Quoll

So sorry to hear that things have panned out that way for you but onwards and upwards hey? You most certainly are not the first to have it happen to you and it is such a shame that your husband has been so blind as to the needs of his family but at least - I assume - he isn't raising any objection to you leaving with the kids. So many of the "remainers" do play the spiteful hand and refuse to let the kids leave Australia. I can certainly relate to the lack of belonging - I felt that way for years and I've been back in UK for over 7 years now albeit still temporary and its been absolutely brilliant to be where I can be me. So good luck with the move!!!

It's a city of two halves I think - those whol live around Lake Wendouree and those who live in Wendouree - but yes, I'd be inclined to think it's getting rougher and my Ballarat born husband says he thinks it's rather sad the way it's going - a far cry from the wealth and culture it used to display back in his day. We quite liked Bendigo and one brother in law lives there but neither would really float my boat for long term living. The proprietor of one of the very good second hand book shops in Bendigo says he lives there because he had easy access to all things cricket which is his passion but his observation was that it was going downhill a bit at the moment. I wasnt actually impressed by the eateries in Bendigo on our last visit and think Ballarat probably has the edge there.

I'm not sure your plan is feasible either. The better option would let him validate his visa - if dad will agree to that, then return to finish A levels in UK by which time he can then make the choice about whether he opts for further education and training in UK or Aus - he will have 5 years before he needs to become resident before his visa expires. If he aspires to Uni, then he needs to be resident for 3 years before starting otherwise he gets slugged for international fees. Also, Aus year 12 results don't travel to UK nearly as well as A levels do in the opposite direction.

Have a private word to the teacher and explain the situation. She won't be the first kid to go on camp with nocturnal enuresis and she won't be the last. It's not her fault and you'll have the medication to prove it. Make sure she has a good supply of pants and maybe look at putting an extra pad in them overnight. It must be tough for her poor lass.

They have interpreted it that his therapy requirements and his possible access to disability services would put him over the threshold. They're not being discriminatory, there are rules that they have to follow. It's well known that people with a disabilities that are going to cost a lot of money are denied visas. That's why you need expert advice on how to respond - if there is capacity for response. They've only made judgments on the reports given to them.

Expect to leave when your WHV expires and if you and your partner can't evidence the length of your relationship by the time you leave maybe she should return to UK with you until you can get your time up but for heavens sake don't bring a child into the mix until you've got your visa sorted. An absent parent isn't a great idea for a child.

He has the potential to though, which is the issue. If his disability makes him eligible for disability benefits or programs such as the NDIS, or even aide support for his last few years of school that will take him over the threshold. You may say " but we will look after him " but you could change your mind, your situation may change, any number of things and he could access government funded programs. George or one of the other agents who specialise in disability issues are really best placed to advise you.

Talk to George, he will give you the best advice, we can only speculate on the outcome but you do need to realise that medical conditions, especially in children who are likely to cost the tax payer a lot of money, can result in visa refusals.

A January birthday child would generally have started kindergarten as they turn 5 so she would have started K in 2013 which means that she would indeed start year 6 in 2019. Theoretically they could have waited but with a middle of the year (as per cut off) birthday parents tend not to hold kids back an extra year.

Can your wife spend time with you in UK while you wait - that's probably the least risky option. If she can get a UK visa of course

On our visit a couple of years ago one day in Ballarat was an unbearable 40 something and the next day the max was 13 by which time we were freezing in Daylesford. Anything over 25 is too hot for me.

Yeah, that was a bugger of a day!

The chemist will usually ask you if you are prepared to accept no name brands

Apply off shore in London. Providing the evidence of the relationship could be a tad tricky though but at least you are married. Submit it now then it will take however long it takes.

Nobody gets discounts on medications unless they are on benefits of some kind or another. You might get generic brands rather than named brands which do work out cheaper usually. But there is a threshold amount above which any cost is absorbed by the system - around the $35 mark I think.

Schools have catchment areas and are obliged to find a place for a child within that catchment area. You may apply for schools outside the catchment area but they are not obliged to offer a place. Why not a suburb? Well, if you drive around a place and don't like the look of it - and there will be suburbs that make your toes curl because of the neighbours/environment - then chances are you aren't going going to much enjoy living there and you probably wouldn't want your kids mixing with the neighbourhood kids. Take your time and find the place that you want to live in.

You can put in your off shore application and still go on a tourist visa but leave the country every now and again to comply with the visa regs. If you can't cope with a few weeks apart, a strategy which risks getting you a 3 year ban hardly seems the most sensible way to go about it. Could you both spend another year elsewhere together until your visa is issued perhaps?

Put in your application as soon as you are eligible and live with the result. Surely your relationship would be strong enough to manage a few months apart if that is the worst case scenario. Otherwise once you've applied off shore and you "need" to be there for a little while as you wait, then you can go on a tourist visa for a short period as long as you leave before your spouse visa is issued and let your CO know that this is your plan. Far better to do it that way than risking being turned back at the border as not being a bone fide tourist later down the track as you wouldn't be intending to be a tourist, you'd be hoping to lodge a partner visa which, on shore that days is taking 2-3 years and you don't want to live in a bridging visa for 2-3 years! Doesn't look too stressful or sticky to me, rather straightforward I would have thought. Long distance relationships are perfectly possible these days. You never know your luck, they might try and knock off the backlog around Christmas time this year like they did last year / some folk got their visas in 6 weeks back then.

Don't bother. Find the house you want to live in and then enrol them in school - you're going to need a permanent address before you can enrol them anyway. Don't worry about making friends to pay with over the holidays, there'll be kids in the neighbourhood, a few holiday programs most likely and you'll be in settling in mode having adventures so they won't be fed up. But, finding a house you want to live in 24/7 in a suburb that offers you all that you want, had housing in your price range and has vacancies that you are prepared to take, it's going to be your priority. Once you've done that (and I hesitate to say but you're not going at the best time of year to do it) then the school will fall into place. General rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't want to live in a suburb, you sure as hell don't want to send your kids to school in that suburb. Nobody gives a toss if kids are out of school for a few months while you get settled.

Increasingly that seems to be happening as several agents have reported on here that visas are being cancelled for non compliance. To this point, if you can demonstrate to a state that you've done your level best to find a job for about 6 months or more and have been unsuccessful and applied for leave to move they have granted it. Who knows whether that leeway will continue now that they are cracking down - as they should IMHO, any number of people have got their state sponsored visa and never even bothered to set foot in the state before heading off to where they wanted to go all along.

I'd be more inclined to try and get a refund on the 19 year old's ticket and leave her in Aus while you go. I think there are altogether too many risk factors which could utterly screw up the whole holiday for everyone else.

Yup! And not to mention, too, the £225 cost of renewing the darn thing!

I hate to say but I doubt they will let her get on the plane at Heathrow without an Australian passport. If you are faced with it though be prepared and arrive several hours in advance of when they say check-in has to happen because they would need to contact DHA. On balance, I'd say her holiday needs to be postponed until she has a current passport. You might be able to get emergency travel documents but as she is only going on holiday that may not be "extenuating circumstances" enough. She will also get a grilling and cop some flak when she leaves Australia because Aussies must leave on an Australian passport. Be careful, too, that the photos you've got from the PO are the right size for a UK passport and they haven't just given you the bog standard Australian dimensions - I vaguely recall having to go elsewhere for a UK photo once when I renewed but they may have upped their game since then.

If you have to bring them and have to let them out in the garden, at least double bell them so the native fauna can hear them coming (even that isnt guaranteed of course!). Make sure you provide them with their own nice comfortable litter place so they dont have to go digging in the neighbourhood kids' sand pits. I daresay they would cope much better than you would if they were rehomed.

Yes. It depends on your income - once you are over the threshold you pay the Medicare surcharge if you don't take out private health insurance so if you earn less than 90k or your family earns less than 180k there will be no surcharge. Everyone pays the Medicare levy as part of the deductions from salary. As for ambulance cover - all states do it differently https://www.gmhba.com.au/help/health-insurance/ambulance-cover