Welcome to Australia Blog

An Australian Christmas

Do you hang on to your own traditions or create anew? How does Santa look in his red shorts? (cool) Some Christmas carols have been changed to go with the season… it is strange to sing about snow in 40°C heat!

Local to us, the typical Christmas day is an early start – it is summer and the sun is up. Will it be a dip in a pool or trip to the beach this year? Lunch is more often than not prawns on the BBQ or a leg of ham served with salads, beer or a chilled wine (For Red wine fans, the chilled red wine by Brown Brothers is worth trying). Turkey and trimmings does feel a bit too much in the heat!
It is also cherry season so in addition to water melon, mangoes, bananas or pineapples, it is rare to go the day without cherries.
Still in, are trees with tinsel, pretty lights and time with family & friends.

9 Reasons to Enjoy Living in Australia

If you are thinking of moving to Australia and are making your list of pull factors, I have a few suggestions to add….

We’ve been here for 5 years now and these reasons to love life here in Brisbane have stayed the same:

1. The Climate – warm most months of the year with only a few intensely hot and cold weeks.
2. Space – houses with land around them, green park lands and a sense of openness in the outback.
3. Low population – little traffic congestion, parking problems, empty beaches.
4. The Economy is still ok – we’ll see how we go this next year!
5. Friendly Communities & plenty activities for all the family.
6. Good Schools for children- well rated internationally.
7. Low Crime Rate.
8. Low unemployment.
9. Nature and wild life – bush camping, fishing and four-wheel-driving on the beach.

Queensland Forcasts Storms

Top 5 Australian Teachers Resource Websites

A quick round up of websites that will no doubt be useful to any teacher thinking of immigrating.

The following sites have great teaching resources, job searching facilities and heaps of information about the teaching profession down-under.

http://www.teachers.on.net/
http://australia.teachers.net/
http://www.teachinginsa.sa.edu.au/
www.educationworld.net/salaries_aus.html
http://www.australiateachers.com/

Nuts & Bolts: Getting a Tax File Number.

A Tax File Number is your unique number issued by the Australian Government to help administer tax and other Australian Government systems.

Your employer will ask you for it.

You can apply upon arrival at:www.ato.gov.au/individuals/pathway.asp?pc=001/002/001/008/002&mnu=51&mfp=001

WA Needs Teachers ASAP.

There is currently a shortage of teachers throughout the Western Australia state, especially in rural areas.

Teachers of various levels of experience are needed.

The Western Australian Teaching Board is trying hard to persuade British teachers to apply for Australian visas.
Teachers will have the support of the Education Department towards gaining Australian citizenship, should they complete a two year teaching placement in a Western Australian school.

Education minister Mark McGowan said: “We are doing everything possible to increase the state’s teaching workforce. Teachers from the UK are highly qualified, from a similar cultural background and very interested in visiting and working in country Western Australia, which is why we are keen to continue with this recruitment method. Western Australia has a relaxed lifestyle, good climate and a booming economy, with jobs not only for teachers, but for partners or spouses and for other family members.”

Useful Resources:
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/teachingwa/detcms/portal/

New Laws Protect Immigrant Workers

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, today welcomed the passage through Parliament with bipartisan support of new laws to better protect temporary overseas workers in Australia.

The Migration Legislation Amendment (Worker Protection) Bill 2008 was introduced after extensive consultation with industry and unions to strengthen the integrity of temporary working visa arrangements including the subclass 457 visa program.

The subclass 457 visa program is an uncapped scheme driven by labour market demand which enables employers to sponsor overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia for up to four years.

Almost 60 000 primary visas were granted to overseas workers in 2007-08 and while the vast majority of employers did the right thing, there have been concerns about the incidence of employer breaches in the program.
A total of 192 sponsors were formally sanctioned and a further 1353 employers were formally warned in 2007-08. This compares with 95 sanctions and 313 formal warnings issued in 2006-07.

The new laws will enable specially trained officers with investigative powers to monitor workplaces and conduct site visits to determine whether employers are complying with the redefined sponsorship obligations. The powers will be similar to the powers of workplace inspectors under the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

Employers found in breach of the obligations in the Migration Regulations could be fined up to $33 000 and the department will retain the ability to cancel an employer’s approval as a sponsor or bar them from making further applications for overseas workers.

The new laws will also enable the Commissioner of Taxation to disclose tax information to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in order to ensure correct salary levels are being paid to visa holders.

The Government is consulting the Skilled Migration Consultative Panel, which comprises business and industry groups, state governments and unions, over the development of regulations setting out the obligations of employers of temporary overseas workers.

The recommendations of the recently released Deegan report into the integrity of the subclass 457 visa program will inform development of the employers’ sponsorship obligations.