http://www.gettingdownunder.com Emigrating to Australia with those who have already done it. Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:52:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Australian budget has been and gone and I didn't pay that much attention to it to be honest. Having said all that though a post made in our forums suddenly made me realise that the Australian Budget had pretty large implications for all wannabe Aussies. The Labor party budget for 2008-09 ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/21/300000-more-chances-to-move-to-australia/ Guys, latest Australian Visa Processing time line for June 2008. Any comments or questions please post them in this thread on our forums. RECEIPTING AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPLICATIONS The ASPC is currently receipting new applications within service standards. Once an application has been receipted it undergoes validity checking and an acknowledgement letter with client ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/14/current-australian-immigration-processing-lead-time-as-of-june-2008/ For those who are planning to apply to the Australian Computer Society (ACS), it's worth noting that new fees will be applicable from 1 July 2008. The Australian Computer Society is the approved professional organisation providing advice on skills recognition for prospective migrants to Australia . Under the agreement between the ACS ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/14/new-acs-skills-assessment-fee-from-1-july-2008/ I've written before about the wonders of the Weather here in Western Australia and being someone of British decent, talking about the weather is always going to be a popular past time for me :) Whilst standing in the coffee queue at work early this week however, the topic of ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/14/tornado-in-perth-yes-seriously/ OK, so we've seen red-back spiders and plenty of parrots but last week we can add Whales onto our list of things that we've seen. Junior had acquired 100 stars on his 'star chart' so we asked him what he wanted to do for a treat and his response was AQWA ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/07/weve-seen-our-first-whales/ The Australian Immigration Minister has announced changes to the Migration Occupation in Demand List for applicants for General Skilled Migration visas. The Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) lists those occupations and specialisations identified by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) as being in short supply. Twelve occupations have ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/07/changes-to-the-migration-occupations-in-demand-list-modl/ The Australian Department of Immigration is currently considering options for applicants affected by the withdrawal of the States and Territories from the Capital Investment scheme. Prior to 1 September 2007 General Skilled Migration visa applicants could earn 5 bonus points if they deposited at least $100,000 in a designated security for ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/06/07/capital-investment-scheme-for-pre-1-september-gsm-visa-applications/ G'day all. Work wise, life down under has been ridiculously busy recently which is why Getting Down Under hasn't been getting much love and attention recently. Still, - I know there's a small pocket of you who probably wonder what we've been up to when you wake each morning (not) so ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/05/16/yes-im-still-alive/ From time to time the Australian Department of Immigration make amendments and Legislation Changes which make obtaining an Australia Visa easier or indeed a litttle harder. On the 26th of April a number of minor changes were announced. Most of these are not particularly relevant to most of our readers, however ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/04/28/amendments-to-australian-student-visa-announced/ How can you open an Australian bank account from outside Australia?’ is one of the more common questions asked on our forums It makes sense that you have some Australian cash waiting for you once you arrive down under but how exactly do you go about opening an Australian Bank account ... http://www.gettingdownunder.com/2008/04/21/opening-an-australian-bank-account-from-the-uk/