My fam & I wanna move to Brissy but am wonderin where to start?? ?

Question

I am pregnant as well can we still move there to have baby (number 3) or do I have to wait? We do have family there but there is soo much to consider from schools to jobs to housing? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers

Answer 1

First of all where are you coming from - within Australia or from another country?

Answer 2

The fact that you've asked if you would have to wait until your baby is born leads me to believe that you are probably coming from overseas.

If you're coming from overseas (and if you're not Kiwis), your first step is to make sure you will be able to get a work visa and for that, either you or your partner must have skills in an occupation in which workers are in short supply in Australia. The required occupations are listed on the Skilled Occupations List (SOL):

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121...

If one of you has a listed occupation and has skills capable of recognition in Australia: http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/a-z.htm#a

they must also pass a points test:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-s...

Both of you must meet character requirements  http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/characte...

and all family members must meet health requirements: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-r...

If you can overcome all of the above hurdles and have applied for your visa, the next step is to look for work. Your family in Brisbane will probably be able to help with that but otherwise, finding work is generally easier once you're here. Employment prospects in Brisbane are good, but how good will of course depend on the type of work you're looking for.

Brisbane covers a very wide area and it's probably unwise to look for housing until you have a work location to narrow down the possibilities. Schools are the least of your problems and you won't have any trouble finding places once you know where you'll be living. Our educational system is very good.

All of the above will take up to 12 months, so your baby will probably be born well before you arrive. If not, then of course you can come at any time you are still able to travel. You should be aware though, that you will only receive Medicare benefits on a permanent residency visa.

Good luck, and please come back and ask if you have any more questions.

EDIT:

OK, so you're Kiwis - that makes a big difference.

Have you looked into finding work? The main Australian job sites are:

http://www.seek.com.au/

http://www.careerone.com.au/

http://jobsearch.gov.au/default.aspx

And there may be some specialist sites for your particular occupation. Google 'job name' jobs brisbane

Unless you particularly want to live near your family, I still think you'd be better off finding work before looking for somewhere to live. Brisbane really does cover a huge area and the traffic can be pretty bad. You don't want to get your heart set on a place in a far northern suburb only to discover that the work is 30 km or more away on the south side of town or vice versa. Nearly every suburb in Brisbane is good, but some of the near Brisbane suburbs in Logan, Ipswich and Caboolture are not so good and neither are some of the schools in those areas, so take care. That's a very broad generalization and there are many exceptions, but make sure you check with people who know Brisbane well before you commit to a house or school. Rental housing is becoming very expensive and hard to come by and house prices are going through the roof, so unless your income is above average, you'll probably find yourselves in an outer suburb or in one of the adjoining cities of Greater Brisbane including the ones named above.

NZ citizens have immediate access to Medicare and there are no job restrictions, so you can come whenever you wish.