Autism kids move back to the UK as the support in Australia is so poor. The goverment only provides very limited help, like almost nothing. The visa is one issue but could you life in Australia with very limited support?

 

I think you have raised a valid point Nicole, at the end of the day though it would be up to my brother if he wants to go ahead with it all. no doubt he will read all of the pro's and conn's before he reaches a green or red light.

I'm not sure I understand your link to agent reviewing mind? is there something regarding Autism on it?

[ozzbound]

Just a few points to add.

In the UK i worked for the Special Needs Service. The reports they write to get a statement are written to emphasise the need of the child and obtain the highest level of support. I know of such a report for a visa being re-written positively due to a visa refusal which was overturned. Be careful which reports are submitted with the application or contact the local SEN service for advice on a more positive report.

 

Another point is I work in a primary school and we have children with ASD who are supported full time even during breaks and lunchtimes. However, I must also add that a violent boy with ADHD has had his hours dropped.

It seems a bizarre system if you ask me.

Best wishes x

[Guest 987nicole]

I think you have raised a valid point Nicole, at the end of the day though it would be up to my brother if he wants to go ahead with it all. no doubt he will read all of the pro's and conn's before he reaches a green or red light.

I'm not sure I understand your link to agent reviewing mind? is there something regarding Autism on it?

 

It is a complicated issue, yes the services between states are different and are changing. Hence, if you get support services in the UK don't expect them in Australia unless you can prove different. You also need to think about the childs transition to Australia and potential risk of having to move back to the UK if it doesn't work out. Sorry to be a downer.

www.autismspectrum.org.au

www.autismaus.com.au

 

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hello Gill, Phew, trust you to strain the soup!! well i would guess that being a pipe fitter would drop him into the Boilermaker slot here. My brother is 45 ( maybe a problem methinks).

 

Now, where am I? Well first it was Byron bay ( Northern Rivers in NSW) which is one hour drive from the QLD border. Then it was Melbourne City for two weeks, then Mornington for two months. I was then back for two weeks in Melbourne on the Southbank (City), then Port Melbourne for 6 weeks. We then drove the 1700+K up to Brisbane where we are staying in an apartment in Kangaroo Point (Ferry across from the City).

You were maybe right Gill I could write a book!

 

This may go full circle within the next 6 weeks as I'm getting close to throwing my hand in here ( Refinery is a bit too tame for me). So it's most likely we will be back down to Byron which will be near Simon our son. He is running his own business and said he is desperate for a hand. Rather than explain what Simon does it would be easier to have a look at his website aerobot.com.au which says it all. the lucky pup is off tio Cairns next week to do a photo shoot on a 90' boat filled with girls modleing swimwear!!

Alan.

 

Hi Alan

 

Thanks for the information.

 

If Brother is a Boilermaker in normal parlance then he is a Metal Fabricator 322311 according to ANZSCO. (I trust you've done your homework thoroughly, boyo, because at this moment the possibility of a visa for Brother and his family depends on you more than it depends on anyone else.)

 

Metal Fabricator - 322311

 

You know more about the oil and gas projects in Oz than do the vast majority of other people including me. You certainly have better contacts in that field than most other people have. Which is important because now that Brother has turned 45, he can still migrate to Australia, become a Permanent Resident like yourself, become a Citizen in due course etc but because of his age, he will need to find an employer who is willing to offer Brother a job and who is also eligible and willing to sponsor him for a visa. Also, most people in this industry know about the various oil & gas rigs in the North Sea so I imagine that experience of working there looks excellent on someone's CV.

 

There are 3 possible visa options for Brother and they are the ones which the Federal Government favours.

 

The option that most employers have heard of is the temporary sc 457 visa:

 

Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457)

 

For some people, this visa isn't ideal because it does not provide Permanent Residency in Australia from Day One. For other people, however, it is a godsend and it would be a godsend for Brother, I reckon, because it would kick any possible medical doubts about your nephew into touch. It can lead to Permanent Residency in Australia and sometimes, obtaining PR can be arranged within 12 months of arrival in Oz.

 

The two possible options for Permanent Residency would then be the ENS or RSMS visas:

 

Skilled Workers Permanent Visa Options- Employer Sponsored Workers - Workers - Visas & Immigration

 

Employer Sponsored Migration Booklet - Australian Immigration

 

Because Brother is only 45 now and would be no more than about 48 by the time of applying for a visa that would give him PR, both options are possibilities for him but an RSMS visa would be easier.

 

RSMS visas depend on the employer being based in Regional Australia. The idea of them is that it is difficult to persuade workers from the main cities to go to Regional Oz to live and work for a couple of years. Often, employers in Regional Oz end up having to sponsor new migrants in order to get the workers that they need. Migrants tend to be unwilling to choose Gympie if they could choose Brisbane instead, which fact is of no help to the employer whose business is based up in Gympie.

 

To create a win-win situation all round, the philosophy of the Federal Government is to do a deal with the prospective migrant. If he is willing to commit to 24 months of living and working in Regional Oz, the Government will give him Permanent Residency from Day One and after 24 months in Regional Oz, the migrant then gets "the keys to the whole of the rest of Australia." He can then move to the middle of Sydney if he so wishes. Also the criteria for an RSMS visa are less stringent than for an ENS visa, particularly with regard to age and qualifications:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/rsms/exemptions.htm

 

Similar exemptions do exist with an ENS visa but with the latter, it is harder to persuade DIAC that the employer really can't find a suitable Aussie to do the job.

 

Where is Regional Australia? In QLD it is any area which is outside the postcodes controlled by Brisbane and Gold Coast City Councils. For instance, not far from Surfers Paradise there is a place called Main Beach. Surfers does not have a Regional postcode but Main Beach does. That said, an employer who lives and works in the general direction of Townsville would find it easier to prove the exemptions than one who is based in the next-door postcode to the postcode for Surfers.

 

In NSW, Newcastle is not Regional but the area close to the border with QLD is almost certainly Regional Oz. The easy way is to identify the area where the employer is based and then consult this list of postcodes:

 

Eligible postcodes for the Regional Subclass 457 programme and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

 

You can't tell much from a list of numbers, so next you go to AusPost:

 

Australia Post - Postcode Search

 

By using both of the links above, it is easy to work the whole thing out.

 

Qualifications: It is not crucial for a worker on a sc 457 visa to hold formal qualifications and to have obtained a positive skills assessment from Trades Recognition Australia. I suspect that one could shout "North Sea Experience" and to use that to wriggle out of any objections or queries from DIAC in Brother's case.

 

However I know that you do hold some proper trade qualifications, so did your parents insist on the same thing for Brother as well? If yes, did he do a proper apprenticeship and then get his C&G3 or NVQ3?

 

If not, it is easy enough for an experienced worker to obtain the Aussie AQF III qualification instead, which is virtually identical to the British ones.

 

If Brother needs any Aussie qualifications or thinks they might be desirable, I know of 4 possible options but let us do this one step at a time because it might not be crucial for him to do an AQF III anyway.

 

If he does not have any formal qualifications and neither he or the prospective employer are fussed about it, from the visa point of view the only hassle is that Brother would have to spend a minimum of 2 years in Oz, working for an employer on a sc 457 visa, before he and the employer could apply to upgrade him to an ENS 856 visa or an RSMS 857 visa, which are the two onshore ENS and RSMS visas. If he already has a positive skills assessment from TRA then it is possible to make an application for PR as soon as Brother and his employer both feel ready to do so. (There is some flexibility in this with the RSMS visa but not with the ENS visa.)

 

The reason why I am suggesting the convoluted route of starting off with a sc 457 visa would be to stave off any potential medical issues about your nephew. Unless the child is likely to need a hip or knee replacement within the next 5-10 years it is unlikely that his meds would cause problems anyway, but for a belt and braces approach, the visa route that I suggest would be the best one.

 

The idea would be to get Brother and his family into Oz on a sc 457 temporary visa first, so that he then applies for the onshore version of either an ENS or RSMS visa later. By doing it this way, you get a Health requirement Waiver (in effect) at the sc 457 visa stage by way of an Employer's Health Undertaking and then you get a more formal State Health Waiver at the time of applying for an onshore PR visa later.

 

That said, though, whether it would be necessary to do any legal foot-slogging with the meds depends on the degree and severity of the child's two potential Health issues. From your descriptions of those, they both sound pretty mild to me but I am not a doctor so I can't delve into the medical side of things as well as a doctor could, plainly.

 

Now then. Whereabouts does Brother live in the UK and how far is it to Edinburgh from wherever Brother might live? I ask because the child would need to be examined by a Panel Doctor in the UK at the sc 457 visa stage. The best one for the purpose would be Dr Helen Bryden in Edinburgh:

 

United Kingdom – Panel Doctors

 

In the days before computers became clever, most of the visas for Oz that could be applied for by a Briton were processed in the UK. Their meds assessment was processed in the UK as well. For this purpose, DIAC had MOC doctors who were based in the UK and Dr Bryden was one of the UK-based MOC doctors.

 

Then in about 2002 or so, DIAC established the Health Operations Centre in Sydney and all the visa meds are now processed there, plus all of the MOC doctors are now based at the HOC. Dr Bryden became an ordinary Panel Doctor instead but because she has experience of being an MOC doctor, she tends to have a very shrewd understanding of the way the Australian Government's mind works in relation to visa meds. Most Panel Doctors in the UK haven't a clue what the MOC wants and are deeply uninterested in doing anything except collecting the money. They are no help whatsoever when the visa applicant thinks that there could be a problem with the meds for one or more members of his family. Dr Bryden is a shining exception to the general rule, which makes it worth a schlep in order to use her for the visa meds.

 

With autism, I have known at least one Panel Doctor in the UK to make some horrendous, avoidable, unnecessary mistakes. Dr Bryden can be relied on not to make similar mistakes.

 

That is enough detail for the moment because with Brother, everything else would depend on finding an eligible and willing employer. A one man band cannot sponsor a skilled migrant for a sc 457 visa. The employer needs to have around a dozen or so employees in the business (including the employer) as a minimum. A bigger contractor with an HR Department and familiarity with providing sc 457 visas for skilled migrants would be a better idea. Somebody who has done it before is always easier than someone who hasn't, and so forth, though truly willing Aussie employers can be exceptional in the amount of support that they will give to their prospective employee, even when the employer is a newbie to the business of sponsoring a migrant for a cisa.

 

I think that you are crucial to the question of whether or not it would be possible for Brother to migrate to Australia because I suspect that you would be the lynch-pin in finding and persuading a suitable employer. Mateship counts for an enormous amount with these things, as you know. Does Simon know any mates with a suitable mate?

 

How is Simon, by the way? Please send him my love. I'd bung him back on a yacht instead of having him risking life and limb in a microlight, but still! I'm terrified of any plane that doesn't have at least 3 jet engines and the name of a recognised airline on the side, plus a couple of pilots who look as if they know what they are doing. Whereas I'll go to sea in any old rust bucket of a boat because I did a deal with Old Nick many, many years ago and convinced him that he would get acute and probably fatal guts ache if he ever tries to eat me! Old Nick won't kill me but the god of the skies might, I reckon! I'd much rather go sailing with Simon than put up with him trying to convince me to step aboard a horrid little Mini on wings. I've done that once and never again.

 

Please give my love to Helen as well.:hug:

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[ozzbound]

That post is amazing Gollywobbler!!!!! :notworthy:xx

[Sids Dad]

Gill, You never cease to amaze me, a real trouper, mind you you have got the wrong end of the stick with Simon, he builds these flying gizmo's which are only a couple of feet in diameter not a microlight which, like you I wouldn't go near. he "fly's" these remotely sometimes wearing special glasses which is linked by radio to a tiny camera so he can see where it's going. There is a larger camera which can take either video or stills, slung underneath and mounted on a gymballed support.

 

As for little Bro' well I'm waiting for him to come back from the Offshore platform he is on ( next week when I will be able to SKYPE him and discuss all his options.

Thanks again Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Gill, You never cease to amaze me, a real trouper, mind you you have got the wrong end of the stick with Simon, he builds these flying gizmo's which are only a couple of feet in diameter not a microlight which, like you I wouldn't go near. he "fly's" these remotely sometimes wearing special glasses which is linked by radio to a tiny camera so he can see where it's going. There is a larger camera which can take either video or stills, slung underneath and mounted on a gymballed support.

 

As for little Bro' well I'm waiting for him to come back from the Offshore platform he is on ( next week when I will be able to SKYPE him and discuss all his options.

Thanks again Gill

 

 

Hi Alan

 

Har! That explains it! When you first e-mailed me the link to Simon's website, I looked at the flying contraption and assumed that it "must be" an even flimsier-looking object than most microlights but a microlight that a human is crazy enough to go aloft in, all the same. (I've seen one microlight that really did look dire to me. It appeared to be a collection of a few scaffolding poles, a couple of those blue plastic taurpaulins and the whole lot held together with bits of string and spinnaker tape. I assume that the CAA had given this desperate looking contrivance a certificate of air worthiness or whatever they need and the owner was obviously barking mad, imho! Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines definitely had better looking machines.)

 

I was thinking about Simon and the bathing beauties on the boat, thinking, "Well - Father is a bit optimistic. A few of the girls might look at Simon and think, "Tarzan" but the majority of them would probably work out that his chances of survival are not very good." If he is going to keep his own feet firmly on the deck of the boat, though, I would imagine that the girls would cluster around him because he is big, very good looking and obviously very muscly and strong. He'll be a vast improvement on the weedy, pasty little men who normally do photo-shoots involving professional models.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Just a few points to add.

In the UK i worked for the Special Needs Service. The reports they write to get a statement are written to emphasise the need of the child and obtain the highest level of support. I know of such a report for a visa being re-written positively due to a visa refusal which was overturned. Be careful which reports are submitted with the application or contact the local SEN service for advice on a more positive report.

 

Another point is I work in a primary school and we have children with ASD who are supported full time even during breaks and lunchtimes. However, I must also add that a violent boy with ADHD has had his hours dropped.

It seems a bizarre system if you ask me.

Best wishes x

 

Hi Ozzbound

 

You are 100% right that the Statement of SEN is almost always more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to securing a visa for Oz. The Statement always makes the child sound like an evil little demon who will wreck the school and kill his classmates if he gets half a chance.

 

There was a case on PiO last year where the family's visa application was very nearly de-railed by a Statement of SEN. The boy was about 12 years 6 months old by the time of the visa meds. He had Aspergers Syndrome, which I understand is on the autism spectrum. The Panel Doctor didn't even notice until the end of the meds when the father drew it to the Panel Doctor's attention that he had put "Asperger's Syndrome" on his son's Form 26. Whereupon the Panel Doctor looked again and told the father, "I'll need a copy of the boy's Statement, in that case."

 

So the father produced the Statement but nothing else. That was sent to Oz, whereupon the MOC Opined that the boy "did not meet" the Health requirement for permanent migration to Oz. The father posted on PiO in despair but he rang me as soon as he received a PM from me, giving him my phone number.

 

On the phone, I asked the father, "How old was Lewis when the Statement was prepared?" Lewis had only been 7 years and 6 months old at the time, so the thing was 5 years old but predictably the Panel Doctor had failed to notice the bleedin' obvious and to insist on an up-to-date Statement for the child.

 

I don't have any children so I was only vaguely aware of these Statements. At the time, I didn't know that for some children, they are renewed and altered every year. Until today, I didn't know that it is possible to ask the LEA to re-write the Statement in a more positive way, so thank you very much indeed for that tip.

 

With the family last year, once the father realised that some up to date reports about his son might be a brainy idea, he then moved heaven and earth, got half a dozen new reports from the various experts and the MOC then changed his mind. The Panel Doctor remained absolutely hopeless. He expressed surprise and was obviously not convinced that it was necessary to do anything much. Stupid clot. Once he had grabbed the money for nothing more than a cursory glance at the child, anything more was eating in to the little bar steward of a doctor's own profits from "examining" the child and the doctor was vastly uninterested in anything that might damage his own profitability out of the deal.

 

Hence I now recommend Dr Helen Bryden in this sort of situation because she cares about the family and about the child in particular and she is determined that the MOC will be fair in his assessment about anybody whom Dr Bryden has examined. She doesn't care if one person's meds don't produce a profit for her because she knows perfectly well that the next 50 will.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

I think you have raised a valid point Nicole, at the end of the day though it would be up to my brother if he wants to go ahead with it all. no doubt he will read all of the pro's and conn's before he reaches a green or red light.

I'm not sure I understand your link to agent reviewing mind? is there something regarding Autism on it?

 

Hi Alan

 

No there isn't. I've looked at Nicole's website and I was not very impressed, to be honest. I hope that the migration agents who advertise on it do so for free. If anybody sends in a damning report about an agent to Nicole, there is no way that negative feedback will appear on Nicole's website for fear that a migration agent will allege libel and sue both Nicole (as the publisher) and the agent's original client (as the author) for defamation, obviously

 

I wouldn't get excited about your nephew's autism either - everybody except me seems to have overlooked the potential problem about the child's skeletal development in their desire to tell you about his autism instead! His autism does not sound too bad to me and it is not the case that "every" autistic person is automatically entitled to Disability Support Pension in Oz. The only people who are automatically entitled to DSP are those who are deemed to be "permanently blind." However there was a famous case a few years ago where Dr Bryden was the Panel Doctor and she persuaded the MOC to say "OK" to a ten year old boy who was registered blind in the UK.

 

Disability Support Pension

 

Also, the Joint Standing Committee on Migration have recently produced a scathing report entitled "Enabling Australia," in which they make it clear that Australia needs a complete and radical overhaul of its whole attitude towards people with meds issues who seek visas for Oz:

 

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/disability/report.htm

 

As yet, the Government has made no formal response to the Report but hopefully DIAC are responding to it informally.

 

However, in your Brother's case it is premature to worry about any of that because the employer-sponsored route is capable of dealing with a host of migration-health issues.

 

First we need to know whether Brother actually wants to emigrate to Australia. Then we need to know whether, between you, Brother and Simon, a suitable employer-sponsor can be found. Without the employer, there are no visa-related issues to consider, my friend!

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Thanks for that but I think he would struggle with this as he is not a doctor or a professional that is mentioned here, he is in fact a humble pipe fitter who works offshore in the North Sea. Maybe things may ease in the future so we will just have to get him over for a holiday and test the waters.

 

Hi Alan

 

Please take no notice of whether or not your brother is a doctor or other professional person. That is irrelevant.

 

Governments are interested in keeping people of working age alive and healthy so that they can work hard and pay tax, increase the GDP and all those good things. It probably irritates penny-pinching Governments that the same doctors who slave over keeping the work-force going also do an equal amount of slaving over the health of the elderly who tend to take more from "the system" than they give back to it via tax etc.

 

For the Aussie Government, the big money is in the minerals. Coal and iron ore are Australia's two biggest export products, apparently. I am also told that the gas under the NW shelf is a particularly green type of gas and so forth, so that is good for export (to the Japs, mainly, it seems) as well. As they get better at recovering the gas, they will be able to export more of it, especially since the world seems to have decided that burning coal is not sufficiently green and so forth.

 

You need Boilermakers for oil and gas operations. They are the guys who can build, repair and maintain the the pipelines etc that eventually lead to the oil, gas or whatever being sold. A product is worthless until it has been sold, after all. The doctor's contribution to GDP, Exports etc is much less direct than the Boilermaker's contribution. The doctor merely patches the Boilermaker up, after all.

 

Australia is much better than the UK about this one, I reckon, probably because Australia is such a young country in terms of being settled by capitalists. The Aussies aren't saddled with the demarcations of socio-economic Class etc to the same extent as in the UK. Every single skilled immigrant is of equal value to Australia because there is no other point in importing the skilled migrant in the first place.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[RonnieRocket0]

Hi Sid's Dad, i read your post with interest. I would like to state now that autism is not a show stopper. My son (9 years old) suffers with autism and receives 18 hours a week one to one support here in the UK. We applied for 176 visas and were awarded them back in January. I won't beat around the bush, but it was a stressful time, as we had to obtain additional specialist reports towards his condition. That said if your brother really wants to go he will turn every stone to get there. Our panel doctor was not the best and we were left to our own devices to find our own specialist. The best places to find clinical psychologists are universities. We went to the university of Hertfordshire where for a 2 hour assessment as well as a visit to his school for observations and a report cost 300 pounds. Money well spent in my opinion.

We are off to Perth in two weeks to validate our visa and then who knows what happens...

Good luck to you and your brother and if you need any help, please feel free to drop me a line.

kind regards

Ronnie Rocket

[Guest lexylou]

Hi Sid's Dad,

In Scotland clinical psychologist can also be found in child development centres and within CAMHS Teams. England may have similar teams like these.

Good Luck

Gillian

[Guest 987nicole]

Hi Sid's Dad

 

I was talking to a friend about this forum the other day, he wanted to post some feedback that may or may not assist you, so here it is.

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Autism won’t stop you getting a visa or residency but ensure you investigate

 

We have found that the English expats who have been here ( and they did love living here in Sydney ) …and have had a child with autism – have eventually moved back home to the UK to receive Autism services that just aren’t that readily available here or supported by the government or available Autism infrastructure services.

 

Our 2 sets of English friends found that their severely autistic sons were able to access over 100,000 pounds of services back home per year after they went through a UK government review panel . The parents were able to request whatever sort of service or therapy was best for their child ABA , RDI , Floortime , Speech OT , A Nannie , etc This is simply not possible here in Australia unless you have your own money.

 

In Australia there is no such government review panel …and at this stage there is only recent government support of $12,000 dollars across 2 years for children up to 7 years of age …and various infrequent government support (2 hours per fortnight of inadequate therapy – OT, Speech etc if you are lucky enough to get past the waiting lists). The 12,000 dollars is simply nowhere near enough.

 

Our therapy for our daughter although largely successful cost us over approx 5 years about $275,000 of which we could only claim about $20,000 back through Medicare tax rebates. (you can receive the rebates)

 

Special schools are few and far between depending on what needs your child has..waiting lists are high .

….and local government or private schools may or may not be overly accepting of your child ….some schools are brilliant some are just woeful .It all depends on the principal of the school.

 

The book to review about Autism in Australia is the Australian Autism Handbook written by Benison O Reilly and Seanna Smith

 

Australian parent with a child who has autism (Our daughter is aged 9) .