Britz in Oz
Information for British Expats in Australia
Latest Australian Information from Britzinoz and ABCDiamond
English speaking migrants will jump the immigration queue.February 08, 2010 Immigration Rule Changes February 2010On 8 February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced changes to the General Skilled Migration program. These changes can be seen at: The main area of changes are: Interest ratesFamily Tax Benefits stopped for non lodgement of Tax ReturnsFrom January 2010, people who have not lodged tax returns may have their Family Tax Benefits stopped automatically. ABC 24-hour news channelThe ABC has announced it will begin broadcasting Australia's first free to air television 24 hour news channel later in 2010. Changes to the Building Trade Licence Legislation - QUEENSLAND1st December 2009, From 1 December 2009, there will be a change to building licensing regulations in Queensland. Most work valued at $3,300 or less is now exempt from BSA’s licensing requirements. The previous threshold was $1,100. Unemployment RatesNovember 2009 The Australian Trend unemployment rate decreased in November 2009 to 5.7% October 2009 The Australian Trend unemployment rate remained steady in October 2009 at 5.8% BookDepository now have their books in Australian Dollars With FREE fast Delivery including to Australia Online Saver bank AccountsANZ Online Saver paying 5% interest until 30th May 2010 Smoking in Cars banned in QueenslandFrom the 1st January 2010 smoking will be banned in Queensland, in cars carrying children under the age of 16. Fines of $200 will apply. HSBC Credit card in Australia$0 annual fee for the life of the card^ $50 cashback when you spend $500 or more for each of the first 3 months of your HSBC Credit Card CPI - Consumer Price IndexThe ABS reports that CPI for the September Quarter 2009 rose by 1.0% This compares to a rise for the previous quarter (June 2009) of 0.5%. This will almost guarantee another 0.25% rise in Interest rates in November, with maybe even a 0.5% rise. New Television StationsDigital channel 7TWO will launch on November 1st, 2009 Digital channel ABC3 will launch on December 4th, 2009 Unemployment Rates September 20098th October 2009 The Australian Trend unemployment rate remained steady in September 2009 at 5.8% Example Internet Plans in Australia20th Sept 2009 Plan Details 2009 Australian Education ReportThe 2009 NAPLAN Education report can be seen in PDF File at: Queensland, with the average age of children tested being up to 9 months younger than other States, again came near the bottom, but beating WA and NT More information at: .../australian-education-naplan-2009-results Australian Capital City Residential Property Values July 20093rd September 2009 Median property values for each City in July 2009 are shown as:
$481,493 Perth $477,627 Canberra $466,903 Darwin $454,524 Melbourne $437,175 Brisbane $402,681 Adelaide The Median HOUSE prices from the above report show:
$514,417 Darwin $506,898 Canberra $487,822 Perth $482,299 Melbourne $459,571 Brisbane $418,555 Adelaide Permanent Arrivals into Australia1st Sept 2009 According to ABS figures released today, the following show the numbers of New Permanent Arrivals into Australia during the last three financial years (July to June)
2007/08 149,400 2008/09 158,000 The following are the numbers of Permanent Departures
2007/08 76,900 2008/09 81,000 Other reports show that the main counties of immigration into Australia for 2008-2009 were:
30,590 UK 25,042 India 21,831 China 13,500 Refugees and Asylum Seekers British Pensions in AustraliaThe European Court of Human Rights has accepted a request for an appeal into the question of indexing pensions in those countries not currently indexed. This will be heard before the Grand Chamber of 17 Judges on September 2nd, 2009. British Australian Pensioner Association Australian Crime StatisticsMercer’s Worldwide Quality of Living SurveyFree Phone CallsFree phone calls to the UK ? and Free Phone calls all over Australia ? Need a Visa for Australia ?Not sure which visa to apply for ? The Australian Government immigration website now has the FIND A VISA WIZARD at: Answer the questions and the wizard will point you in the right direction... More Visa Information on our site at: Australian Visa's
Immigrant = for most part an immigrant will commit themselves to becoming a part of their country of residence. Expat = usually only temporarily placed in the host country & most of the time plan on returning to their home country. | m13 | |||||||||