FRIENDS & FAMILY – Don’t forget to inform everyone of your new address in Australia and when you’re going (unless you don’t want them to find you, of course Seriously though, saying goodbye to friends and family can be the hardest thing about leaving, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride as the day of departure draws near.

YOUR BELONGINGS – Will you be shipping everything to Australia or leaving some items in storage (or even getting rid of them completely)? How will you ship your belongings? Can you pack them yourself or do you need the full services of a moving company? Set aside those things you need to take with you in person so they don’t get packed accidentally (passports, tickets, etc.)

INSURANCE – Once you’ve decided what you’re shipping, insure it. If you haven’t already arranged appropriate insurance (health/life/travel, etc.) for yourself and your family as well…DO SO!

BANKING – You may need to open a new bank account in your new country – look for information on the one which suits you best. Do you need to close your current bank account? At the very least you’ll need to tell your current bank that you’re moving.

CREDIT CARDS – Credit card companies need to be informed you’re moving. Also, will the credit cards you’re taking with you be widely accepted?

DRIVING – Depending on where you’re going and how long you’re going to be there you may need to apply for a new driving license or even take a driving test. Will you take your car with you or buy/rent/lease one when you get to your destination country?

UTILITIES etc – Gas, electricity, cable companies and so on will need to be informed of your departure and contracts terminated where appropriate. Make arrangements for final meter readings and bill payments.

POST REDIRECTION – Having your mail redirected after you leave can prevent you from missing something important.

ELECTRIC DEVICES AND MOBILE PHONES – Check whether or not your TV, video, hair dryer, alarm clock etc will work in the new country. You may need to take out a new network subscription for a mobile phone (or buy a new one with a subscription) – watch out for roaming charges with your current phone if you use it.

EMAIL – If moving means you can’t keep your current email address, consider a free web based email account you can access from anywhere.

And finally, a couple of important tips for when you get to your new country…

MAKE FRIENDS – Whether locals or fellow expats, nothing will help you more than being able to rely on the assistance of your friends when you need it. Don’t think that socializing is time wasted, it’s what makes a new country feel like home.

DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF – Moving to a new country is difficult. Even when everything goes according to plan it’s still difficult. There will be times when you’re physically and emotionally exhausted but try not to let things get on top of you. Don’t be shy about asking for help or support, there are plenty of people who have been there before.

Good luck!

Jamie Morris is the founder of Expat Focus -http://www.ExpatFocus.com – a leading website packed with information and tips for anyone moving abroad. Register at Expat Focus today and join us in the forums: http://www.ExpatFocus.com/register

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Morris

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If you are being hired by a company who are going to help you move to Australia, life is going to be a lot easier.  If however, you are going to be doing this on your own you need to prepare yourself for a little work.

Firstly, find out what you need from a documentation point of view to get into Australia.

1.       Do you need a visa for Australia? Which type of visa will you need (working, spousal, minor children, etc)  for each member of the family and start preparing the documentation for them.

2.       Documents could include Unabridged birth certificates, ID documents, Passports, Passport Photos, Marriage Certificate, each country has its own requirements.  Some countries require a police / criminal clearance.  Find out either from the Australia government websites or the embassy in your country as to what you need, or alternatively find an agency that can do it all for you.   An Australian agency will let you know what you need to get and can assist you in obtaining the relevant documents.

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Australia’s image as a top destination for foreign suffered a setback recently after four bankrupt colleges closed. The move left more than 2000 foreign students without a place to learn. Thousands of students who turned up for class in Australia found themselves locked out. The four bankrupt private colleges were located in Sydney and Melbourne.

Most of the students were from India and South-East Asia, and had paid up to 20,000 Australian dollars (18,300 US dollars) to the China-owned Global Campus Management/Meridean Group which suddenly went into voluntary bankruptcy administration. State governments stepped in to offer places in government schools for students to sit their exams, but students feared they had been cheated and abandoned.

Around 150,000 overseas students are enrolled in colleges, universities and schools in Australia making it an industry worth 16 billion Australian dollars anually.

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Working Holiday Visa for Australia – Basic Requirements

To be eligible for an Australian Working Holiday Visa, the application must be made overseas and applicants must:

• Be aged between 18 and 30 years (inclusive) of age and unaccompanied by dependent children;
• Be eligible passport holders with at least 1 year until renewal on their passport;
• Be going to Australia on holidays;
• Be able to show sufficient funds for a return or onward fare and an adequate amount of funds for the first part of their stay; and
• Be of good character and meet the health criteria.

Duration

The visa allows you to make your initial entry into Australia no later than 12 months from the date that the visa was granted. The visa permits you to stay in Australia 12 months from the date that you first enter Australia. You may leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you wish during your 12 month stay. However, if you depart Australia during your 12 month stay you are not able to recover the period of time you have spent outside Australia.

Australian Working Holiday Maker Visa holders are now able to apply for a second Australian Working Holiday Maker Visa. Applicants will only be eligible if they have worked as either a seasonal worker or construction worker in rural Australia for 3 months.

Conditions of Work

Australian Working Holiday Makers are permitted to do any kind of work of a temporary or casual nature. The main purpose of the visa is holiday and travel, so work for longer than 6 months with any one employer is not allowed.

Conditions of Visa

It is very important to abide by these visa conditions. Failure to do so may result in the visa being cancelled and a requirement to leave Australia.

• You must not be employed in Australia by any one employer for more than 6 months; and
• While in Australia you must not engage, for more than 3 months, in any studies or training.
• If you plan on shipping to Australia any belongings make sure this abides by the visa’s Conditions.

Processing Times

Even for a straightforward application, an Australian Working Holiday Visa can take up to 8 weeks to process. This time may be extended by the presence of a criminal offence on the application or the need for a medical.

Financial Requirements

You must have access to sufficient funds to support yourself for the initial stage of your holiday in Australia and you may be asked to show evidence of this on arrival.

A sufficient amount is generally regarded as being a minimum of AUD$5,000 (£2,200), although the amount may vary depending on your length of stay and how much travelling you intend to do. You should also have a return or onward ticket or the funds for a fare to depart Australia if travelling on a one way ticket.

Evidence may include a certified copy of a bank statement and an air ticket out of Australia.

For more information go here:

http://www.visabureau.com/australia/australian-working-holiday-visa.aspx

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 European Discovery

Australia was uninhabited until stone-culture peoples arrived, perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesia archipelago more than 40,000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English explorers observed the island before 1770, when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain. (Three American colonists were crew members aboard Cook’s ship, the Endeavour).

First Settlement

On January 26, 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day), the First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many, but by no means all, of the first settlers were convicts, some condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. From the mid-19th century shipping to Australia convicts significantly declined; the last shipment to arrive was in 1868. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population, wealth, and trade.

Establishment of Colonies

The six colonies that now constitute the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales, 1788; Tasmania, 1825; Western Australia, 1829; South Australia, 1836; Victoria, 1851; and Queensland, 1859. Settlement preceded these dates in most cases. Discussions between Australian and British representatives led to adoption by the British Government of an act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia in 1900, effective January 1, 1901. In 1911, control of the Northern Territory was transferred from South Australia to the Commonwealth. Also that year, the Australian Capital Territory (where the national capital, Canberra, is located), was established. The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory were granted self-government in 1978 and 1988, respectively.

Federal Government

The first federal Parliament was opened at Melbourne in May 1901 by the Duke of York (later King George V). In May 1927, the seat of government was transferred to Canberra, a planned city designed by American Walter Burley Griffin. The first session of Parliament in Canberra was opened by another Duke of York (later King George VI). Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9, 1942 (with effect as of September 3, 1939), which officially established Australia’s complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs and formalized a situation that had existed for years. The Australia Act (effective March 3, 1986) eliminated almost all remaining vestiges of British legal authority, including the ability to appeal to the British Privy Council.

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 Governor Glenn Stevens’ unexpectedly raised interest rates this week, the first Group of 20 central banker to do so. He said economic growth in Australia, which skirted the global recession, will accelerate, driven by A$22 billion ($20 billion) in government infrastructure spending and demand for minerals from China, the nation’s second-largest export market. Recently rates from shipping to and from Australia have gone down leading to increased demand and higher profits. 

“It really is quite surprising to see such strength so quickly,” said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Sydney.

The number of full-time jobs gained 35,400 in September and part-time employment increased 5,200, today’s report showed.

Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008, Australia’s unemployment rate has risen to 5.7 percent from 4.3 percent. By contrast, the U.S. jobless rate jumped to 9.8 percent from 6.2 percent in the same period.

Australia’s economy has outperformed most other developed nations, expanding 1 percent in the first half of the year, and is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to grow 2 percent in 2010. By contrast, the U.S. economy will expand 1.5 percent next year, Japan by 1.7 percent and the euro region by just 0.3 percent, the fund said last week.

Growth in Australia has been stoked by A$20 billion in government cash handouts to consumers and the central bank’s decision to slash borrowing costs between September 2008 and April to the lowest level in half a century.

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Three political parties dominate the center of the Australian political spectrum. The Liberal Party (LP), nominally representing urban business interests, and its smaller coalition partner, The Nationals, nominally representing rural interests, are the more conservative parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) nominally represents workers, trade unions, and left-of-center groups. While the ALP, founded by labor unions, traditionally had been moderately socialist in its policies and approaches to social issues, today it is best described as a social democratic party. All political groups are tied by tradition to welfare programs. Over the last decade, Australia has increased welfare payments to families while imposing obligations on those receiving unemployment benefits and disability pensions. There is strong bipartisan sentiment on many international issues, including Australia’s commitment to its alliance with the United States.

The ALP, under the leadership of Kevin Rudd, defeated the Liberal/National coalition, led by then-Prime Minister John Howard, in the November 24, 2007 election. The ALP now holds 83 seats in the House of Representatives, against 64 for the Liberal/National coalition, and 3 independents. The composition of the Senate is 37 seats for the coalition, 32 for the ALP, five seats for the Greens, one for Family First, and one independent.

Rudd and the ALP won the last election with a message promising “new leadership” after 11 years of the Howard government. Rudd portrayed himself as an “economic conservative,” while criticizing unpopular Howard government policies on workplace relations reform, climate change, and the war on Iraq. The Rudd government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is working with the international community on combating climate change. It is undoing some labor market reforms instituted by the Howard government, such as statutory individual contracts. The Australian government’s foreign policy shows strong continuity with that of its predecessors, stressing relations with four key countries: the United States, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The Rudd government strongly supports U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and increased Australia’s troop contribution in Afghanistan. It withdrew Australia’s combat troops from Iraq in 2008 and planned to end its military mission in Iraq in July 2009.

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The question is how long will the government intervene?

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan recently renewed calls for the economic stimulus to remain in place, saying significant threats remain to the global economy and warning that unemployment is set to rise. “We must keep the stimulus in place. It supports employment across the board, it supports confidence in the economy as we move forward,” he said.

Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull, opposes the stimulus package and says there are other reasons why Australia’s economy has remained afloat.

The buoyancy of the economy has prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to signal that interest rates will eventually need to rise, while the government is now under pressure to start improving its fiscal balance. “We will apply those fiscal rules to bring the budget back to surplus as quickly as we possibly can,” Swan said

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Below is a list of Non-Professional Occupations in demand in Australia.
Chef (excluding Commis Chef)
Dental Technician
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics)
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical)
Automotive Electrician
Baker
Binder and Finisher
Boat Builder and Repairer
Bricklayer
Cabinetmaker
Carpenter
Carpenter and Joiner
Cook
Drainer
Electrical Powerline Tradesperson
Electrician [Special Class]
Electronic Equipment Tradesperson
Fibrous Plasterer
Fitter
Floor Finisher
Furniture Finisher
Furniture Upholsterer
Gasfitter
General Electrician
General Plumber
Hairdresser
Joiner
Landscape Gardener
Lift Mechanic
Locksmith [safemaker]
Mechanical Services and Air Conditioning Plumber
Metal Fabricator [Boilermaker]
Metal Machinist [First Class]
Motor Mechanic
Optical Mechanic
Painter and Decorator
Panel Beater
Pastry Cook
Pressure Welder
Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Mechanic
Roof Plumber
Roof Slater and Tiler
Solid Plasterer
Sheetmetal Worker [First Class]
Stonemason
Toolmaker
Tree Surgeon
Vehicle Body Maker
Vehicle Painter
Wall and Floor Tiler
Welder [First Class]

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