How's life in NZ/Aus?

hussey

Nice!!

I have some news - I become a citizen on March 6th - dole office here I come

mandrake04

hussey wrote: »

Nice!!

I have some news - I become a citizen on March 6th - dole office here I come

Ah the old full frontal lobotomy, congrats.

jank

Why not wait till Paddys day?

Traq

hussey wrote: »

Nice!!

I have some news - I become a citizen on March 6th - dole office here I come

Nice one! Out of interest how long is the whole process from once you take the test to the actual ceremony? I'll be sitting the test myself soon enough.

hussey

I had no choice in where and when the ceremony was, as it's the local council that holds ceremonies, my process took pretty much 6 months, I applied for my test in September (very start) had exam maybe 10-14 days later now in mid march for pledge. A few friends in different councils hot theirs much quicker than mine, Waverley, north sydney had theirs in 3 months. I'm marrickville so I doubt they'll hold a paddy day event - though I'll ring and ask!

The Aussie

hussey wrote: »

I become a citizen on March 6th - dole office here I come

The Dole Office.

Did you apply for the New Zealand Passport by mistake??? :pac:

Mellor

The Aussie wrote: »

The Dole Office.

Did you apply for the New Zealand Passport by mistake??? :pac:

I'm not sure if I'm slow because its Monday, or if this post simply doesn't make sense.

Zambia

Mellor wrote: »

I'm not sure if I'm slow because its Monday, or if this post simply doesn't make sense.

Aussies think the kiwis only come for the dole.

Zambia

jank wrote: »

This place has died a death, so decided to post a gif!

I have been watching this for three hours .... help me someone

el diablo

jank wrote: »

This place has died a death, so decided to post a gif!

Who's the jealous looking Irish girl behind her?

The Aussie

Mellor wrote: »

I'm not sure if I'm slow because its Monday, or if this post simply doesn't make sense.

Before the Howard Governemt tore up an agreement between the two countries you would have a Welfare Tourist (similar to what Ireland has now, but can't do anything about it. All hail mighty Europa). Any way you would have houses full of Kiwis on the dole who just spent the time on the piss and if they did work it was for cash.
They were the previous resident of Bondi before the latest wave of economic refugees took over :pac:

Kiith

Can anyone tell me if http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ is accurate? Just trying to work out what i'll be getting in advance, after tax.

Slidey

It was one cent out for me per fortnight, I reckon thats pretty accurate

Kiith

Cheers. One question though...

Do i click the non resident box? This adds the cost of Medicare to the calculation.

1. Since you are a non-resident you are not liable for the Medicare levy.The calculated Medicare levy assumes you are a single with no dependants.

I'm not a resident, but don't we get an exemption from Medicare? Or is that only for 457 holders (i'm on a WHV)?

mandrake04

Kiith wrote: »

Cheers. One question though...

Do i click the non resident box? This adds the cost of Medicare to the calculation.


I'm not a resident, but don't we get an exemption from Medicare? Or is that only for 457 holders (i'm on a WHV)?

You pay the medicare as if you are a resident anyway, but claim it back in your tax refund once you have an exemption certificate.

Kiith

Ahh ok, and can i get the exemption cert on a WHV? Or is that just residents?

mandrake04

Kiith wrote: »

Ahh ok, and can i get the exemption cert on a WHV? Or is that just residents?

You only get an exemption Certicate if you are exempt from Medicare.

In short if you hold an Irish passport and your not an Australian Permanent resident or a were not a resident of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland,
Italy, Malta, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland or Norway
prior to entering Australia you are not entitled to Medicare and are exempt.

Kiith

Cheers, thanks for that. Really helpful.

White Cockatoo

Be prepared to jump through a few hoops with the Medicare levy exemption application.

They have a dedicated office in Hobart that deal with these applications. For 4 years, I submitted identical, squeaky clean, compliant paperwork. Each year, they came back to me with different, random queries. It never went through first time.

Generally it used to take 6 weeks to get it approved.

Since I became a citizen in 2010, I can no longer claim the exemption. I don't miss the application process.

Good luck!

Coileach dearg

White Cockatoo wrote: »

Be prepared to jump through a few hoops with the Medicare levy exemption application.

They have a dedicated office in Hobart that deal with these applications. For 4 years, I submitted identical, squeaky clean, compliant paperwork. Each year, they came back to me with different, random queries. It never went through first time.

Generally it used to take 6 weeks to get it approved.

Since I became a citizen in 2010, I can no longer claim the exemption. I don't miss the application process.

Good luck!

100% agree wit this. They pulled me up recently because one of the passport photocopied pages was a tiny bit dog eared. You could clearly see that the previous page number was there and the next one but no, they had to make a big deal about it. Hope I never have to deal with them again.

lavelle72

Kiith wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ is accurate? Just trying to work out what i'll be getting in advance, after tax.

Yep, very accurate here too

trippyfella

el diablo wrote: »

Who's the jealous looking Irish girl behind her?

Haha first thing I noticed also.

Exciting times for anyone making the move. I spent some time in NZ and yeah it does really suck you in but there's plenty in Aus too. Just gotta strap on that same traveller spirit and it's just as exciting

QueenBee1

Hi all ! I really want to go to sydney but I'm worried as I will be travelling on my own! How easy is it to make friends? Also how safe are hostels?

Coileach dearg

Over in Perth from Sydney for a few days for work. A few points to note:
- People definitely seem to be friendlier.
- Seems to be a lot more laid back and very family oriented (which is a good thing). The office is like a holiday camp compared to our one in Sydney. People actually leave work at 5. I haven't done that in about a year.
- Love the running path all along the Swan river. Very nice.
- A fair bit pricier than Sydney (especially alcohol).
- Getting around is way easier. One of the lads at work was telling me he lived 60kms away from the CBD and takes him 40 minutes to get to work!! Imagine that in Sydney! Bullet trains are the way to go. What are NSW transport up to! Although the infrastructure is not there and would be costly to revamp.
- Sunsets over the ocean make me homesick

Hail 2 Da Thief

It sure is quiet in here eh!

I had my 457 approved during the week. Hopefully all going well I'll remain in Aus long term!



Edit: ^^^Ha...I spoke too soon! What were the chances!

LaHaine

Quick question id appreciate some help with. Im doing my regional work and have had 2 full time jobs. Am i correct in saying that because both jobs were full time, i can claim 7 days a week for them despite only working 5 days? In both cases im working the industry standard in the job. From what i can gather from government website that means i can claim 7 days? Am i correct?

Mackman

Coileach dearg wrote: »

- Getting around is way easier. One of the lads at work was telling me he lived 60kms away from the CBD and takes him 40 minutes to get to work!! Imagine that in Sydney! Bullet trains are the way to go. What are NSW transport up to! Although the infrastructure is not there and would be costly to revamp.

And we still give out stink about it, not enough trains/routes etc.

My temporary residency is ready to go through, but I've got to leave the country for it to be activated, ( I applied outside Australia). Looks like a little trip to Bali I on the cards

Mackman

LaHaine wrote: »

Quick question id appreciate some help with. Im doing my regional work and have had 2 full time jobs. Am i correct in saying that because both jobs were full time, i can claim 7 days a week for them despite only working 5 days? In both cases im working the industry standard in the job. From what i can gather from government website that means i can claim 7 days? Am i correct?

As far as I can remember ( it's been 4 years since I did it) of you work full time, I.e. 40 hrs a week. The 7 days are counted. Not 100% sure though

Xavi6

One degree in Perth this morning

Slidey

Xavi6 wrote: »

One degree in Perth this morning

It was nice running in it though!