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I got sniffed by one of the Australian beagles once because I went and played in the park with my dog and had FOREIGN MUD on my pants, but the customs dude owner basically just pulled the dog away. At least the little guy was doing his job well 
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Mar 29, 2012 04:45
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its only if they sit down that you're in trouble
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Mar 29, 2012 07:18
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Every time I've visited Australia its been via South Africa and my experience is that they are pretty anal about foreign contaminants. The entire cabin of the plane is sprayed with a mystery aerosol several times before landing, and customs gives you the impression that they are more interested in you having frogs in your bags than cocaine.
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Mar 30, 2012 00:31
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Saltin posted:Every time I've visited Australia its been via South Africa and my experience is that they are pretty anal about foreign contaminants. The entire cabin of the plane is sprayed with a mystery aerosol several times before landing, and customs gives you the impression that they are more interested in you having frogs in your bags than cocaine. Given our previous experiences with introduced species, including cane toads, its not that surprising, and I would say even better for the nation.
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Mar 30, 2012 00:39
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Frogmanv2 posted:Given our previous experiences with introduced species, including cane toads, its not that surprising, and I would say even better for the nation. I was going to say this. I live in the heartland of cane toad infestation and it has been environmentally catastrophic. A few gs of coke is no big deal at all compared to an introduced species 
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Mar 30, 2012 01:14
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Yeah, almost anything can grow and thrive in Australia. A few accidents (a lady bringing over a houseplant she liked from England in the early 1900s for example) have led to complete takeover by foreign species that can really gently caress with the environment. Some rules are also different state by state: in Queensland you can't own a rabbit for example.
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Mar 30, 2012 01:20
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Yep, I'm in CQ and rabbits are the only animal (apart from toads of course, but I aim for those fuckers and I've gotten REALLY good at hitting them) that I don't feel INCREDIBLY guilty for running over in my car. I know that sounds brutal and there's still a moment of "omg I hit an animal, what if it was going back to its family of other rabbits wah" but I don't get super upset like I do with other animals because they're loving pests introduced by morons with no thought for the future of farming in Australia or the food sources of native animals. There's also no real natural predator here for them. Dingos I guess and the larger constrictor snakes but that's about it.
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Mar 30, 2012 02:12
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Saltin posted:Every time I've visited Australia its been via South Africa and my experience is that they are pretty anal about foreign contaminants. The entire cabin of the plane is sprayed with a mystery aerosol several times before landing, and customs gives you the impression that they are more interested in you having frogs in your bags than cocaine. It's not just the introduction of other species we worry about. We worry a great deal about new diseases which threaten plants, animals or humans being introduced here (we're technically still rabies-free although that is expected to change) and South Africa is a known reservoir for many high level biohazards.
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Mar 30, 2012 02:48
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Lolie posted:...(we're technically still rabies-free although that is expected to change)... What ... how? 
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Mar 30, 2012 03:09
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Sharks Below posted:What ... how? It moving south. This has already happened with a lot of tropical diseases but rabies is a bit more scary because we've been isolated from it for so long. Our response to the first detected cases is likely to be brutal, I suspect. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...6-1226235103495
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Mar 30, 2012 03:15
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Lolie posted:It moving south. This has already happened with a lot of tropical diseases but rabies is a bit more scary because we've been isolated from it for so long. Our response to the first detected cases is likely to be brutal, I suspect.
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Mar 30, 2012 03:58
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I was on an IT-related training course once years ago and a bunch of customs guys were there too. The presenter was from a US company and he said he brought some prizes over with him to hand out to people who did the best on the exam. There were the usual polo shirts and such, but one of them was a jar of creamed honey. The customs agents all looked at each other spluttering, as it is an offence to bring bee-related products into the country. It was funny at the time just to see the first reactions of the customs guys. They were cool with it as it was a bit late to do anything about it. And I won the creamed honey and it was delicious.
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Apr 1, 2012 02:30
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Anyone with working holiday visa experience?
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Apr 1, 2012 10:44
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Dj Vulvio posted:Anyone with working holiday visa experience? I don't have it personally but lots of friends do. I may be ble to help, what's the question?
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Apr 1, 2012 13:13
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Vanilla posted:I don't have it personally but lots of friends do. I may be ble to help, what's the question? Thank you. Basically I'm looking for some up to date first-hand experiences from people who actually did it, considering how PIIGS Europe is falling apart I'm willing to give it a try as long as my age allows it. Best cities and time frame to settle in looking for jobs, success chances and stuff.
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Apr 1, 2012 14:05
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Dj Vulvio posted:Thank you. Basically I'm looking for some up to date first-hand experiences from people who actually did it, considering how PIIGS Europe is falling apart I'm willing to give it a try as long as my age allows it. Best cities and time frame to settle in looking for jobs, success chances and stuff. So I have one very good piece of advice from first hand experience. The WHV can last for two years if you do 3 months of agricultural work at some point in Australia. *Do this agricultural work as soon as you land*. There's nothing worse than having to go and do this work after the first year as it means you have to up and leave the city you are in (breaking rent contract, selling stuff, etc). If you do it up front it just means that after the first year you send the evidence in and get a second year. It's also a good idea because you earn a little bit of money, meet some people early on, etc. - You can only work for a single employer for a 6 months in a WHV. After 6 months time to find a new job. - All the major cities are ripe with work - Brisbane, Sydney, Preth, Melbourne, Adelaide. - Try to avoid trying to settle in around summer time as that's when everyone seems to arrive but it's not that big a deal. There are generally lots of jobs and opportunities. Pick a city you'd like to live in. Are you educated and with work experience? Are you looking to get fully sponsored?
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Apr 1, 2012 21:53
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It's fall now, right? Summer is November-ish?
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Apr 1, 2012 23:38
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Correct, with summer holidays kicking in a fortnight or so before Christmas (although depending on whereabouts you are it usually really doesn't start to get hot until then) and lasting until the end of January. January -> March is a really bad time to be finding a place to live in the big cities as that's when uni starts for the year so the rental market becomes (even more of) a shitstorm.
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Apr 1, 2012 23:48
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What fun things would you recommend for someone visiting Brisbane for a weekend each month?
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Apr 2, 2012 04:28
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Stonelegs posted:What fun things would you recommend for someone visiting Brisbane for a weekend each month? How mobile will you be when you are there? Will you have access to a car? And will you be doing stuff during the day? Are you visiting for work or pleasure?
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Apr 2, 2012 05:19
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Vanilla posted:So I have one very good piece of advice from first hand experience. The WHV can last for two years if you do 3 months of agricultural work at some point in Australia. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I wanted to know. I have an undergrad degree. The most important thing for me is to get some regular working experience. I only have off the books activity and my CV looks like I never worked a single day in my whole life. Unfortunately this is normal where I live.
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Apr 2, 2012 10:25
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Dj Vulvio posted:Thank you so much, this is exactly what I wanted to know. Yeah I have family in Italy. Tough to get a job right now and even then it's often jobs for friends - xyz is a friend of xyz so he gets the job. You can either consider Australia to be a bit of fun where you find any job and enjoy it or you can actively go looking for jobs in your specific area to boost your CV. Be warned that not many people will take you on in serious roles due to the working holiday visa - companies don't waste serious jobs on people who can only be there for 6 months. This means many people join temping agencies just to get anything because Australia is an expensive place to be living and not working and you'd need to get something quick. My friends joined temping agencies and got jobs that way. One works for a bank is the fraud department, the other is an executive assistant to a CIO at a medium size IT company. You can direct recruiters towards specific industries, for example if you are a finance student then get them to aim for the big banks. It may not be your dream role but it's still CV experience. The pay can be pretty good for temping. Both are on $70-80k if they a little overtime. This is some 54k Euro! It's all relative though as the cost of living is higher. If you are looking to stay for 2 years (recommended) then this is the link my friends used to find out about the 3 months agriculture work: https://www.wwoof.com.au
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Apr 2, 2012 12:42
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There was a "woofer" at the farmstay my girlfriends and I stayed at near Cooktown (far north QLD). He said he was absolutely loving it. The farm was so beautiful, I'm not surprised.
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Apr 2, 2012 13:20
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Vanilla posted:Yeah I have family in Italy. Tough to get a job right now and even then it's often jobs for friends - xyz is a friend of xyz so he gets the job. Living in Italy myself sometimes I wonder how on Earth people survive in places like Sicily or Greece. Your suggestions are very appreciated and I think it's honestly the best chance I have for the future. Plan B would be submitting an application for graduate schools somehow connected to my field (Humanities), I have some savings that would cover a 1 year Master of Arts or similar down under. Assuming I get in, 20 hours of work a week are decent enough. And huh, not being Italy is a plus. Would you suggest trying to enroll with an empty CV but with strong academic qualifications and good references? Or maybe do the working visa experience first in order to strengthen a later application?
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Apr 2, 2012 13:56
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So apparently there's a proposal that they want to increase the number of Working Holidays a single person can have to two. One before the age of 25 and one after. Pretty cool news. But I want to make the move permanently. I've been several times, first when I was 6 and I've wanted to move there ever since. Most recently I went in 2009 for a year on the WHV, absolutely loved it and I miss it sorely every day (sunny days here depress me for that reason). So I'm thinking of ditching my current dead-end job and learning a trade on the SOL, hopefully getting a few years experience and going for a sponsored skilled migration visa (I have family out there). Just a bit tentative about giving up a job in this climate for something that might not pick up straight away. I have to start somewhere though. If I don't then I know in 5 years time I'll still be here and regretting it severely. Gotta take a risk if you want to achieve stuff. At least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't feel like a massive idiot.
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Apr 19, 2012 23:29
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Unemployment is low in Australia so there are jobs abound, especially for skilled trades or specialists. I am surprised though. Is there not an easier way to gain residency in Australia then spending years learning a trade and hoping to get a sponsored skilled migration visa?
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Apr 21, 2012 16:03
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Unemployment is low in Australia so there are jobs abound, especially for skilled trades or specialists. Not really, unless you're married/have family already in Australia.
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Apr 21, 2012 20:07
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HookShot posted:Not really, unless you're married/have family already in Australia. My dad has lived in Australia for over 20 years and it counts for poo poo because I'm over 18. Best it gives me is 10 points towards a temporary residence visa.
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Apr 21, 2012 20:38
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What can you guys tell me about Perth? My girlfriend and I are thinking about moving there in about 6 months. We are Kiwis so there would be no visa issues.
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Apr 21, 2012 23:08
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I've always liked Perth, there are some awesome beaches in and around Perth, it's generally nice, has a good local music scene. The main problem (for me) is the small size and lack of international gigs/events. Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane get a lot of entertainment through festivals of different kinds an that rarely flows on to Perth. That said, another pro for Perth is getting really cheap international fares to Asia if you like to travel.
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Apr 22, 2012 00:31
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I rather liked Perth. I spent about 2 weeks there visiting my best friend who moved there in February. The beaches are pretty great. Driving around is incredibly simple and theres no traffic. The city itself is quite enjoyable and the weather was fantastic. Its a lot better than Brisbane IMO. Sydney and Melbourne are a lot more international but Perth has plenty going for it.
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Apr 23, 2012 01:39
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Just found out that I got sponsored to go to a convention in Brisbane in early August. Does anybody have any hostel suggestions? Within walking distance of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre would be great
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Apr 23, 2012 03:12
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Hostels? Hmm. This is probably your best bet. Southbank (where the conv / ex centre is) is a really nice part of Brisbane. Don't forget to make your way to West End for food at some point - it's really awesome.
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Apr 23, 2012 04:15
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Unemployment is low in Australia so there are jobs abound, especially for skilled trades or specialists. If you don't have a skill/trade that's in demand or are marrying someone Australian, not really. Hardly unreasonable compared to other developed countries TBQH. Frankston posted:So I'm thinking of ditching my current dead-end job and learning a trade on the SOL, hopefully getting a few years experience and going for a sponsored skilled migration visa (I have family out there). Just a bit tentative about giving up a job in this climate for something that might not pick up straight away. I think you're better off learning the trade in Australia; sure it's more expensive, but there's no need to worry about having your education/skills assessed as equivalent (you still actually do have to do the assessment as part of the migration process, but since you did the training in Australia it's basically rubber-stamped), plus it gives you a better chance to network and find a job before you're done with school. Depending on the type of study programme and length of study, you can get a transitional visa to work on and get job experience to qualify for migration afterwards. I'm guessing you don't have a BA; at least for people doing a two-year Master's in something on the SOL in Australia, the way the points system works you can pretty much automatically qualify for permanent residence after completing the degree (assuming you're 25-32 and a native English speaker.) That's my plan, although I've been trying to get final confirmation that that's indeed how the system works and haven't had any luck. (Anyone?)
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Apr 23, 2012 14:18
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Student stuff Courses are so expensive though, and on top of that you have accommodation to think about as well as living expenses. I just don't have that kind of money, and by the time I saved up for it I could have learnt something and gotten the required experience in over here.
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Apr 24, 2012 17:22
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Pompous Rhombus posted:at least for people doing a two-year Master's in something on the SOL in Australia, the way the points system works you can pretty much automatically qualify for permanent residence after completing the degree (assuming you're 25-32 and a native English speaker.) That's my plan, although I've been trying to get final confirmation that that's indeed how the system works and haven't had any luck. (Anyone?) That's changing to an "Expression of Interest" system as of 1st July: http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/ In particular: SkillSelect FAQ posted:An EOI is an indication that you would like to be considered for a skilled visa. Basically, unless you have relevant work experience and/or a specialized skillset, meeting the minimum on the points test with an Australian degree and not much else will no longer guarantee permanent residence. However, something like: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/485/ will still be available, and gives you 18 months to gain (Australian) work experience, at the end of which you will hopefully qualify for permanent residence (independently, or through employer sponsorship).
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Apr 24, 2012 17:57
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I need to hang out in central Sydney from about noon until 6PM on Friday. I've got a large rucksack that I'd like to leave somewhere for the day -- does the Central train station have left luggage lockers? I'm also willing to spend some coin at a youth hostel if they're willing to hold onto my bag for me as well.
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Apr 25, 2012 11:22
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There were some lockers in the countrylink (intercity) terminal but I think terrorists won on that one. If you go to railway square (where george and pitt st meet at central) there are two hostels, wakeup on the corner which you can't miss, and the YHA which is up some stairs just before the big tunnel leading to the suburban trains in central. I'd try the YHA first.
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Apr 26, 2012 13:16
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Montalvo posted:I need to hang out in central Sydney from about noon until 6PM on Friday. I've got a large rucksack that I'd like to leave somewhere for the day -- does the Central train station have left luggage lockers? I'm also willing to spend some coin at a youth hostel if they're willing to hold onto my bag for me as well. After a quick google I found this place which is near Central on elizabeth st apparantly http://www.thefreightguy.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=211 Also I know theres this place a couple of blocks up from Central on George st. http://www.cbdstorage.com.au/Services.aspx However I think thats more for long term storage so you might be better off with what unixbeard said to save some money. Im sure those two youth hostels have some sort of service like that.
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Apr 28, 2012 08:46
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Montalvo posted:I need to hang out in central Sydney from about noon until 6PM on Friday. I've got a large rucksack that I'd like to leave somewhere for the day -- does the Central train station have left luggage lockers? I'm also willing to spend some coin at a youth hostel if they're willing to hold onto my bag for me as well. There are lockers at Wake Up hostel near Central station for sure.
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May 8, 2012 05:56
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