jodipodi

Lovely post....really glad you are all secure and settling well. These are the posts that keep me motivated to get there. All the best for the rest of your ozzy life....keep us updated as time goes on

Bloody great....eeeee I'm excited for you both....I think you're so brave. You've got guts, and I'm dead chuffed that you've done it....knew you would. Keep us updated will you....love hearing the general day to day stuff of ozzy life....it keeps me focused. Take care xxx

I've popped in here and there to see what's going, I frequent PIO more so but I pop on here to see what's going on and i remember you Debs......I haven't spoken to you on every step of your journey but I really am soooooooo soooooooo so so pleased that you got there in the end, you've worked hard, been determined, been helpful to others and seem a genuine... And funny.....lass.....good luck with it all hinny xxxx great stuff xx

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed878 http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-chat-dilemmas/48217-leave-remove-child-jurisdiction-can-anyone-help.html

A Stat Dec or something along the lines of that provided by a solicitor stating no legal authority is held by the parent should suffice when evidence is required. In the case where the other parent has PR either permission is required or you would need to go to court and get them to grant permission... By the sounds of your situation you would very likely be granted it but it may be costly. I would ask for the permission from the father before I went to court...he may surprise you. I would use the holiday to gather research such as schooling, areas, job prospects for yourself, clubs that your child does here that they can carry on there etc etc in order to put together a pack to show the courts it's in the child's best interests. It's not about whether it's better for the family.. Its all about the child so it must show in favour of the child. All the best and enjoy your holiday xx

Hi all, can anyone tell me....when you mention matching core competencies, does this apply under both category a & b? On the website it only mentions for category b? http://www.acwa.org.au/Default.aspx?PageID=3397500&A=SearchResult&SearchID=5855497&ObjectID=3397500&ObjectType=1 Well done to all who have gained their visas...very jealous x

Hmmm Freo sounds like my type of place Portlaunay! When you say a lot of newer suburbs don't have footpaths etc do you mean Id end up needing a pair of hiking boots for a trek across rolling hills and such haha?!

Yeah Im the same Peanuts, that's the main reason why I ask to be honest. Im totally fine on small roads where Im familiar with them but get me on a motorway/freeway and Im mush...I freak out. I have been looking to get some sort of extra driving lessons for this problem but don't seem to be any instructors who specialize in that near me..Ill keep looking though as Id like to have the freedom of being able to take full advantage of my licence. We will have a car but its likely that hubby will be the main user and that Ill be doing most of the running around with the kids so Id like to be able to get bus/train or walk. I don't mind at all if it meant I had to get the bus/train to shops n stuff but Id really like to be within walking distance of the beach. Where is it you live Peanuts? Thanks everyone

Hi all, so I'm posting this here as I thought who better to ask than those living in Perth already...I thought I might get the most response here, mods may think it is better suited elsewhere so please move if you do I'm wondering about the necessity of having a car in Perth so would like to know if there are many decent suburbs that are within walking distance to a nice beach (say 15 mins walk) but also that I could easily travel to and from main amenity areas such as shopping centres, possibly schools, etc by public transport, say within 45 mins on bus/train. When we looked at Adelaide we found that a car would likely be a much needed thing to get around but it seems some of the areas in Perth are quite accessible by bike/train/bus....would love to hear some views from you lot who have first hand experience. We are thinking Joondalup and surrounds from what we've read up on so far but obviously best to research as much as possible Cheers

These photos are all lovely but I have to say the first with the shadow of your daughter and the heart I absolutely love....looks really clever ..creative, love it.

Fantastic news! All worth it in the end !!!

Ah Lulu!!! You might be able to tell me how long the AWCA assessment is valid for? Does it say on the form?

Ive read a large amount of 'don't go there..' when it comes to Global Visas, in a round about way anyway, obviously people aren't allowed to bad mouth on a public forum but its definitely not who I will be using when we come to use an agent as I think theres been a fair few people had their dreams ruined or had to start all over again because of it. My choice would be one of two. Westly Russell or Go Matilda, both get great reviews and recommendations by those who have used them and have never read even in inkling of bad feeling about either. They are forthcoming with help and advice and often flag it up for people when someone has been told wrong information. Hope you get someone who does a good job

Bet that's made you smile no end Debs, you will fly it...you've been a wealth of knowledge for others as far as I can see so that tells me you've been thorough and wont have missed a bite. Now comes the foot tapping and finger nail biting

Id be taking that one as far as I could go if it were me, I expect you've worked hard for that bleedin money. That's if you can be bothered, sometimes the stress of chasing things puts people off, I can totally understand. Sorry to hear that Craig, Im sure yous will get there

Wanted to be a Midwife for a good few years, in fact I would have given my arm to do it.. got halfway through my access course whilst trying for a baby and had a bad miscarriage (if there's such a thing, any miscarriage is awful) and decided I could never hack watching someone else go through that- Id be a useless wreck. I decided I wasn't tough enough so I'm now finishing my access course, changed the module pathway and concentrating on Human Nutrition and Health/Fitness, love the physiology of it. I suppose there's loads of jobs Id love to do, I like finding out nitty gritty info no-one tells you about with government bumf and money issues, have gotten a few wins over the local Council Tax and Housing previously when they dug their heels in over money they owed me haha.. Id probably do a canny job being a citizens advice volunteer or something like that. Council supervisor.......now that's a job I could do.....'you sure you're doing that right there Harry?.....naayyyyy bother, I'll leave you to it then mate'.....*feet up, cuppa.*

lol....nun on the run xx Well...it tickled me anyway.... hehe

Craig, that's pretty crap for you.....cant you get your money back?!! Surely there's some sort of security that says if they stuff it up (meaning through no fault of your own) they have to provide a refund??...

Nothing will happen to you and your boy will be happy and safe and loved. This is what mothers and fathers do...we think of the most extreme situation that will probably never happen. You have to make decisions based on the positive possibilities outweighing the negatives. All could change anyway Travelchic, might get yourself a hottie who will treasure you both Then again you might not and you might be more than happy living it up for years to come just you and your boy having a ball!!

I'm scared of being able to apply passing us by but also scared of thinking this is the best for my children and then everything going pear shaped, Id never forgive myself. We arent anywhere near emigrating at the moment but I'm scared of leaving my gran as I know we will likely not see her again and she brought me up for a small part of my teenage years, I wont be able to sit and drink tea and have a natter with her but more so the kids wont have that granny time with any amount of biscuits and juice and cartoons on demand in front of the fire! I fear my mam never actually fulfilling her wish to follow us over there once we make the move. When I think like this though I try to tell myself that regret isn't for the things you did do its for the things you didn't do and at the end of the day the decisions we make are usually a calculated risk, based on weighing up pros and cons....and a lot of dreaming. As far as wildlife or other non-emotional ties Id say I'm pretty much scared of anything that is a potential stinger/biter/eater haha...especially spiders though as the nasty ones are usually tiny..at least I can keep well away from sharks and crocs, cant see many of them fitting in me slippers......

That's a good idea! I'll tell hubs to get in touch with the refs to see if they'll be happy with that. Cheers Lulu As for jobs...I don't like saying 'if' so WHEN you get your visa you can start applying from wherever you are immediately because you will have the 'legal right to live and work in Australia' (that's whats usually in the small print at the bottom of job vacancies) sorry you may already know all of this Lulu but just trying to give as much help as I can as you have for me ......Youth Workers don't require a specific qualification in Australia so if you have a degree you will likely be looked upon favourably, I'd also say look for job titles 'Case Worker' if you fancy that sort of thing...I would have never had known to look under that heading- think it was CJBChris who sufggested to us- a bit of key work with young people etc maybe? There seems to be a lot of residential positions aswell x

You cant get away from convenience when youve got work or kids, its hard to anyway isnt it. Freezing is great, I hate waste..think its cos Im a cheapskate aaaahahaha x

Never seen anyone compare it with hours worked...I like that it makes sense, like people say I agree that shopping can totally be as cheap or as expensive as you choose, I could easily spend about 20 quid more than Id like to if I bought lots of branded stuff or maybe if I didnt continue to bulk buy. I choose smartprice over mcvities for the kids biscuits and I used to buy stuff like Bold and Lenor, I tend to buy whatever is cheapest per wash now...I look for price per unit now when before Id just look and think hmmm looks more for the price when maybe it was unfounded brainwashing lol. Was plenty cheapy options when we had a reccie, we were in SA but still Coles Woolys etc. Think the more children I have added to my little family, the more savvy Ive gotten. I do love a REAL bar of galaxy though!

Lulu my husband gets lots of alerts for jobs via Seek, hes also on Linkedin and makes contact with relevantpeople to ask Qs etc- this will help if you havnt already. There seems a fair amount of vacancies but I expect actually being in Aus betters your chances. Does anyone know if the references would need to be recent, say we started collecting paperwork now but werent going for skills assessment until some point in the near future say next year, would they want the references to have been dated in the last however many weeks/months?

That's really helpful thank you so much Lulu, we have a while before we are able to apply but I want everything collected beforehand as much as is possible to save stressing out last minute......this advice will help us no end