Welcome to Australia Blog

Settling in Australia

Looking at the Australian immigration statistics for the past 10 years, it appears that the Net Permanent Migration is slightly below 50% of the total Settler Arrival Numbers.

It seems that people who immigrate in Australia do not always intend to stay permanently. To me there is also a category of people who intended to stay but changed their mind after a while.

Immigrating permanently to any country is no easy achievement and requires total commitment.

Australia being such a remote country, with so much space, can lead to feelings of isolation from the rest of the world… be sure you integrate this factor into your immigration plans.

On the other hand, immigration has contributed 1 million people every 10 years to the Australian population over the past 60 years.

For more interesting staistics on immigration to Australia, have a look at this web-site:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/02key.htm

How Qualified Am I?

One of the surprises for many immigrants is that some jobs do require you study for further qualifications before you can practice in your field of work.

Even though the skilled migration board has said you have all the qualifications you need there may be a need to do more.

Two examples we’ve heard of are:

1. A Physio (from the UK) who needed to extend his formal qualifications, even though he had a degree and experience. The job of a physio here has a slightly different focus. It is very difficult to have an international match in terms of job focus and study areas.

2. A Swiss midwife nedeed to take a further language course locally even having passed the IELTS test.

It is worth being prepared for the extra cost and requirements.

Purchasing Property Brisbane

Several months researching suburbs, home ownership options and market prices can leave you wandering what to offer to a real estate agent.

You’ve found your dream home and are frustrated to the point when you just want to get on with it and buy.

Currently the market is flat so you can afford to take your time. However, if you’re a newbie you’re still vulnerable to get frustrated and could still end up paying more than necessary.

The two main typical problems new immigrants face are:
1. Lack of credit history here in Australia
2. Being swamped by very slick sales people who are operating very much on behalf of the seller.

For the first problem you’ll need to talk to a mortgage broker or buyers agent (http://www.aussiemigrant.com/).

Many Australian mortgage brokers or banks still get confused about what to do with new immigrants who are working on short contracts, arrive with a lump sum of capital and still can’t necessarily put all the right ticks in all the right boxes.

Immigration specialists, such as the one aimed, can help here by doing the leg work and since specializing in helping migrants will give individual advice.

For the second problem the general rule is, if you feel pressured and are getting confused then take on help. Don’t rush in to buying because you’re being hounded by a real estate agent.

As Aussie Migrant Director of Financial Planning says “Listen to advice from local experts who know how the property market and economy work here. Sit down with a Buyers agents, such as ourselves, and draw up a short list of suitable properties and then have help with the purchase negotiation. You only want to pay the value price of the property not what the estate agents want you to pay.”

Immigrating with a Family

Change and open-mindedness is essential!

In the past 5 years of living in Australia my husband and I have encountered many other migrants making similar moves as ourselves: a big move with a young family on the way.

Given that the average age of an immigrant adult is 35 years, a family on the move is usual.

The settling and adjusting to this types of move can mean many changes, either permanent or temporary, to family life.

House husbands, women taking on the small family mortgage, two parents working part-time jobs… are just a few of the immigrant family starting points we’ve encountered.

Starting the Property Purchasing Process

Several months researching suburbs, home ownership options and market prices can leave you wandering what to offer to a real estate agent.

You’ve found your dream home and are frustrated to the point of just wanting to get on with it and buy.

Currently the market is flat so you can afford to take your time. However, if you’re a newbie you’re still vulnerable to get frustrated and could still end up paying more than necessary.

The two main typical problems new immigrants face are:
1. Lack of credit history here in Australia.
2. Being swamped by very slick sales people who are operating very much on behalf of the seller.

For the first problem you’ll need to talk to a mortgage broker or buyers agent (http://www.aussiemigrant.com/).

Many Australian mortgage brokers or banks still get confused about what to do with new immigrants who are working on short contracts, arrive with a lump sum of capital and still can’t necessarily put all the right ticks in all the right boxes.

Immigration specialists, can help here by doing the leg work and since specializing in helping migrants will give individual advice.

For the second problem the general rule is, if you feel pressured and are getting confused then take on help. Don’t rush in to buying because you’re being hounded by a real estate agent.

As Aussie Migrant Director of Financial Planning says “Listen to advice from local experts who know how the property market and economy work here. Sit down with a Buyers agents, such as ourselves, and draw up a short list of suitable properties and then have help with the purchase negotiation. You only want to pay the value price of the property not what the estate agents want you to pay.”

Child Care, Brisbane

There are 4 main childcare providers here in Australia: C&K, Local Community Care, ABC Care Centers and the Family Day Care Association.

There are also some occasional day care centers where you only need to book a week in advance and pay per hour.

Each Care association varies in style, opening hours, structure, philosophy, capacity and nature. What they do have in common is the stipulated regulations in terms of health and safety regulations, qualifications of Carers (Blue Card holders), ratio of care staff to children etc.

Typically children are organized according to age there are classrooms and an outdoor shaded play area. The fees decrease as the children reach the Kindergarten year (aged 3.5 years until prep year aged 5)

Some centers are long day care, opening at 7am and closing at 6pm and are open all year round, the daily rate is the daily rate. Others follow the school semester. With places, priority goes to moms who are returning to work, first, then ‘mother’s rest’ care, second .

The fees are means tested, that is calculated on earnings. The most expensive all-day care fees I’ve seen are 70$ a day and the cheapest are 35$, with family day care having a hourly rate of 7$. There is a 30% tax rebate on these fees and as mentioned they are reduced further depending on your income.

Places at child care are in demand, particularly in state capitals. It is worth visiting all the care options in your area and putting your name down on the list at several, being prepared to wait or take the days available.

Financially, one of the big complaints is that in some lines of work it isn’t financially worth working and sending your child to care as you barely cover the fees. When working there is also a decrease in family assistance (child payment given by government to all families).

Useful Resources:
Child Care Tax Rebate
C and K Child Care: www.candk.asn.au/
ABC Child Care: www.childcare.com.au/ourfamily/dod-details.php

Expanding Brisbane Infrastructure.

A further current debate is how to best improve the local infrastructure to cope with the population boom.

The city council is working like mad to reduce city center traffic congestion.

Public transport and roads are in a constant state of being up graded and neighborhood planning is at full tilt.

With the necessary expansion of bus and bike ways, car parks around major shopping areas and train lines there has been and continues to be care taken to preserve and protect the things most loved: green open spaces and park lands.

What is probably worth knowing, is that commuting is a relatively new concept to Brisbane. Many like to cycle or drive to work and there isn’t a metro or subway in the city center.

The big push is really to encourage more use of commuter car parks ~ thus traveling to work by train and buses.

The plan is to have the current transport lines extended with improved service and a city tunnel is underway.

For us, who are used to commuting and live not to far from buses and a train station, the congestion really hasn’t been a problem.

Queensland as a Destination

Queensland, the North Eastern Australian State, is known for it’s tropical rain forests, national parks, wildlife, BBQ’s and the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.

More recently however, the State has been noted for attracting the attention of migrants. South East Queensland is the second fastest growing region in the western world. Today, on average 2000 new comers arrive in Brisbane, the state capital, each week.

Having gained a skilled migrant visa we came in search of a real change and so we headed away from Sydney and Melbourne to Tropical Brisbane.

It is easy to see why Brisbane appeals to immigrants and inter-state movers alike. The city offers simplistic living and warm weather for 9 months of the year.

Given the latest statistics in population growth, we were not alone. With this surge, Brisbane, the easy going big old country town is being pushed to change and transform into a trendy happening City.

Locally, this dramatic growth spurt has come with one or two problems least of all some dismay and reluctance from its long standing residents.

Useful Resources:
Brisbane City Council: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/
Brisbane Activities: http://www.ourbrisbane.com/