Quoll

Teachers have to have 4 years University training so a degree and PGCE but not a 3 year education degree.

They do get very uptight about the number of supervised practice hours and the breakdown of subjects taught under supervision. The Uni should be able to validate what the requirements were generically at least for his PGCE. They don't like doing it as it's probably in someone's too hard basket but they should be able to.

All good then!

Just checking that he is 4 year trained - degree plus PGCE?

Ah, so you've moved interstate. She's still in an ok year for her Qld cohort but there will be others her age in the year above, for sure. If she's coping academically and socially and seems a bit out of place then have a chat with the school about moving her. It's easier if she's in a composite class as then the year differences seem to disappear. If you're likely to move back to Victoria then let her be. She's young enough that it shouldn't be much of an issue to move her but bring oldest in the class can be a whole lot better than being youngest in the class. When she gets to Uni there will be kids her age in her year from Vic, SA, and ACT and kids her age in the year above from NSW, Qld, WA and NT - it'll all come out in the wash - it's more about how she fits socially in her current cohort - if she has no friends and is ahead of the current curriculum then move her and if she is likely to go back to UK then definitely ask to move her.

Go with the better job and live with the weather. If you then find you can't stand the weather, look around for a new job somewhere else. On balance Brisbane will be slightly more expensive to live but it's not quite so isolated being on the east coast rather than on its own in the middle.

She's in the right year group. Cut off for Victoria is 30 April so she will be one of the oldest in her year. I doubt there are any kids still 5 yrs old in her current year (unless they are ridiculously gifted and talented) although the youngest in the class might have turned 6 in April this year. Had you moved to another state she could have been in a year higher group (eg NSW has cut off end July), but you didn't, so she's in the right cohort for Vic. If you change states well there's all sorts of flexibility issues that could be considered. It'd be good if all the states had the same cut off dates but they dont and show no signs of changing! Just remember that this is a foreign country with different education systems. I was smiling yesterday considering my son and grandson - here in Australia my son, when turning 8 (in a few weeks) would have been in year 2, starting year 3 in January yet his son, in UK turning 8 tomorrow has just finished year 3 and starts year 4 in September!!! Weird or what! It's nothing to worry about unless you decide to return to UK where your daughter could be placed in a year level higher than the one she's been in in Australia but even then, UK schools work hard to help kids "catch up". If you're planning on staying in Australia its no big deal.

Have you got all the state tickets you need for trade employment?

If they were on a temp visa isn't their employer responsible for their fares home?

George Lombard is usually the chap mentioned in this context (no affiliation) but I believe there are others who now have medical specialists who give informed opinions.

It is a vexed question to be sure - but then how are you going to get him into the country? Lie about his intention to be a tourist? Run the risk of being turned around at the border? What visa are you going to get for your baby?

Prime won't let me use a VPN, whenever I log on with a VPN they know and it won't connect to Prime Video. This is a fairly recent occurrence though and even if I use an Australian VPN site even though I am in Australia, it doesn't work.

Really? Lie to Immigration? Never a really wise move.

I should think his bridging visa status would be somewhat of a hindrance in that market especially in the bigger cities. If he were happy to be a barista or a hotel concierge then it wouldnt be so much of a challenge. Far better to arrive with his partner visa in hand.

Probably not if that’s the expected cost, but I’m not an agent. Only way you are going to find out for sure is to see what the outcome of the medical is. People get visas with low level chronic conditions requiring ongoing medication, all the time so just be up front and cross your fingers.

Your best bet is to talk to an agent who specialises in medical issues. It very much depends on how much your pain medications will cost the Australian tax payer. If you're on something that costs 10c a dose you should be OK but if you're on something esoteric which costs $1000 a dose then you're likely to exceed the threshold. That's something the agent will be able to assess.

I think part of the issue with Canberra is that a large part of the population are blow ins. Rarely do you come across someone for whom this is “it”. Just looking at some of my social groups, you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of “Canberrans” though that is slowly changing I suppose as we’ve lurched past the 100 years. Whether that contributes to the soulless-ness or not I don’t know but it’s essentially a very itinerant town. Looking at the cohort my kids had in school, most are elsewhere, a few have been elsewhere and come back to be near their family as they have families of their own. And for people of my generation, I don’t think I’ve met any who were born and raised here but there must be one or two out there I suppose. It is an odd place because of that, I think. However, I don’t really see Canberra as being the place that the OP thinks he might need to escape to. It’s probably more like what he is trying to escape from, I suspect.

Disability support is targeted at those who fall into the bottom few percent of functioning - which is why they ask for objective assessments of functioning. It’s not about general health in this case. That’s why working with an agent who specialises in this area is important. But the general rule of thumb is that if you get a visa, your kid doesn’t get support in school. If you know folk who’ve done it and their kid gets significant disability support then they’ve been extraordinarily lucky. Edited to say, you will most likely be ok but it would help if you have reports to say that his cognitive functioning is in the average range as is his receptive and expressive language and his adaptive behaviour (ie he’s able to cope independently in an educational setting) - or if not in the average range then in the mild range. The issue you may have at the moment is that he is in a special setting, albeit working his way out of it (and I trust that if asked you will be up front about the support he is currently getting)

It depends on whether the child meets the criterion for disability funding and that's why one of the agents specialising in medical issues is the one to talk to. If someone has got a visa it's because their child doesn't meet the objective criteria for disability funding. It's not the label that they're given, it's the degree of impairment that their disability causes. Only ones I've heard of have not been eligible for disability support in school. It's a catch 22 type thing.

Dunno, if you have to live anywhere in Australia it's one of the better places. Except it's a bit on the chilly side at the moment. Dont think anyone would ever say the houses of rentals are cheap though!

They will probably ask you for updated assessments, IQ, adaptive behaviour, receptive and expressive language, current skill levels etc. They have to determine whether, given his disability, he would be eligible for disability support in school in Australia. It's not a matter of whether you say you won't access disability support it's whether he would be eligible for it and you could access it. They don't go on subjective reports but objective assessments. An autism diagnosis covers a whole range of deficit but the label generally rings alarm bells bells it can be very expensive.

The states suggest when they sponsor people that they should budget for 6 months without work. Bit extreme I would think but the employment process for some positions can certainly be lengthy (public service, case in point!)

You are rather putting the cart before the horse but schools are going to be the least of your worries. Most people get an airbnb for 4-8 weeks during which time they hope to pick up a rental for 6-12 months. Schools in Australia all have priority enrolment areas and students living within those areas are guaranteed a place whenever they rock up (the exception being if you choose to try for a temporary employer sponsored visa in which case schools cost you several thousands and if they are full you can be asked to go elsewhere). So, rule of thumb, get a rental close to where you think you might be working, you can afford the rental, there are vacancies and you think you can stand the neighbours and the neighbourhood. If you cant stand the neighbourhood then you wont want your kids in the local school. Nobody is going to get their knickers in a knot if you dont get the kids to school for a few months while you get settled and nobody expects them to start at the beginning of the year or even the beginning of a term or week for that matter.

No because you dont have a visa to enter the country - you cant get a visa (technically) because you are a citizen. You can apply for an Aus passport in UK - it's just a bit expensive is all. I think you can even apply for emergency travel documents if you are running short of time.

You are all home and hosed then! I thought your daughter could get it through you even though you are a citizen by descent because I assume you have lived in UK for more than 2? years. And, of course, if your wife is British born, your daughter can get it through her these days (my lads were just in the grandfathering period for that!). I admit I hadn't heard that you can get citizenship from a grandfather but you can certainly get an ancestry visa through a grandfather. Good luck with it!