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Well this is our third Christmas since we arrived down under and the family and I are really looking forward to a nice relaxing Christmas day.

The Turkey has been taken out of the freezer and the next 24 hours should hopefully provide sufficient time for the thing to be defrosted.We’ve also got some huge Tiger prawns which will be getting introduced to the barbecue in the next day or so

Junior number one is ultra excited that Santa will be visiting (probably via the air conditioning vents again due to the lack of a Chimney) and Junior number two will likely be trying her hardest to have a nice brown smelly present for Mummy and Daddy first thing tomorrow morning.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is Sunny and a balmy 31 degrees Celsius which is a stark contrast to the delights of the weather we used to enjoy back in the UK.

Speaking of weather. The cloudy sky picture to the left is a picture I took from my front garden this morning. I don’t know if it’s down to a sheer lack of ozone in Australia but the sky’s here are the most amazing vivid blues.

By Aussie Standards (or certainly Western Australian standards) this is a pretty cloudy day but the cloud formations looked pretty cool and I decided to get all Arty and take a picture.

The picture now acts as my desktop wallpaper. I know that many visitors to our site come from less sunny Climates (such as the UK so feel free to do the same.

To set the picture as your desktop, simply click the thumbnail for the full sized version and (in most browsers) right click with your mouse button and select ’select as desktop’ or similar.

I hope you all have a happy and peaceful Christmas and on the basis that I don’t get food poising from poorly defrosted turkey you’ll be hearing more from us very soon

Cheers

Mark

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The Australian Government has announced a relaxation in its policy affecting the purchase of real estate by temporary residents living in Australia.

Currently, all temporary residents and non-residents (including businesses) must notify the Australian Government through the Foreign Investment Review Board of their intention to acquire residential real estate, and must comply with post-purchase conditions on its use, development and resale.

The Australian Government considers that:

“The current arrangements have not been updated since 1989 and are consequently poorly targeted. They restrict housing market flexibility and impose unnecessary costs and delay on around 7,500 foreign residents and businesses receiving approval each year. Residential real estate comprises more than 92 per cent of applications received each year by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The changes will streamline notification arrangements, reducing post purchase conditions on the development of single blocks of vacant land, and aligning the definition of temporary residents with contemporary visa categories.

Restrictions aimed at encouraging the supply of new dwellings and preventing excess demand in the housing market will be retained, for example, the rule requiring non‑residents to purchases new rather than buying existing dwellings.”

More specifically:

From the 18th of December, 2008:

Temporary residents purchasing second hand dwellings

The definition of ‘temporary resident’ includes all foreign persons living in Australia on a valid visa, irrespective of the expiry date of that visa. This includes people on bridging visas pending the outcome of a substantive visa application (eg if they have applied for permanent residency) but, for example, does not include short-term visitors such as tourists, business people and those here for a medical procedure.

Foreign students resident in Australia are no longer subject to a $300,000 limit on the value of an established dwelling purchased as their principal place of residence.

Vacant residential land

Acquisitions by foreign-owned companies, trust estates and non-resident foreign persons of single blocks of vacant residential land are required to build a dwelling within a period of 24 months (previously within 12 months and development expenditure of at least 50 per cent of land cost).

The conditions previously applied to acquisitions by temporary residents of single blocks of vacant residential land no longer apply (such acquisitions will be exempt after the Regulations are amended in early 2009).

‘Single blocks’ of vacant land generally refers to a block of land on which only a single dwelling could be constructed. This does not include large tracts of land (eg for the purpose of subdivision) or multiple adjacent single blocks (eg to develop a multi-dwelling apartment complex) – additional development conditions may apply to such acquisitions.

New dwellings

The existing requirement that only 50 per cent of new dwellings can be sold to foreign persons on an ‘off the plan’ basis has been removed provided developers market locally as well as overseas. Vendors are no longer required to have concurrently developed a similar dwelling in order to be able to sell a new stand-alone dwelling to a foreign person. This will be reviewed after two years.

A ‘new dwelling’ is currently defined as having never been occupied or sold; this now includes dwellings that have not been sold but that have been rented out for no more than 12 months.

Foreign companies purchasing second hand dwellings

Foreign-owned companies can now purchase established dwellings for the use of their Australian based staff provided that they sell or rent the dwelling if it is expected to remain vacant for more than 6 months. There is no limit to the number of established dwellings which can be purchased, where required for employee accommodation.
Redevelopment of second hand dwellings

A proposed redevelopment must increase the number of dwellings and no rental income can be obtained from the existing dwelling prior to demolition. Such redevelopments are required to demolish the existing dwelling and commence construction of the new dwellings within 24 months in line with vacant land (previously 12 months), and development expenditure must be at least 50 per cent of the purchase price of the property.

From February 2009 – Subject to Approval of Amendments to the Applicable Regulations

Temporary residents’ exemption
Temporary residents will not be required to notify proposed acquisitions of:

* an established dwelling for their own residence (not for investment purposes);
* any new dwellings; and
* single blocks of vacant residential land (other acquisitions of vacant land will require notification and will normally be approved subject to development within 24 months).

The exemption will include acquisitions of property by temporary residents via their wholly owned trust or Australian incorporated company.

The existing notification requirements will continue to apply to non-residents, who must notify all proposed acquisitions of residential real estate.

Accommodation facilities

Accommodation facilities such as resorts and hotels will be treated as commercial real estate rather than residential real estate. Acquisitions of such facilities – or individual units within them – valued below the relevant developed commercial property threshold ($5 million for heritage listed property, $50 million for non-heritage listed property or $953 million for US investors) will be exempt from the FATA and will not require notification and approval.

Streamlined administrative procedures

Streamlined administrative procedures will be established for foreign-owned companies, trust estates and non-resident foreign persons to notify and receive approval for proposed acquisitions of vacant residential land and newly constructed dwellings. New application forms and statutory notices will be introduced to facilitate the streamlined procedures.

Developers will no longer be issued advance approval for sales of new dwellings to foreign persons – all non-resident foreign purchasers must submit individual applications (although developers may submit these on behalf of the purchaser/s). Temporary residents will be exempt and not required to notify.

Weblink:   http://www.firb.gov.au/content/policy.asp

News Source :   http://www.gomatilda.com.au

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It’s been a while since I played around with the look of our site and as I have a little time on my hands (with the lead up to Christmas) I thought it was about time for a change.

As time has gone by Getting Down Under has developed from just a personal Blog to an online magazine for people looking to emigrate Down Under.

I’m hoping the new design will help pull together a large part of our content whilst helping people visiting our site navigate through the pages a little more easier than before.

There’s still a little tweaking to do with the design before I’d be fully happy with it but I think it does the job for now

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or notice anything which appears to have gone a little wrong!

Cheers

Mark

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An interesting and useful revision for those applying under one of the skilled Migration programs.

The Rudd Government will revise the migration program for the second half of 2008-09 so that skilled migrants who have a confirmed job, or have skills in critical need will be given priority for a permanent visa to come to Australia.

In a statement tabled in Parliament today, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said the changes, effective from 1 January, will ensure that the Skilled Migration program is driven by the requirements of industry and targets skills in critical need across a number of sectors.

‘This will ensure our migration program is more responsive to the needs of the economy and assists industries still experiencing skills shortages,’ Senator Evans said.

‘In light of the changing economic circumstances, the Rudd Government has reviewed the Skilled Migration program and consulted business and industry along with state and territory governments Australia-wide about their skills needs. Continue Reading

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We had a really useful entry posted by one of our forum members which I think is really worth sharing on the main pages of getting down under.

Following this advice could save you quite a bit of your hard earned money once you finally make it down under so the entry is worth a read.

I’ve included the full text of the entry below. Thanks for your input Marilyn

OK… you’ve spent countless hours doing the research, you’ve spent days filling out form after form, and you’ve spent MONTHS on end waiting (OH the awful waiting) and now you’ve finally got that wonderful visa!!

Well… here is a little tip bit to help you on the process after you land.

Continue Reading

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On 14 November 2008 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans, released the report of the Visa Subclass 457 Integrity Review conducted by industrial relations expert Barbara Deegan.

The Temporary Business (Subclass 457) Visa is the most commonly used program for employers to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia from a period of between 3 months to 4 years, however in the past the visa class has frequently being used to exploit ‘cheap labour’.

The report attempts to address concerns in three areas:

Minimum Salary Level and Labour Agreements

English Language Requirement and Occupational Health and Safety

Integrity and Exploitation

You can check out the full reports by clicking here (link opens in a new window)

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For those migrants who call Australia home, becoming an Australian Citizen is something that many aspire to.

As well as being able to call yourself a real Aussie, for migrants there’s also the added benefit of being able to come and go as you please without having to reapply for entry into Australia after the initial period allocated by your Visa class has elapsed.

Since October 2007, a ‘citizenship test’ has had to be taken as part of the process to gain Australian citizenship and the questions within the test have had raised quite a few eye brows ever since it’s release.

Many of the questions were of a very General nature and some people taking the test weren’t particularly enamoured by the fact that certain questions could influence their chances of becoming an Australian.

A couple of the questions that spring to mind include such classics as: Continue Reading

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Where do I start is one of the most common questions asked by many of those looking to start a new life down under.

The answer to this question is usually decide which Visa option you’ll utilise to get yourself here, however there are so many visa options available for wannabee Aussies that deciding which one is the most suitable is often one of the trickiest parts of the whole process.

The process may now be a slightly more straight forward one as the Australian Department of Immigration has introduced a new tool to help guide users through the tricky process of choosing the most appropriate visa path.

The “Visa Wizard” is designed to help you find the Australian visa most likely to meet your specific circumstances and having had a play around with the wizard this morning it appears to be a pretty useful and user friendly tool Continue Reading

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Fantasy Homes Down Under is a new series coming soon to UKTV and we’ve been contacted by Sarah, a member of the Fantasy Homes down under team, who are looking for people to take part in their new 5 part TV Series planned for 2009.

“We are looking for British expats who are living in Australia and looking to buy a property. They could be buying their first house in Australia, or just looking to move. We are looking for willing participants who would like the Fantasy Homes team to assist in finding them their dream home and filming the journey for Fantasy Homes (currently in its third series and the highest rating show on UKTV Style).” Says Sarah

It looks like the down under programs are proving  pretty popular with the Fantasy Homes franchise looking to follow in the success of the BBC’s popular Wanted down under TV Series. Continue Reading

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The federal government has announced a $10.4 billion package to help Australia counter the global economic crisis and first home buyers will be among the major beneficiaries.

The global financial crisis has entered into a new phase and Prime Minister Rudd’s Economic Security Strategy is designed to strengthen the Australian economy in the face of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression.

First home buyers are already eligible for a grant of $7000, which is funded by the Federal Government and administered by the states.

Now anyone who signs a contract to buy their first home from yesterday until June 30 next will be eligible for a grant of $14,000 if they buy an established dwelling and $21,000 if they buy a new house or apartment. Continue Reading

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It was only a few months ago back in June when I wrote with a cheerful tone about the increase in the number of places available for wannabe Aussies during the 2008 – 2009 Migration Program.

A recent interview given by the Australian PM Kevin Rudd hints at a bit of a rethink which may have implication for many folks dreaming of a new life down under,

During an interview with the Fairfax Radio Network in Melbourne. The Aussie PM recognised that the current immigration rate was an increase on the previous year to meet employer demands for more skilled workers, particularly in mining and resource intensive Western Australia and Queensland.

He then goes onto say however that “as with all previous governments, and mine’s the same, whenever we set immigration targets we will adjust them according to the economic circumstances of the day,” Continue Reading

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Do you remember the ‘Where the bloody hell are you ads’ which became more famous for Lara Bingles use of the word ‘bloody’ instead of the content itself?

Well, the guys at the Australian tourism office have kicked off a new and (in my opinion) very fresh looking walkabout campaign which markets Australia as the antidote to the stresses and strains of modern day life.

The two new tourism advertisements, set to accompany the new film ‘Australia‘ and created by the same film maker Baz Luhrmann were revealed to the tourism industry this week.

Unlike previous ads which simply let the location steal the show, in Luhrmann’s advertisements, it is busy professionals and the transforming experience of a visit to Australia that form the narrative. Continue Reading

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Way back in March 2006 I mulled over whether or not a forum would be a useful addition to our site.

Back in the day, Getting Down Under was a relitively new site. We only had a handful of visitors a day (less than 20) but I still wanted to create a place on the site where members could interact with each other a little more.

On the 20th of April of the same year, I launched our Community Forums and we had 6 folks register to join our forums in the first week

Fast forward a couple of years and I’m delighted to say that we’ve now got over 5000 members, with 20 – 30 new wannabe Aussies joining our community every single day

Getting down under now attracts over 1500 unique visitors daily and it’s great to see some of the interactions and friendships starting to be formed within our community. Continue Reading

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OK, October is finally here so time to post this months update. There appears to be progress in quite a few of the visa classes. Unfortunately Sub classes such as the 136 seem to be dragging their heals. Still, progress is progress for some.

To Discuss the current update please use this thread in our forums.

Also, remember, if you have applied for your Australian Immigration Visa during the month of October then join other Getting Down Under Members who have applied at the same time by posting to this thread in our Australian Visa Time line Forum Continue Reading

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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

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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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