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I remember when we first arrived in Australia back in late 2006 and I wrote about the problems we experienced trying to find a rental property here in Perth.

Speaking to friends and work colleagues who are currently in the ‘Rental market’ it seems that similar problems still exist, however compared to the other side of Australia in New South Wales the job of getting a rental here in Western Australia seems a relatively easy one.

The shortage of available rental properties in Sydney is such an issue at the moment that some agents have made complaints of being abused and threatened by frustrated prospective tenants.

The frequency of such events isn’t a low figure either with an Institute survey finding that 32 per cent of real estate agents had been threatened or abused within the past month. Continue Reading

Article Popularity: 14%

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I blogged about a dead Whale which had been washed up in Hillarys boat harbour just down the road from where we lived here in Quinns Rocks.

Back then, the carcass was in the news because it was starting to draw the unwelcome attention of a great white shark which caused the usually family friendly beach to be closed.

Less then a year later, another humpback whale (all 15 metres of it) has been washed up to shore but this time onto a beach a few hundred yards down the road from Hillarys in a placed called Sorrento. Sorrento just so happens to be the place we stayed when we did our original rekkie to Perth back in early 2006.

Whilst en-route to its final resting spot on Sorrento beach, two sharks were seen this time circling the whale’s carcass when the whale was first spotted offshore at Hillarys.

I know these things have to end up somewhere but I’m unsure what the draw is to our local beaches. Thankfully it’s not one of the whales we saw a few weeks back.

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Thousands of migrants have been left in limbo as the Trades Recognition Authority (TRA) postpone the release of the new Migration Assessment Policy (MAP)

The new MAP stood as the most recent initiative that offered hope to migrants currently stranded without a path into Australia.

MAP would essentially consist of two streams; Stream A and Stream B. Stream A would assess those workers trained and qualified in Australia, while Stream B would assess internationally trained or qualified skilled workers.

Within each stream, workers would be assessed for either their former vocational training or formal skills recognition, and their term of employment using that skill. Additionally, the term of employment would be reduced from five years to four, which would allow for less experienced or younger workers to qualify for skilled migration to Australia. Continue Reading

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When migrating to Australia your country of Origin can have a significant impact on the speed in which your Visa application is processed. The Australian Department of immigration classify certain countries as either  a  low risk  or high risk country.

If your country is a high risk country then it’s nothing to be offended about. The factors which make your country of origin a low or high risk country are not really understood either.

As the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) Visa list is utilised It’s been suggested that high risk countries are those whose citizens have an historic high rate of visa over staying in Australia, whilst low risk countries are those countries whose citizens are good boys and girls and normally leave before their visas have expired.

If your country falls into the high risk category then additional checks will be undertaken prior to your visa being approved and different service levels are applied by the department for the time to process your application. Continue Reading

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OK, so at time of typing I’ve written over 330 Articles and Blog Entries here at getting down under.

Some of these have been pretty useful and quite popular, others have been… well, pretty pants.

The content for my Blog entries is pretty straight forward as I’m just talking about what my family and I have been up to since arriving in Australia or commenting on stuff which I think might be of use to wannabe Aussies.

The articles I write however are based on information which I wished was a little more readily available when we made the move down under and I’d like to research and write a few more. Continue Reading

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This months update is a little longer as application processing is now undertaken between two centres based in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Although splitting the processing across two processing centres should ultimately reduce the amount of time it takes to process Australian Visas, applicants should be mindful that applications sent to Adelaide which are now processed at the Brisbane offices are in transit to the new processing centre.

To discuss the current timeline, please feel free to post in our Australian Visa Timeline Forum or the thread for this current updated posted here.

Brisbane Skilled Processing Centre – Processing information as of the 1st September 2008

From 1 July 2008 certain General Skilled Migration applications are now being processed in Brisbane.

The Brisbane office will now process the following General Skilled Migration visa applications that have been lodged electronically for Onshore applicants: Continue Reading

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Wanted down under is a term being typed into Google quite a lot at the moment and the search results are directing a large number of wannabe Aussies here at Getting Down Under.

Having spoken to my folks back in the UK last night it transpires that the BBC are currently re-showing one of the earlier series of wanted down under and as before it looks like it’s generating quite a bit of interest for those who yearn for a new life here in Australia.

I got in contact with the Wanted Down Under production team at the BBC to see if there are any plans for future series and they have confirmed that although the search for contributors for Series 3 has now been completed, they are ‘hopeful’ for a 4th series!

As with earlier series, if you are interested in applying for Series 4 of Wanted Down under then you should email the BBC at wanteddownunder@bbc.co.uk including some brief information about yourself and your family to help them choose some appropriate participants.

The BBC has requested that this information should include: Continue Reading

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According to the good folks over at the BBC, if your male and single then you’ll benefit from an apparent ‘man drought’ which is hitting Australia.

An analysis of new census figures has shown there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia.

The problem is worse in the coastal cities, where women have moved seeking better jobs and lifestyles.

Thirty years ago Australia was flush with men thanks to immigration policies that favoured males, however that position has been reversed as thousands of Australian men in their 20s and early 30s have gone overseas either to travel or to work.

Countries such as the United Arab Emirates are now home to tens of thousands of Australian males in 25 – 34 year old demographic Continue Reading

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For many wannabe Aussies, choosing where you want to finally reside when you make the momentous move down under can be one of the toughest decisions you’ll ever make. That is until now!

Let me introduce you to the ‘Wannabe Aussie Immigration Map 5000′. This handy map was provided by one of my overly helpful Aussie work colleagues and I’m sure it should help make the task of deciding where to settle within Australia that little bit easier.

OK, OK it’s just a joke but it made me giggle and be rest assured, it’s not all that bad (well apart from the sharks and spiders) ….

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