Advice please!! Trying to get a 456 sponsorship in community work/counselling??

[FoxkennedyClan]

Hi all and once again thanks for being part of a forum which gives so generously knowledge and experience to those of us who know nothing yet!!

We have the dream of coming out and primarily want to just think of it as an adventure for 3-4 years (I imagine we will fall in love and try to get permanency but it will be easier for grandparents too to support us if its seen as a short term adventure!). I have been looking at 176 as hubbies job is on SOL (Psychotherapist) and also poss getting state sponsored as drug and alcohol counsellor is on WA's list too as available and this is what he has loads of experience in- However I have found out the visa alone will cost over £4K before everything else and that has made me consider a sponsored temporary (long term) visa as suits our needs (and I assume the cost is to employer and not worker?).

Can anyone help me with info/advice because I cannot find any websites with sponsored jobs of this nature (all seems to be engineering type or medical GP/Nurses etc). Am I just being unrealistic expecting to find a sponsored job in this field? Would the best be to approach companies/organisations dealing with drug rehabilitation etc with a CV and ask them to consider sponsoring or would that be seen as cheeky/unprofessional??? Maybe there are agents that deal with sponsorship for these kinds of posts that someone knows of and I haven't found?? Do I pay school fees for my 2 children if we come on this visa? Any other significant reasons getting a 176 (which we do qualify for) is much better and worth paying for and taking the longer time to get??

Any other comments/advice very gratefully recieved, thanks Clare

[verystormy]

The main difference between a 457 and a PR visa is that you do have to pay for education and if you lose your job then you only have 28 days to find another that is willing to sponsor or leave the country.
Cant help with your jobs, but i would ring hospitals.

[FoxkennedyClan]

The main difference between a 457 and a PR visa is that you do have to pay for education and if you lose your job then you only have 28 days to find another that is willing to sponsor or leave the country.
Cant help with your jobs, but i would ring hospitals.

Thanks very much verystormy, with 2 children to educateI probable wouldn't be saving anything by trying to get a sposired visa then and also none of the stress re losing the job - your info has really helped, thanks again Clare :-)

[Cerberus1]

Hi, there'd be no school fees in a state school on a 457, just the usual school contributions of maybe $200 / $300. Some states do levy school fees for 457 but not WA as I understand it. Have a look @ http://www.eti.wa.edu.au/studying-at...a-holders.html which shows you the school fees for different visas.