Stuff to see in Australia in springtime September

by Dominic 30/08/2012 16:40:00

Meanwhile in Barnsley, it's
snowing, and not that decent
snow either, that grey slush
stuff everyone hates.

London, for about two weeks, was where it was at, in the world. We had Jessica Ennis winning, the Spice Girls miming and Usain Bolt proving why the word cool isn't enough anymore.

But that's over now, and the 10 minutes of sun we had as well, that's gone. The rain is back, the temperature's just starting to trickle downhill and the nights are drawing in. So just what's the point in life?

But in Australia...

It's the exact opposite: the days are getting warmer, the music is getting louder and the beers are getting larger.

If you're in Australia this September, you'll be wanting some stuff to do.


Get your swim on - Sydney - 1st September

What better way to kick off the season than with a swim? Sydney's Greenwich Baths reopens for the season on the 1st, and to celebrate everyone gets in free and there's a BBQ.

Make sure you get there early so you can be first to pee in the pool, if the staff haven't already.


Float your boat - Melbourne - 1st September

If you think that being drunk doesn't quite make it hard enough to walk around making bawdy comments at girls and starting fights with whoever, try doing it on a boat!

The Citibeatz Boat Cruise Two involves anyone jumping on a ship and drinking copious amounts, either in the 90s room upstairs, or the hip-hop room downstairs, until two when they turn the engines on and get the place churning to see who can go the longest without recycling the drinks offers.

(That might not happen)


Get your groove on - Sydney - 1st September

If you reckon you look dapper in a suit or when you're wielding a razor or another similarly lethal weapon, head on down to the Metro Theatre on Saturday for the Gangsters' Ball 2012 when you can compare the size of your guns and discuss your jury tampering and intimidation techniques without the threat of the whole thing turning into a blood bath.


This is the real one, probably.

You don't have to let go - Brisbane - 1st September

Michael Jackson sold approximately one billion records and was performing for four decades but anyone who saw him counts themselves in a lucky few. While it may be too late to see the King of Pop himself now, don't worry, you still have options.

Don't let anyone ever tell you you don't have options.

Kenny Wizz is widely recognised as the world's foremost Jacko impersonator, his HIStory tour sold out across Australia and the all new HIStory II tour promises to do the same. Wizz's fanaticism and unwillingness to just let go sees him take audiences through Jackson's entire career, from the early days as a precocious young child performer right through to the most famous musician in the world, best selling artist of all time and most discussed face ever.

Should be a decent gig.


Something for the ladies, but really for the fellas - Perth - 1st September

Pole dancing was once limited to dingy, sordid clubs where fat sweated unshaved men leered at the girls through clouds of dank smoke, but now it's a legitimate art, and that's great.

So while you might not be able to fling yourself round a fireman's pole faster than a chimpanzee who's left the oven on, swing by the Fly By Night Musicians Club on Saturday for the Amateur Pole Queen competition where 30 girls will be judged on their skills, costumes and sensuality.


Feeling festive - Brisbane - 8th to the 29th September

The Brisbane Festival is one of the largest music and cultural events in the country. For three weeks, there'll be enough dancing to cripple Michael Flatley and enough booze to drown a medium sized dog.

Particular highlights include a beat boxing competition and late night DJs setting the after party off.


Outdoor cinema, or is it - Melbourne - 12th and 26th September

Drive in cinemas are one of a few things that are in films and on TV, and nowhere else. Have you ever seen one? No, you haven't, don't lie. The fact is the reality of a drive in cinema is probably rubbish, you won't be able to see properly, the sound would be out of time, you're stuck in a car and it's probably going to start raining, even in Australia.

That's why the Outside-in Cinema in Melbourne is the perfect compromise. OK so you might get arrested if you back your car in (we said might) but you can still get everything you thought would be top about an outdoor cinema - deck chairs, food that doesn't cost more than hip surgery and some great films to watch - but inside.

Get on it, you won't need your car bonnet.


If you can tell this isn't a G6
you should get out more, we
both know you haven't got one.

Like a G6 - Adelaide - 25th September

Whether you like that song is really irrelevant, the only factor that matters is how much you hate yourself after you've finished loving every minute of dancing to it.

Tacky, cheesy, rip off and all other insults you can chuck at it, you can't say it's not a top club track. That's why even if you don't particularly like the Far East Movement or rather, you like to tell your friends you don't like the Far East Movement, no one is denying that the gig down at the HQ Complex won't be banging.

Either that or you can go see Hanson the week before, your choice.


Ziggy played the guitar - Sydney - 26th to the 28th September

No one is going to pretend the Far East Movement are anything but a flavour of the minute, they'll be on the tip of people's tongues as people tunelessly hum G6 within a year but if you appreciate music, and what one man has done for it then the Opera House at the end of the month is for you.

Ziggy is a night dedicated to the genius that is David Bowie, his musical genius that is. If it was a tribute to his acting prowess it would consist of a 3 second clip of crystal balls being juggled, and even that was a stunt double. 

Instead, join performers Jeff Duff, Steve Balbi and Brydon Stace as they play Heroes, Space Oddity, Changes, Jean Genie, Ashes to Ashes, Under Pressure...Ziggy Stardust, the list goes on and on.

If you like Bowie it's the place to be, if you don't like him, get down there anyway and better yourself.


- Dominic Ladden-Powell is the Online Editor with the Australian Visa Bureau, an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people lodge applications for a Working Holiday Visa to Australia.

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Western Australia sets sights on Irish working holiday makers

by Dominic 28/08/2012 12:58:00

 

Western Australia needs workers for
its growing hospitality industry.

The Western Australia branch of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) is holding a jobs expo in Dublin, aimed at getting as many young Irish people over to Australia on a working holiday.

It was reported last week that record numbers of young Irish people, almost 20,000, who were desperate to escape gloomy economic and unemployment conditions headed Down Under on a working holiday visa in the past year.

Despite that, Australia, and particularly Western Australia, wants more of Ireland's youth. The burgeoning hospitality industry in WA is in dire need for more staff to work in new hotels and resorts and AHA WA chief executive Bradley Woods says Ireland's economic woes are Australia's gains.

"Ireland is the perfect market," said Mr Woods.

"They've got high unemployment, an affinity with WA because of the number of Irish people already here and they have the aptitude for the hospitality industry."

The working holiday visa is so accessible that holders typically have little trouble finding work in Australia but Mr Woods is bringing the job opportunities to Ireland with seminars to be held on 2 and 3 October in Dublin.

Mr Woods says there are up to 10,000 jobs available in the hospitality industry in WA each year, and as many as 5,000 of them will be promoted during the seminars.

"At the Travel and Work WA seminars, people will get information on Western Australia, find out how much they will get paid, and meet pub and bar owners, hoteliers and managers from hospitality businesses located in Perth and regional Western Australia, including beautiful Australian holiday destinations like Broome and Margaret River.”

- Dominic Ladden-Powell is the Online Editor with the Australian Visa Bureau, an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people lodge applications for a Working Holiday Visa to Australia.

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Your second year working holiday visa

by Dominic 13/08/2012 15:08:00

"No mum, I've definitely had enough of
the real life teddies in Australia, I'll be
on the first flight home, it's raining right?
Great".

So, you're in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, you've seen the Opera House, worn a cork hat (in an ironic way of course), shaved a koala bear, got so tanned your mother wouldn't recognise you and just generally drank more Fosters and eaten more barbecue than is probably healthy.

Now you've got a job you like, a flat which you never need to tidy (because your mum is on the other side of the world) and just generally living a pretty sweet life.

But then that year which seemed so long for a holiday suddenly seems to be seeping away and that dreaded return date is starting to come into focus on the horizon.

So what do you? Well, get a second year Working Holiday Visa of course! Let's look at how that goes.

How to get a second year Working Holiday Visa

Anyone on a Working Holiday Visa can extend it for a further 12 months if they fulfill one simple requirement: applicants must complete three months - 88 days to be precise - of work in rural Australia.

The full list of jobs which qualify can be found here but are usually categorised thus (life would be so much sweeter if we could use the word 'thus' more in conversation):

  • Plant and animal cultivation
  • Fishing and pearling
  • Tree farming and felling
  • Mining 
  • Construction

Each category contains a few different jobs which you may be interested in. However, before you pop down your local pearling menagerie (like you know what a pearling place is called) to slip them a cheeky CV, bear in mind that your work must be in rural Australia.

A few places count as rural Australia though so don't worry:

  • All the Northern Territory
  • All of South Australia
  • All of Tasmania

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia have specific sections as to what counts as rural. These are defined by post code and can be found here.

When you are applying for your second year Working Holiday Visa, you will need certification from your employer which proves that you have completed the required amount. The evidence can include:

  • A bank statement covering the entire period of your claimed specified work
  • Bus tickets, accommodation or general receipts in your name
  • Payslips
  • Group certificates
  • Tax returns
  • Employer references on official letterhead.

Most employers will have their own system for providing you with evidence but few should have a problem with doing so.

Once you have your evidence you will need to fill out the form 1263 and, if you're already a Visa Bureau client, email it us at and we'll do all the hardwork for you. Alternatively, you will need to fill out the form and lodge it yourself with the Australian government at http://www.immi.gov.au/.

"I'm definitely going to break the
law just to avoid outrage."
 

The most common type of second year work is fruit picking as the work is only temporary while the harvests last. You can get in, get healthy, get your certification, get out, done, another year in the sun.

I don't want to do that

The idea of standing in the sun for four or five hours a day picking fresh fruit among friends might not appeal to you, and that's fair enough. We agree that sitting on a couch chatting to friends you've never met online, slaughtering strangers on a computer game while eating something thats main ingredients are salt and grease does sound more appealing, and as long as you're content with doing that back in rainy Britain, or rainy Ireland or somewhere else rainy that isn't Australia, that's cool.

If you want to stay in Australia though, you best grit your teeth and just deal with the fact that you're going to have stay outside and get healthy with all the normals. Don't worry though, you can't overdose on Vitamin D, well you can, but you won't, probably.

No, I definitely don't want to do that, there must be another way

If you only need to have an employer say you worked for them for three months work, can't you just get them to vouch for you without actually helping them out? Perhaps for a little money, nudge nudge, wink wink?

Well, you can. You can sidle up to a farmer and say "hey Old McDonald, what say you and I help each other out?", money changes hands in a complex conspiracy of the like Dan Brown can be proud of and you're away.

On your head be it.

A recent report from the Department of Immigration showed that over 1,000 people have had their visas cancelled in the last three years because they tried to use fraudulent information on their applications.

And guess what? Almost half of them were either British, or Irish.

"You better have some limes in your
pocket or you're going to jail buddy."
 

So what? I'm hard, I'm not scared of a little risk

What's the worst that can happen? You could get deported? So what? That's a free flight home right?

No. Six people have been prosecuted for supplying false information to a visa application and it is a very serious crime.

Reports in the Sydney Morning Herald that backpackers were aware of the scheme and are happy to use them combined with the discovery of a website cheerfully and openly offering to buy or sell fraudulent documents have wound the government up, and they've since stepped up their efforts to catch people.

If you try it on and are caught, you will receive an automatic ban from Australia altogether for three years and can often result in you being ineligible for any visa other than a tourist visa forever.

You might not want to move to Australia permanently right now, but do you really want to rule that out, forever?

And, receiving just a temporary ban from Australia can prevent you travelling to other countries, particularly New Zealand and even America.

Why risk it?

Fruit picking or being away from the hubbub for three months might not sound quite as appealing as city living but that doesn't mean it has to be a miserable chore you need to get out of the way.

Many of our clients say the fruit picking was one of their favourite parts of their trip. After all, everyone is in the same boat, of a similar age and experience and are just looking to have fun. There's no career pressure involved, no HR departments monitoring the stationery cupboard with a little too much enthusiasm or unruly bosses grilling you about it why it takes you more than 17 seconds to visit the photocopier.

You'll be out in the sunshine with friends, getting some exercise, making some money and, above all, smug in the knowledge that it'll be another year before you have to come home again.

You only get one working holiday in Australia, why risk it?

- Dominic Ladden-Powell is the Online Editor with the Australian Visa Bureau, an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people lodge applications for a Working Holiday Visa to Australia.

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

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