Brrrrrrrrr - Its cold - no really it is!

So this is winter in Australia

First things first.. The Aussies love rain. I guess you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to understand why, what with all the dry weather Australia receives during the other 95% of the year.

I first realised this when doing the old pom thing, moaning about the weather and continuously getting the, ‘well, we need the rain’ reaction from my locally born chums.

I’ve also noticed when the weather folks do their thing on the TV, rain is described as ‘good news’. It really is a flip side of what the weather forecast used to be in the UK

This past few days we have had rain like I’ve never seen before. Its almost like the big ‘G’ in the sky decides to tip out a couple of baths of the stuff. Its absolutely torrential for 5 - 10 minutes and then as soon as the rain comes the sky clears and its sunny again.

We have ‘intermittent showers’ forecast for the majority of this week. Still, we need the rain right?

Oh, and although it’s winter its still hitting over 20 degrees celcius most days, at time of typing that makes it almost twice as hot as it is in the UK at present so I’m still a very happy chappy

Popularity: 2% [?]

ASPC Changes Method of Receipting and Acknowledging Applications

The ASPC has changed the method of receipting and acknowledging applications to improve the service provided to clients which will be a comfort to many folks sending in their applications.

Once an application has been receipted it will undergo validity checking.

An acknowledgement letter with a client reference number and receipt will be sent approximately six weeks after lodgement if the application is valid.

The ASPC Admin team is moving towards receipting payment within 7 working days of receiving an application where e-mail communication has been authorised. This represents a siginificant improvement in the amount of time traditionally taken to acknowledge new applications.

Applicants or their authorised representatives will receive acknowledgement that the department has received their documents and receipted the relevant visa application charge.

If an application is determined to be invalid documents will be returned and a refund of the visa application charge arranged.

Have yourecently applied for your visa? Post in the appropriate sticky thread (the ones with the ) in our Australia Immigration Advice Forums (Clicky Here) and join other members who applied at the same time. This way you can compare your own timeline with others

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Current Australian Immigration processing lead time as of June 2007

Latest processing times from the ASPC - If you have any specific questions, please post these in our forums

As of 8 June 2007 the ASPC admin section is processing as follows:

Onshore Applications: receipting applications received on 5 June 2007 and acknowledging applications received on 5 June 2007.

Offshore Applications: receipting applications received on 28 May 2007 and acknowledging applications received on 26 March 2007.

Applicants and representatives who have not authorised e-mail communication will not receive separate advice that the ASPC has received and receipted an application and will receive the standard acknowledgement letter and receipt details in due course.

Please note that any delay in acknowledging an application does not affect the date on which a valid application is recorded as having been received and does not delay processing of the application.

Once an application has been acknowledged a case officer is appointed to assess each application as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately.

Processing and Allocation Information - For the week of 12 June 2007

Applications lodged on or before the dates shown below have been allocated to case officers for further processing.

ONSHORE APPLICATIONS

Student/Graduate

Paper based applications: 8 January 2007 (subclass 880), 20 December 2006 (subclass 881) and 22 December 2006 (subclass 882)

E-lodged (on-line) applications: 2 January 2007 (subclass 880) and 22 December 2006 (subclass 881) and 29 December 2006 (subclass 882)

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 22 December 2006
E-lodged (on-line) applications: 12 January 2007

New Zealand

All applications: 4 October 2006 (all subclasses)

OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS

All paper based applications for Classes BN, BQ, BR, UX and UZ (subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 495 and 496)

Priority Applications: 14 September 2006*
Non-Priority Applications: 31 August 2006

*this data includes paper based SIR applications which are processed as part of the priority caseload

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (eSIR visa applications)

E-lodged (on-line) applications: 05 February 2007

Notes

Onshore: means that the visa being applied for can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.

e-lodged: applications lodged on-line have quicker processing times. See: Online Services - General Skilled Migration

SIR visas: All applicants for a Skilled - Independent Regional [SIR] visa receive priority processing.

Offshore: means that the visa being applied for can only be granted when the applicant is outside of Australia.

If a visa application was made more than two weeks before the relevant date shown above and you have not been contacted by a case officer please contact the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre from the web page http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm

Applications eligible for priority processing

1. Applicants whose nominated occupation is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL)

2. For applicants whose nominated occupation is not on the MODL, applications for any of the following visas are given priority:

a) Skill Matching (Migrant) (Class BR) - Subclass 134 - Skill Matching
b) Skilled - Independent (Migrant) (Class BN) – Subclass 137 - Skilled - state/Territory-nominated Independent
c) Skilled - Australian-sponsored (Migrant) (Class BQ) - Subclass 139 - Skilled - Designated Area Sponsored
d) Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) – Subclass 495 - Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional)
e) Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) (Class UZ) – Subclass 496 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional)
f) Skilled New Zealand (Residence) visa class (Class DB) - Subclass 863 - Skilled - Onshore Regional-Sponsored New Zealand Citizen
g) Skilled Australian-sponsored Overseas Student (Residence) (Class DE) - Subclass 882 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored Overseas Student

Eligibility for priority processing does not mean that any processing requirements can be waived.

Offshore Applicants can now initiate Health and Character Checks before being allocated a case officer

The inclusion of health forms on the department’s website means that applicants can reduce the time taken to finalise the application by commencing health and character checking before their application is allocated to a case officer, however, applicants and migration agents should be aware that:
o Applicants are responsible for all costs associated with medical examinations and providing police clearances;
o Health examinations and police clearances have limited validity periods, generally for a period of 12 months;
o If clearances expire before the application is finalised they may be requested again, and must be provided at the applicant’s cost;
o The ASPC may need to undertake other checking in respect of the application that can delay a decision; and
o Undertaking health examinations and providing police clearances does not guarantee an application will be successful.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT:

Applicants are not obliged to undertake these checks now and may wait until receiving a further request from the department.

If any applicant is pregnant - please contact this office for further advice before any person included in the application commences health or character checking.

Non-migrating family members of applicants for a SIR visa should not undertake health and character checking unless specifically requested to do so.

Medical Examinations

Information on health checking requirements and medical forms can be obtained at http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/index.htm Please pay careful attention to the information available on this page including Form 1071i detailing health requirements for permanent entry to Australia. Visa applicants in Australia must contact Health Services Australia (HSA) to arrange a health examination.

Applicants outside of Australia must arrange their health examination with a panel doctor and/or radiologist nominated by the Australian Government. A list of panel doctors and radiologists is at http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/index.htm

Please note that the panel doctor is required to send all medical results to the Local Clearance Unit in Australia and not give them to applicants or their representatives. Information about the Local Clearance Unit including their address is available at
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/australia/processing-centres/lcu-sydney.htm

Before attending a health examination applicants need to:

1. Print off the required numbers of forms 26 and/or 160 to present to the panel doctor and radiologist; and
2. Complete the “Office use only” box to indicate the visa class applied for (eg subclass 136), the file reference number and / or the ICSE Request ID number on each form.

Finalising Applications

Please note that the information provided above is not about the time it will take to process an application to completion. The time it is expected to take to process a General Skilled Migration visa application to completion is detailed in the department’s service standards. Service standards are specified for applications lodged with complete documentation. Individual cases may take longer than the service standard depending on the completeness and complexity of the case. For further information on service standards see: service standards

Telephone + 61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) 1300 364 613 (within Australia) | Facsimile + 61 (0) 8 8237 6629 | Website: www.immi.gov.au | Webmail: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm

Popularity: 6% [?]

Another way in which moving to Australia can upset your parents

Apart from moving thousands of miles away from my folks I’ve discovered another way in which I can very easily upset my parents without even knowing it.

Mothers and Fathers day!

You see, I thought that the date of Mothers and Fathers day would be universal but it appears that this isn’t the case.

For example, I was merrily minding my own business when I got an email from my dad the day before Mothers day (17th of March in the UK) reminding me that this important celebration of motherhood was on it’s way (thanks for the notice dad ).

I really had no clue! To be honest, I never really have a clue but when it is mothers day you can’t avoid the fact due to all the adverts on TV and the huge selection of cards which you can’t avoid when you pop into your local Supermarket.

On the 17th of March there was non of this here in Australia. The reason being because Mothers day in Australia falls on the 13th of May.

I had to send one of those Electronic cards in the end and buy a Mothers day card in May which I’ll try and remember to send in March next year.

It may well be a bloke thing but how bloody complicated is that going to be!?

Last night at about 3am I heard my phone beep. It was a text message from my sister reminding me that tomorrow is Fathers day! (Thanks for the notice sis )

Again, nothing in the shops to suggest that its coming up to Fathers day and why? Because Fathers day in Australia doesn’t fall until the first Sunday in September!

-sigh- Looks like it’ll be time for another e-card!

Popularity: 1% [?]

So testing this posting via email out

Hi folks, I’ve made a little tweak recently which I’ll be testing out over the next couple of days.

I have set up an email account which automatically (hopefully) posts any emails I send to this account as a blog entry at gettingdownunder.

This way, I should be able to blog via my Blackberry which has to be a good thing right? Especially when I’m sat twiddling my thumbs on the train!

Anyway. no idea if this will work so here goes

Cheers

Mark

Edit: Yay! it works

Popularity: 3% [?]

Feline Aids in Australia - More Jabs for the cats

Poor cats, I actually thought we had everything covered when we did the pre travel vet checks and got all the jabs sorted before moving out to Australia.

One of our Cats, Charlie had a bit of a limp some time ago so we took him to the local vets to get checked out.

It was whilst at the vets that we learnt all about the wonders of feline aids, a desease which is pretty prevalent here in Australia.

FIV or given its official name; Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is a common virus worldwide with the number of infected cats dramatically increasing over the last 10years.

In Australia approximately 7% to 29% of cats test positive to infection, many of which die from FIV related illnesses each year.

Although FIV is very similar to the AIDS virus in humans (destroying the immune system leaving the animal susceptible to infections), humans cannot contract Feline AIDS (FIV) from infected cats.

Apparently the disease is past on through saliva if one cat bites another when scrapping. As we’ve noticed a couple of rough looking cats (and appreciate both Charlie and Jeffs enjoyment of the odd rumble) we thought it would be time to get both boys sorted.

The jabs are given in a series of three injections over a period of 4 - 6 weeks. We took both boys in over two weeks ago where they had a blood test which was tested on the spot.

Thankfully, both cats are ‘clean’ although they both gave us ‘the look’ when they were having the blood taken from their front paws!

If you’re thinking about bringing your cats with you to Australia I’d suggest you ask about getting the FIV Vaccine before flying out here. This way, should your cat get into a scrap the money you spent getting your furry friends here in the first place won’t be completely wasted.

In other news, Jeff needs his teeth doing again (we had them done about 12 months ago). Another $300!

Might be cheaper to have them all taken out and feed Jeff cat soup. I wonder if they do dentures for cats

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Eco Warrior has gone - Welcome Carbon Footprint from hell

I gotta say. Keeping in mind it’s now been over 6 months since I last had a car I think I’ve done pretty well considering.

So we bought a car for the missus back in January but since then I’ve been using Perths Public Transport system to get me to and from the Perth CBD.

This normally consists of a me running around like a madman at about 7:20am in the hope that the bus that picks me up about 100 yards from our front door actually arrives on time.

The 7:32 bus has a tendency to arrive at any time between 7:22 and 7:40 but hey, who am I to complain. After all the bus timetable does clearly state that the times should be used as as a guide only!

Once on the bus, I take the short 8 minute hop to the train station where I hang around for about 5 minutes before taking one of regular trains down into the CBD (journey time approx 30 - 40 mins).

When traveling home, the process is reversed however it gets a little more complicated.

I can catch the 5:45pm train which will get me to the station for 6:15. I then run from the station about 250 metres to the bus stop in the hope that the 6:20 bus is on time.

Option 2 is I catch the 6:30 train and hope that the 7:10 bus is on time. During the evening the busses are only every 30 mins so if I miss the bus I walk.

Walking during the summer is great and I used to love the 20 minute walk home in the sun. Now its officially winter the walk home isn’t really a preferred option.

Firstly the missus worries that I’m going to get mugged (although the streets are always quiet and at time of typing I’ve still to come across any unsavory characters).

Secondly its now getting a little chilly in the evening time and the chances of rain are getting a little more frequent.

So. The result was about three weeks ago I decided to buy a ‘wreck’ that will get me to the train station.

My expectation was that I would buy a pretty old car that I can drive the two miles to the station and back. After all we already had a family car right?

Once I started to look though, the cars just weren’t doing it for me. I’ve driven company cars for the last 7 years so its been a long time since I’ve owned a car that meant I had to cross my fingers in the hope that it would start in the morning.

So, I decided to look at something in between. Not new but something that would still be reliable.

Then I saw the car in the picture above (click image for bigger pic) at the Holden dealership.

Well actually, junior saw the car and brought it to my attention (we were doing that four year old father and son car shopping bonding thing ) The Salesman was like a great white following the scent of blood when he saw me looking at this car.

So. Twenty Five Minutes, one test drive and a $500 deposit later I’d bought a 6 month old car and spent 15 times more then I was planning to!

In my defense I did manage to barter $3000 off the asking price (going to a dealership a couple of days before the end of their financial year helps).

The thing has a 3.6 Litre V6 Engine and goes like a rocket and I’ll probably be driving the thing about 20 miles a week to the train station and back. There goes my carbon footprint!

Sigh!

Well, the missus likes shoes and I like cars.

Ironically the colour of the car is Impulse Blue and even though it is a Holden (read Vauxhall) It’s one of the best cars I have ever driven.

Popularity: 1% [?]