Develop your Construction Business Podcast

How to migrate to Australia with Wes Zandt

• Season 6 • Episode 2

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Thinking about moving to Australia as a tradesperson? In this episode, Greg sits down with Wes Zandt from the Downunder Centre to break down the exact steps to migrate successfully. From visa options and skills assessments to the emotional challenges of relocation, they cover everything you need to know.

🔹 Key topics covered:
✅ Skilled visas vs. employer sponsorship
✅ What trades are in demand
✅ How to pass skills assessments
✅ Common mistakes & how to avoid them
✅ Emotional & financial considerations

If you're serious about working in Australia or hiring skilled tradespeople, this episode is a must-listen! 🎧🔥

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Greg: [00:00:00] Hey Wes, welcome to the podcast. 

Wes: Yeah. Cheers, mate. Thank you very much for having us. 

Greg: Awesome to catch up again. If anyone doesn't know, Wes was really helpful for me when I was trying to move over to Australia. The reason I wanted to get Wes on was because I worked really closely with their company and they were absolutely fantastic throughout the entire process.

Greg: So awesome to, to get back on with Wes and have a chat with him about what's going on. And we, we really got to tackle this podcast from a few different angles, actually. So this podcast today, we're going to look at a few things. One, if you're in the UK, we're going to look at. What it takes to actually move over to Australia as a tradesperson and is that something you should consider?

Greg: So we're gonna go through all the pros and cons of that and what's involved, but we've also got some Aussie listeners to this podcast So we're then going to tackle it from a different angle and look at if you're an Aussie trades person or an Aussie employer Should you consider bringing over? British workers potentially or British trades people over to come and work for your company. And how do you do that? 

[00:01:00] Because Wes can help out with all of that as well. So lots to discuss and it's going to be really valuable for you if you're in construction. So Wes let's get started first of all, shall we, about maybe the journey of what it takes to get someone over. So let's, let's start right from the beginning.

Greg: If someone's sick of the UK, sick of that grey miserable weather, and they want a bit of a change of a lifestyle where do they get started? 

Wes: Yeah, perfect, mate. So I think it's important to probably understand that there's two, there's two real visas to enter Australia in. You've got the skilled independent visa, which is a, well, not, nothing relying on an employer.

Wes: So Australia is saying they want English speaking skilled migrants. So they want people who has you know, an occupation on the skilled list. That's the first thing, got to make sure you've got that. If you're a tradie, you generally are. Okay, then each occupation has a skills assessing body. So rather than you Greg saying you're a carpenter, for example, you get put through the skills assessment, okay? And then we're one of the we're part of the organization that delivers that skills 

Wes: [00:02:00] assessments for immigration. That's why we've got such a, you know, very helpful when it comes to you know, to getting people into OZ, especially tradies. So they'll do a skills assessment. Now, believe it or not, Greg, it's not mandatory that a UK passport holder does an English test mate, but because it's a points based visa, it's highly recommended that you do an English test because you're actually competing against all the other people in your in your occupation.

Wes: So if you're a carpenter and you know, it's like I said, it's a points based visa, the minimum you need to get is 65 points. And then if you've got 65 and someone's got 75, generally. The whole reason why we put in an expression of interest is to gain an invitation to apply. And they'll usually invite people with the highest score first.

Wes: Now obviously that depends on your your occupation. Also depends on the time of the year you're putting in your expression of interest. But, but in short, Greg you need to have to have an occupation on the skilled list. Each occupation has a skills assessing body for trades. That's us. We'll go into the skills assessment in a bit, I believe.

Wes: But just as an overall, yeah, first part, just making sure you've got that [00:03:00] occupation on the skilled list skills assessment, even though it's not mandatory, if you've got a UK passport to do an English test, it's highly recommended. It's not something we earn from or anything like that, mate. It's the same test that like a Chinese person or someone who has a English as their second language.

Wes: So there's definitely advantage to UK and, you know, and English speaking as their first language. Then you put in what's called an expression of interest. The whole reason why you put in an expression of interest is to get an invitation to apply. Once you get your invitation to apply, that's when you do your police checks and medicals.

Wes: So it's really important that you disclose that at the start. So, So people sort of forget that, Greg. So if you've got a child who may be seeking assistance with school or something, that could be something that might affect your visa to Australia when it comes to a medical. Also, you know, health issues.

Wes: If you've had cancer in the past, they want you to be in remission for a minimum of five years. There's all these rules. Like if, you know, if you've got diabetes, that's okay. There's, you know, it comes down to a cost. So Australia is saying, well, we'll have you migrate to Australia. Bring your family in because we need your skill.

Wes: [00:04:00] We need your occupation. We'll vet it to make sure that you have the necessary skills, hence the reason for the skill assessment. But when you come to Australia, we don't want to have the burden, I guess, of dealing with someone who's sick, who's going to cost the, you know, the government money. So you've got that sort of a system on the skilled visa.

Wes: And then the other visa you got made is the employer sponsored visa, where we have an employer looking for a carpenter. We'll stick with carpenter today. I think, mate they're looking for a carpenter. So they advertise that they advertise on three different platforms 28 days. And the idea is to prove to immigration that they couldn't find anyone locally.

Wes: And if they had found anyone locally, they would have had to had to do that. Okay. But at the same time, by, by, I guess by advertising, it's really showing immigration, you can't find them. So they do that. And then there's a, obviously there's a cost to it, but it's not too much of a cost, depending on if you're profits more or less than 10 million a year.

Wes: They put in a nomination and yeah, the migrant can come over, but there's different employers [00:05:00] sponsored visas. There's different visas, Greg. That's why it's hard, I guess, to, to run them through on a podcast, because it's very specific. To who you are, because the goal is getting permanent residency.

Wes: That's your goal. Okay. Cause the benefits of how getting permanent residency, if you want to buy a house, depending on the passport you have, you get, you know, if there's a reciprocal, if there's a reciprocation, you'll get access to Medicare depending on the state you move to on sponsored visas, some states the government will fund the schooling because you're only a temporary visa holder on employee sponsored visas.

Wes: But then there's an employee sponsored visa too, mate, that if you have a skills assessment and the employee is happy to nominate you, there's a visa called an ENS 186 visa. So. It's probably a hard one, Greg, to do an overall, but there are probably two, two main visas that people can enter Australia on.

Greg: Yeah, perfect. So some of the questions that I had in my mind when I was moving over was, you know, have I left it too long? Am I too old? Cause I was just ticking over the 40 mark. So if someone's listening to this, they really want to come to Oz, but they are over 40 maybe 45 or something like that.

Greg: Is it impossible for, [00:06:00] for someone to get over if they, if they miss the 

Wes: I wouldn't say it's impossible. It just restricts the visas that you, that you can come over. So basically if you're old, if you're older than 45 and you don't have permanent residency, that can be an issue. But then they introduced like a 494 visa, which is the employee sponsored visa.

Wes: So that's. That can lead to PR after you're 45 the 491 you can get that just before you're 45, for three years, then apply for the 191. That won't affect it, but it does make it harder, a lot harder, mate. We, unfortunately we get some really skilled and lovely people that, that want to head to Oz.

Wes: And their only option is the employer sponsored visa, which won't really have an age limit to it, but then leading to permanent residency, then it does. So you sort of just got to manage the client's expectations and the employee's expectations that you might be here for. So you're going to be eligible for a visa for four years, but at the same time, you're going to be asked to go home if you can't lead to a permanent residency visa.

Wes: And then again, Greg, you might have someone who's like, you know, who's single, for example, hasn't got a partner and then they might fall in [00:07:00] love with an Australian resident or citizen. And then they'll be and prove they've been living together for 12 months and then they'll actually be eligible for a partner visa.

Wes: So I guess it is. But if you are listening out there and you are over that 45, then. Yeah, you being the main applicant might be an issue, but yeah, 45's Pretty much. Well, 43 for me is a bit of a a red light where we really got to manage the client's expectations. Last thing we want to do guys is get your hopes up and then not have an option at the end.

Wes: It doesn't benefit anyone. 

Greg: Yeah, no, that's it. So I think I was right on the on the limit because I think I was 40. when I got my visa granted and come over. So I just ticked over the 40 mark and I was panicking about it. But fortunately we we managed to get PR, which was, which was great. So that's, that's good to know just to manage expectations on that.

Greg: So thinking about whether if someone wants to do this and. Thinking about doing it themselves, maybe applying themselves or using an agent. What are the benefits of using an agent? Because, and the reason I say this is because I [00:08:00] originally actually was thinking about going over to New Zealand. And my mate who's pretty clued up, he did the application himself.

Greg: And he goes, I'll just do it yourself. And then I did it and just made a complete hash of it and got rejected. So then I come to you guys, wouldn't have wanted to come to us. So what do you think the benefits are of using an agent rather than trying to make an application yourself?

Wes: I just think it depends on the agent you use, to be honest, Greg.

Wes: I think and I think it's also depends on the visa. I've got no issues with our clients. For us, mate, we actually get clients to sign up for what we call is our agency service. So we work with them to gather the documentation for the skills assessment, the visa. If you're a carpenter, for example, we'll work with you to gather all the documentation you need for the skills assessment, give you English exam preparation.

Wes: As Facebook group. That's. That's the biggest issue, is the emotional side, and I hope we can talk about that during this podcast, because I think that's the I reckon that's the hardest part. Everything's hard about moving to Aus, guys. None of it's fun, it's expensive, you, you know, it, like, there's challenges all around.

Wes: But I guess when it comes to [00:09:00] using an agent, it really does vary. I think, you know, the way that we do it, we charge you know, a fee. Well, if you're in the UK and you're listening, we charge 600 plus VAT to work with you to gather all the documentation you need for your skills assessment. We know what you need because we deliver it for immigration.

Wes: We give you practice English exam preparation. Live and put you in a Facebook group. It's got over 3, 900 current clients. Every one of them are doing English tests and skills assessments. We set it up so you can sort of get on the emotional side of where people are waiting on visas to be granted, how they're dealing, you know, telling their family and, you know, friends everything from tips to moving as well on there, like what do you ship?

Wes: What do you not ship? How do you clean your tools as this whole world out there, mate, as you know, Greg, you're here. But yeah, they'll get access to that. Yeah. They'll get access to a free relocation call with one of our relocation agents, which is a previous migrant and also the main thing that we do is we give you access to what we call as a client portal.

Wes: So we'll gather all the documentation we need for the skills assessment and the visa. Okay. And then we give people a choice. I reckon the best method is to gather all the documentation [00:10:00] on the portal, get everything you need for a skills assessment. Now we're blessed guys because the actual assessor for our trades is on the back end of your portal.

Wes: You'll have a client manager and the actual assessor now who's delivering the assessment, which is fantastic news because you're really going to get an insight of how the skills assessment works. But at the same time, Yeah, you know, like I make it sound easy. It is challenging photos, videos, references, pay documents, tax documents.

Wes: There's a lot you need to get. But when you ask the question, maybe is it, you know, for 600 quid and being able to guide yourself through that and ask questions, then I think then putting in the expression of interest that's the bit that It's so sad, Greg, because you'll meet some great people that did the EOI themselves.

Wes: And, and what happens is when you put in the expression of interest, it doesn't really cost you too much on the, from the sense of immigration. But if you're claiming you've got 75 points, and then when you pay your government processing fee, so for like a family, it's like 4, 770 Australian dollars now for the main applicant, half that for the partner, you know, over a thousand bucks for per [00:11:00] child that's under 18.

Wes: It adds up Greg, like, and if you claiming 70 points and you've only got 65, well, you're not paying for a visa, you're paying for it. So unfortunately people get the refusal and they're going to start again and it costs some money. So I don't know. I just think just, just choose a good agent and there's some really good ones out there.

Wes: And then there's also ones that unfortunately Greg, it's a market that when it gets cold in the UK. You'll see lots of websites just appear and jump up and they're just scumbags, mate. They'll just take your money. They're all based, you know, they've all got bank accounts that end up in Asia. And every year there's three or four that pop up.

Wes: And I guess it's disappointing from our end, because we're the ones who have to clean up the mess, I guess, at the end of it. It's like when you hire a dodgy builder, carpenter. You know, you're paying for what you get, but they won't tell you that. So definitely, definitely do a bit of research. I think for us a good selling point, mate, is where we've we run our own expos and events, run our own webinars.

Wes: We've run monthly migration webinars for 13 years, mate. So we're not, you know, we wouldn't do that, we wouldn't pull up our clients in one [00:12:00] Facebook group who weren't good at what we did as well. 

Greg: No, 100%. No, and I can certainly vouch for that. It was the best move I made really, using you guys at the Down Under Centre.

Greg: And you were recommended to me from another mate that got over here, so yeah, that's well worth doing. Just to have a bit of a guide in hand, because you know, it's not easy to navigate this process. Interesting just talking about the emotional side of it. with, with moving because the Facebook group is really, really good for that actually.

Greg: Just managing perspectives and timelines and things like that. What, what do you, what do you think the big emotional things are that you're seeing in the group that people are struggling with and maybe things they haven't really considered and then they start the process and all of a sudden these emotions come into play?

Greg: What things are not really considered by people when they start? 

Wes:You're stumping me with these questions mate, but they're good. They're good. Look, I think most people want to have control. Okay. And I don't think Australia is for everyone. You're going to actually find you're going to actually find the, that most people will be, [00:13:00] I guess on the, I guess it takes a special person to migrate to Australia.

Wes: It's not for everyone, Greg. You know, you, you might be at a pub and people are comfortable with their life and everything like that, which is absolutely fantastic. And then the people that do want to migrate because it does cost money, they not, not having the ability to have control. Is really difficult on anyone and also because the process takes so long, you know They start telling friends and family that they're migrating, you know christmas time sitting around a table saying oh look, you know Hey family, we're looking to migrate and you're still there next christmas and it's oh, when are you moving?

Wes: You know the cheeky cousin or the brother in law's like when are you moving? Like it's really easy Sort of gets people annoyed and then You know, they'll, again, they'll see it in our Facebook group that, you know, other people that have put in an expression of interest got an invite because maybe they've got a better score, maybe it's the occupation that they're on.

Wes: So you've got that bit of you can't control it, but immigration's, it's not fair. And we've come off the back of a pandemic where Australia was closed for a couple of years, which has led to massive things with employment over here because, you know, [00:14:00] like, We just need people. You can't make them, well you can make them obviously, but you you can't get them trained to do the, you know, to do the tasks that's needed, like teachers, nurses, trainees, like good, good people to build over here.

Wes: So the emotional side just, I think, The, the family as well, like I think it puts a lot of pressure on, you know, like people having to do an English test when they might've left school or something when they were 16, Greg, and now they're being, you know, the English test is a decider on a permanent visa or a temporary visa.

Wes: And I think, I think by really having, so that old saying, isn't it like being, blokes don't really communicate that often. And, and, and now the world's telling you to communicate. And I think that's that's really good on the tradie, you know, which matches your, you know, this podcast. Now on the tradie side, like it's really good to sort of, like, none of it's easy when it comes to migration.

Wes: Like, you know, you don't wanna tell your boss you're moving, but you've gotta run around and take all photos and videos of tasks that you're doing to appease your assessor. 'cause the skills assessment's required, you're under the pump. [00:15:00] And then you've got the cost and the waiting. Then you've also got the saying goodbye to loved ones.

Wes: I think that's really challenging saying goodbye to families that have supported you through this journey, through this migration journey. Like some people, you know, how do you sell your house? Greg, at what point do you sell your house when you bring in your stuff over and you're shipping all your stuff?

Wes: It's You know, all of that. And then at the back of your mind, if you've never been to us before, and maybe you've been to us on a work and holiday or a holiday, or you've got family and friends that you're just questioning, am I making the right decision? Am I making the right decision? How do I, you know, what if it doesn't work out?

Wes: We live well here. We do that here, but now you're invested and you're meant emotionally invested. But then what you'll find is that the people that here, like yourself, it's, it's the whole reason why you want to migrate. So some will migrate, Greg, because they don't like what the UK might be turning into, for example, they may not like the weather, they may want to live a life where they want to spend more time with the family.

Wes: Maybe the, you know, maybe the fellas working too many hours on his own business wants to spend more [00:16:00] time. Before this podcast, you mentioned that you did your first camping trip, mate, which is pretty cool with the family. Brutal. Brutal. 

Yeah. 

Greg: Just to give everyone an experience of that. We wanted to try our first wild camping trip.

Greg: We we took, we got a, hired an off road caravan. Let's just let's just up the luxury slightly from a tent. And it was awesome. But the first thing we had to do, we went and had a look at the pit toilets. They're absolutely fantastic. Stunk. You're using a pit toilet and there was a big python up in the in the corner, a diamond python sitting there in the rafters.

Greg: And you know, they're, they're pretty harmless to humans, but yeah, when you're not used to snakes, mate, it's a bit of a challenge. It's not what you expected, but yeah, there's plenty of stuff like that, which, which, but interestingly enough, actually the biggest fear I think from Brits are things like the snakes and the spiders and stuff like that.

Greg: And I've been in Sydney now for what we how long have I been here? It's, yeah, coming up to. Two years now, yeah, over two years. And you hardly, you don't actually see that many snakes and spiders. Funny enough, [00:17:00] it's not as bad as what you think. 

Wes: So it's not, it's, it's scary though. That's what most of the people feel, isn't it?

Oh, it's the spiders and then the things lurking around in the water and all the, all the dangers that go with it. But yeah, if you're sort of living in the cities, like Sydney, Melbourne, like I'm, I'm regional Victoria on the Mornington Peninsula, I'm playing golf the other week, Greg. I saw my first snake.

Wes: And it was a what was it? It was a tiger snake. And as soon as it saw me, it sort of slithered away. But then I looked back, like, to show the lady, like, it was a golf lesson. I'm no golfer, but at the moment, hopefully I can turn the corner. But I turned around, I'm like, and she's like, where, where'd it go?

Wes: And I'm like, I don't know. And then you just stay there and you just watch and you could sort of see it still in there, but you had to take a good look. If you weren't looking, You wouldn't know it's there, but maybe that could come into the emotional side too, mate, that sort of fear of 

Greg: well, 100 percent I think there's a lot of I think everything's heightened when you're making such a big move like that.

Greg: And we're talking about a life changing move for you and your family and your wife and all of that. It's I think all of [00:18:00] my emotions all of a sudden become heightened with it all. And interestingly enough, there was a program that, that Me and my wife used to watch all the time called Wanted Down Under in the UK.

Greg: And what was funny was that people would come over to test Australia out for a couple of weeks. They would love it. They would vote Australia all the way through until they got to the bit where they had to say goodbye to their parents over, over video. And the parents were sort of sending videos back and that was sometimes the point where people couldn't continue.

Greg: And like you said, I think, I think it's the reality is it's not for everyone. Not everyone can do that and leave their family and, and make the move. But saying that yeah, yeah, it is horrible. But at the same time It's a 24 hour flight, you can be back in the UK quickly, as long as you've got the money to get back.

Greg: Personally, I think it's worth that sacrifice, you know, get back and see them. And with the technology we've got now with Zoom and all the other stuff, it certainly makes it easier. But yeah, not, it's not easy. It's not an easy decision for sure, you know. 

Wes: I think sometimes it's important to focus on, you know, the relative side of it and the challenges people face with [00:19:00] migration.

Wes: And then you've got the other sides, like you mentioned that one to So many of our clients were on that show. Right. I reckon. All right. Oh, so many clients. There's more clients of ours that are on that show that have made the move than I think the ones that haven't been on there. Like for some reason we sort of attracted you know, well, those sort of clients saying goodbye to family is really challenging, especially when they hit an elderly age.

Wes: And what, and what I love to hear in the podcast we do is that the, the, the support that fam that some families get, they don't actually. And they don't, they don't dislike you for it. They're actually encouraging you to do it because it's the life that they want to live on and how they want to live in that you know, how they wish they had the time to go out there.

Wes: And and, and, and give that, cause we get one shot at life. Myself made, I've been back in Australia for, I'm an Aussie. But I've been back, you know, since the end of 2021 came at the in the pandemic with my, at that point, wife and two kids. Now I've got a little girl as well. Mate, life's just. It's, I love it.

Wes: It's unbelievable, like as a family, what we, what we do, the [00:20:00] kids are excelling. They're you know, we're in Melbourne, we're not known for our Weber, as you know, Greg. It's up and down, mate. But yeah, it's fantastic. The boys, they, they, they just, Doing everything right. Like as a family, we just feel so good.

Wes: The outdoors, they finish school at three. It doesn't get dark here until like 9 30. Now they're in bed at sort of 7 30. They're only seven, eight and nearly two. You know, they're, they're quite young, but just how exciting it is just to be able to sort of walk to the beach after work. Everything's different.

Wes: You feel safe. You feel like you're actually in a little bit of control. I know cost of living is always an issue of where you go and everything like that. And I think that's just challenges every country country has. But if you're looking for work life balance and you're looking for the, you know, for the outdoors where, you know, every, Every part of Australia has like, you know, it's free, like, sort of, you've got free camping areas, if you choose, like, to do, to do, like, yourself, mate, if you choose to poo in the garden, in the bush, mate under, under the shining eyes of a of a python, then, yeah, you can, but you've also got the barbecue areas, like, Jett's sixth birthday party, we actually [00:21:00] had that at a park.

Wes: Awesome park here in Sorrento, and it had beautiful, all the park benches and all that are clean, you know, it's like a 1. 50 to go swimming in the local pool if you're not going to go to the ocean, if you want to do it, like it's expected that you, you know, your children learn how to swim, because that's the sort of, ah, we're, you know, we live on an island that has this different climate where you can sort of, you know, you can go away in the winter and find some snow if you choose, You know, if you go to sort of like, you know, in Melbourne, it's got, well, Victoria's got snow.

Wes: And then if you want, you can be burning out in the top end of Australia. If you choose in the summer months, like there's so many options to do. I think that's probably a benefit, but the amount of work that that's here at the moment, it goes through stages. I, I really feel, they used to say mate, the WA has a seven year cycle when it comes to the mines, you know, every seven years it goes through like this big, you know, this big recruiting thing, and then it will will dry off a little bit and then it will sort of just come large again, then it'll go through its like peak.

Wes: I think what we're seeing now is lots [00:22:00] of for trades especially, lots of people, the larger companies are sort of, you know, They've had their peak and the peak is just, it's plateaued so, so long now that the resources of getting English speaking skilled migrants coming on board is giving so many employees challenges at the moment, which is great for a migrant coming over.

Wes: So, you know, imagine coming over, having your Australian qualification and your permanent residency visa that gives you the same rights as, well, you know, you know, you're one of them, Greg, it gives you the same rights as an Aussie. You just have a funny accent for a while, but you've got everything else.

Wes: You know, you have every other luxury that an Aussie has, and you're coming into a market that's screaming for skilled people, and it just so happens that the skills assessment that you did, for example, gave you your full Australian qualification. So you're right up there with With an Aussie and it's, it just gives you those chances in life to Yeah.

Wes: To do it. 

Greg: Yeah. A hundred percent. I must say lots. I've got a lot of friends over here that are builders and tradies. They are all stacked with work. I mean, we live [00:23:00] in a, a nice bit just on the northern beaches of Sydney and there, there's a lot of work around here, but every, everyone I speak to, they, they're just crying out for more trades.

Greg: More builders, they just can't, they can't seem to get it, even though, interestingly enough, I do think the economy has dropped off very slightly here, the same, I think, I think like Australia seems to be about six months behind what the UK is doing, just my personal view from what I seem to have noticed that a very slight drop off, but they're still absolutely stacked, you know, full of work, there's still a lot going on.

Greg: So so let's just, let's just shift focus a little bit and talk about this How to get a license over here in Australia because this skills assessment because I think a lot of people think, well, I'm fully qualified carpenter or fully qualified plumber and you can't just come over and start working, can you?

Greg: So how do you, what do you have to do to get this skills assessment done? How does this work? 

 

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Wes: ...yeah, yeah, good question. So look, the skills assessment for the purpose of migration, I guess you've got, I guess you've got sort of different things to look at. There's sort of three categories, mate. So you've got your licensed trades, which is your electricians, plumbers and refrigeration mechanics.

Wes: So technically, it's against the law for an Australian employer. So I use that. Not, I mean, look, I'm not the plumbing police mate. I'm, I'm I guess listeners, I'm actually one of the plumbing assessors that do the skills assessments for immigration. So I've been doing this for I think, I think I've been assessing for, for quite a while, well over 10 years.

Wes: But you know, I'm not the plumbing police, but what you'll find is technically it's against the law. When I say for a employer, a plumbing employer to hire someone who doesn't have a registration, all that [00:25:00] means is, it sounds probably over the top to listeners. But once you've got your registration and everything like that, you, you actually love it.

Wes: It just means we don't get cowboys in the industry. Obviously gas kills, electricity kills Greg, all that sort of, you know, the danger sort of side of it. So they're the two highest paid trades, plumbers and electricians in Australia. And refrigeration mechanics are close and they're, you know, they're a mixture of plumbing and electrical.

Wes: So, you know, it's, it's, it's for those reasons, but it protects the industry. So A skills assessment for a plumber, well the first thing I'd need to do if you've got a UK passport is the documentary assessment where you've got to prove on paper you have the necessary skills, which would be like an NVQ level 3 for example, with with four years of full time paid work experience and that's pre or post qualification.

Wes: The second, now if you don't hold a qualification then you need to provide six years of full time paid work experience. Once you've done that part, you'll then do a technical interview. So we sort of give you a drawing of a house and we sort of say, okay, we'll tell us what work you do. Cause in Australia, you've got to remember Greg that plumbers are coming from all over the [00:26:00] world.

Wes: And because it's a licensed trade, they've got to follow the regulations. Now we can't assess them on Australian regulations cause they haven't done it. They're following So we don't look for the regulations, but as plumbing in Australia, we do water, sanitary, gas, drainage, roofing, and mechanical. So in the technical interview, we sort of give them a drawing of a house.

Wes: It's like what a kid would draw. And we sort of say, all right, have you done roofing? And if they have, give us an example. We just talk about it. We're not there to catch them out, mate. It's a pretty chilled out sort of thing. We're just going to tick some boxes and then we make them do a one day practical assessment.

Wes: We do that from our office in Leatherhead. And then in that we get them to do what we refer to as a rough in the people in the UK referred to as a first fix, really straightforward, just making sure you've got, you know, you know, you've, you've told us you can do things. It's just sort of like making sure it's like a tool check.

Wes: Now a completion of that might, they're going to get a document for the visa, which is the skills assessment. But then they're also going to get a document called an OTSR offshore technical skills record. Depending on the state you move to, if it's not Queensland or Victoria, you'll take that to the regulator, they'll issue you a provisional [00:27:00] license.

Wes: And then mate, then they've got to do what's called is the gap train, you'd get their full license. So they've done a skills assessment. Now you could be talking about Gregor Plummer, who's got 20 years of experience, mate, run his own business, run great jobs. We're making him jump through all these hoops.

Wes: The guys, like we took our gas regs from the old corgi regs. Like, cause we're Australia, I think we take lots of stuff from the UK, you know, if it's good food, we'll take it from New Zealand too, mate. We know we'll do what we can, but yeah, but you know, we, like, we sort of do that, we make them jump through it.

Wes: And then when they arrive in Australia, they do the gap training, which is you've got to work for an employer and it's called e profiling. So your employer ticks boxes to say you've done certain tasks, and then you've got to do some either online learning or something like that. So you've got to have some schooling, which just varies where you live.

Wes: There's plenty of options, but that can take up to 12 months when you first get here. But then once you've got that registration. Then that's it. You're laughing. So that's the hurdles for a licensed trade. For an unlicensed trade like carpenter welder or anything that, you know, all the tradies that aren't, you know, [00:28:00] plumbing, electrical, refrigeration mechanic, the skills assessment's a lot easier.

Wes: We it's a documentary assessment, three years with a relevant qualification, five years without. You got to prove it financially, pay documents, tax documents, photos, videos, references. And then you do a technical interview with one of our assessors. That goes from anywhere from half an hour to an hour, again, just ticking boxes and a completion of that, you'll be issued with your full Australian qualification and the document you need for a visa.

Wes: And I think in Aus, you probably know this, Greg, being, you know, on the tool, you know, like being back in the building industry, probably more than I am at the moment is you need a license to everything, mate. Don't you?

Greg: Yeah, you do. Yeah, it's well, interestingly enough. So I'm, I do business coaching over here, but I did come in on a carpentry visa.

Greg: That was the only way I could get in. But what I find fascinating is that I've done property developing in the UK and obviously, so I'm not just a carpenter, I'm a builder, but I can't get a builder's license over here. So, you know, that was something I wasn't aware of. being in the UK that you can't just come in and be a builder.[00:29:00] 

Greg: So to get a builder's license, I've got to go and work for someone for two years and get another qualification to, to, to be able to do that. So I've got to have someone sign me off for two years of work to show, I guess that's almost gap training, isn't it? For a builder that you, you've got, you've got to work for someone for two years to, to get them to sign you off.

Greg: So I do think you've got to come into this with your eyes wide open, because now when I want to do property developing here, I've got to get another builder to sign off my work, or I've got to get them to sign me off. So it just creates a few little challenges that you've got to navigate a little bit.

Greg: It's not just plain sailing, walking in and thinking it's going to be pretty easy. So but I think how you've covered that with Some not needing gap training as some do, just, just bear that in mind and you can listen back to that if if you're in that situation. So let's, let's just move on now and talk about the, the different pathways of getting in.

Greg: I don't want to go too deep into this, but maybe we could just talk about the differences between a skilled migrant visa or a sponsorship. So I know there's a few different, lots of different visas you can get, but let's just say we've got two options. We can come in on a skilled visa. [00:30:00] Or let's say we come over here for a, you know, we've come over here on a holiday and someone offers us a job and they want to sponsor us and bring us, bring us in.

Greg: What are the pros and cons of each of those, those visas? 

Wes: Yeah, good question. Look, I think the, being a father of three and knowing what I know with migration. Because you've got to remember, listeners, I'm actually based in in Melbourne. We've got offices in the UK and, you know, South Africa, and we've got little training centres in the Philippines and all that as well.

Wes: But I'm personally here in Melbourne where I'm, I deal with lots of clients that have maybe come on a 482 visa that look to apply on Shawgreg. So maybe they've been sponsored by an employer, nothing to do with our company, nothing to do with our employer. They've Googled us or they need a skills assessment to be eligible to do that.

Wes: The challenges they face on a. If you're not a permanent resident and you've got a young family, you don't get child care subsidy. If you're looking to buy a house, so if you're looking to sell your house and then looking to start fresh without renting in Australia, if you're not on a permanent residency visa, mate, you, you [00:31:00] sort of, it costs you money.

Wes: You've got to pay extra stamp duty. It's like an extra 7 percent on top of when you buy the property. So there's things that you've got to look at. Now, some will look at that, Greg, and just be like, Oh, well, that's better than paying rent. You know, and we're happy. We'll just, you know, it's a good time to buy and it's always, well, you're a property developer, mate, you know, more, more than this than me, but yeah, some people will look at it and be like, well, I'll just buy this property because it's renting, you know, rather than renting and I'll have the tax because in the long run, I've got the property rather than waiting years and house prices go up, et cetera.

Wes: And I think there's really no right or wrong with with that decision. But if you're, if you're looking to sell a property, you've got young children I think the skilled independent visa is, is the best. Now financially, Greg, it doesn't bother us, maybe people come on an employer sponsored visa or a skilled visa.

Wes: We make the same money by assisting the processing. But I think for the people listening, that's really important that yeah, permanent residency PR. So I think skills assessment equals permanent residency. But the negative, and if you look at a 482 visa, if you've always worked for yourself, and you know, I think, you know, if you're clever enough [00:32:00] to work out, you're eligible to move to Australia and you're really exploring this, if you've ever worked for yourself, and that's all you've worked for, then trying to work for a business being employed under their rules for a couple of years, that also Challenges.

Wes: Maybe not that you don't have the necessary skills, but it might just be how comfortable you are with your own rules and your own set of rules. I think that can be a challenge for people. I think the, the challenge for the skilled visa to Greg is we're seeing, and this is where, and this is where migration is we spoke about before the emotional side of the challenges is everything's out of your hand after the pandemic, we've seen people wait months and years to get their visa granted after they've paid the government money.

Wes: So a family of four have given the Australian government seven, you know, 10 grand. They're waiting bloody two years to get a visa granted. Now we're seeing one eight, nine visas being granted within six weeks to like a few months now. Like it's crazy, you know, so, but some people don't want to wait for the visa to be [00:33:00] granted and they might choose to then go on employee sponsored visa.

Wes: And then they're sacrificing. Well, they all, all they'll apply onshore. You, which you can do and then apply for your permanent visa, but then that not, then you could only apply to the state you're in. So there's lots of there's lots of challenge with that, but then you've got the good stories, Greg, too, mate, on the, on the companies that, you know, that we've got, like, they're just legends, mate.

Wes: Some of the employers are good, like, I was chatting to one of the guys we migrated on a, on a sponsored visa and they're a bit cheeky, these ones, because they were sending me photos of the back of a jet ski, mate, and they're fishing on a Thursday. You know, because that's what they're doing, you know, they're catching big fish on the sunny coast on a Thursday, he's meant to be, he meant to be his boss and he's got him out there on the back, you know, and he's like, Oh man, it's what you do.

Wes: It's how we get them in. And you get some employers that will offer accommodation. You get other employees that help fund it as well. So, you know, these has cost money. It's an expensive process. You don't pay everything at once. You're paying stages and employer sponsored. These are a benefit of that.

Wes: It depends on the employer. So some of our [00:34:00] employers might go. All right, well, it's going to cost you and your family 8, 000 to come in. We've got to pay you a minimum of just under 74, 000 Australian dollars per year plus super. Which is a good salary in Oz, you know, you'll see most people survive off that.

Wes: No worries. If you've got two people doing that, but that's the minimum you got to pay on your sponsored visa. They might say, well, instead of giving them 80, 000, why don't we just offer them 78, 000 for the three years, and then we'll cover their costs. So some people on the employee sponsored, mate, they may not have the funds.

Wes: There to apply for a skilled visa skills assessment pay directly. They want the support, you know, of doing it. So yeah, it's a really tough one. Again, it's really individual people really make it work. Like we've got heaps of clients here and they've changed the rules to met that after two years, your employer can nominate you for permanent residency.

Wes: The annoying side of that though for the employer is they've just invested lots of money in your journey to Australia and then after two years then they have to pay again to then get you the visa [00:35:00] that leads to permanent residency. Which, imagine, you know, imagine if I was working for you for a couple of years, Greg, things were going well, you think I'm here with you for four years, you're the owner of the business, you're getting all your plans right, you know, you're predicting what the future is going to look like for your company, the workload, and then I've like done a really good job for you, then I'm like, oh, mate, guess what, you can nominate me for PR, so in the back of your mind, you're saying, oh, geez, if he gets PR, he can then leave me, you know.

Wes: But I've invested all this money and time. And I was under the plan of four years, but now you've got the relate personal relationship with me. And now you say, no, you don't want to offer me that. How does that make me feel as a migrant? So, you know, there's so many challenges. So I, again, i've always been a fan of the skilled independent visas I just think that's the one where it's quite emotional.

Wes: And it is out of your hands But once you get it, you can come to us those those employers we've got mate They're just legends and they'll still hire. Of course, they'll hire. We're not a recruitment company mate. We don't sell people You know, we help them. [00:36:00] If someone's got their skills assessment visa done and everything like that.

Wes: And they're arriving with Australian qualification, their job ready. And maybe our employers will love that because there's no cost. Oh yeah, you'd get work, no problem, you know, there's not going to be a shortage of work for someone to take you on with that. Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think that the skilled visa is just having, you just got more options, haven't you?

Wes: More independence and, and like what I did, you know, I've got the skilled visa, but you can come over and you don't actually have to do that trade. You can do whatever you want, can't you? Once you've, once you've got the visa and PR. Greg, did 

you get offered a job at all? Did you guys, were you guys putting that together?

Greg: No, no, no, just yeah, always, always, I was, I was doing coaching anyway in the UK, but yeah, it was yeah, just, it was just that I'd obviously had the the experience as a carpenter for years. So that was that's why we went down that path. So yeah, so lots of, there are pros and cons and that's going to be different for every person.

[00:37:00] 

Greg: Just, let's just, as, as we're talking about sponsorship, let's just switch. here's a little bit and talk about Aussie employers now because there's some Aussies that listen to this podcast as well and we've been talking about the Brits coming over but thinking about an Aussie employer that is struggling to find trades at the minute they've got a ton of work there they're massive skill shortage in Australia just like there is in the UK.

Greg: How can they use this sponsorship scheme to benefit them as a business? Because I think one of the big worries is, Oh, it's going to cost me a fortune to start sponsoring employees and things like that. How can it actually be a real benefit for Aussie employees to go down this route? 

Wes: Yeah, it's a, yeah, it's a good question.

Wes: It's, you know how I mentioned before mate that we have employers that [00:38:00] if someone's got their skills assessment, their visa, they're coming to Australia. So many employers actually prefer the employee sponsored visas. Mm hmm. Actually do. It's the actual cost of the employer sponsored visa isn't through the roof.

Wes: Okay. It depends on what your company's earning. Give an example, like if you want to set up to become an employer, you know, like, and this is with our fees and all that included, just a rough cost. If you want to set up to be a sponsor, that's going to cost you you know, 2, 420, 20 Australian bucks, including our fees.

Wes: And that means the next five years, Greg, that employer can. Can sponsor any relevant occupation for the next five years. Then if your turnover is less than 10 million a year, it's actually 1, 200 per year. You pay the government plus a 330. You know, nomination fee, which isn't that much. So if you're looking at bringing someone over for like three years, after you've got your business and all that set up, including our fees, it's going to be about 5, 000, which means you've got them for three years.[00:39:00] 

Wes: So if you know, you're not looking for someone else and then the migrant has their fees. And I always recommend to employers, if you are looking to put the you know, employee, employee sponsored, we sort of send you like a. A fee sheet. And we, we work for both mate because it's like a, it's like a relationship they're building.

Wes: Why, while would we work just with the employer or just the migrant or represent them, you wanna be really open and honest and say, well look, here's the salary. This is what you know, this is how it's gonna work. This is your you know, these are your requirements employer, these are your requirements. So if you do what you say you're gonna do and, and you're gonna work and everything like that, you're gonna work hard for this migrant.

Wes: Well, you are sorry for your employer. As a migrant, your reward is permanent residency in Australia. That's for many people, that's like a dream, that's really hard to get. And for an employer, having someone work for them who has the necessary skills, who's really keen to give Australia a good go. And we've got, Matt, you're one of them, mate.

Wes: We've got some absolute crackin families and all that that just, They [00:40:00] just deserve the best. So if you're any I wouldn't be worried about the cost side often, if you're planning on sponsoring people, because in the long run, it's going to actually save you yeah, it actually sort of saves your money.

Wes: Potentially save you a fortune. When you said that the the wage, I mean, obviously, the wage is going to be different for different trades. But you said the minimum wage was what did you say? What's 78? It's like 73, 120 bucks. So something like that at the moment, that's used to be 2, 000 a year. And I think immigration made it quite fair on the, on the migrant sort of say, cause 70, yeah, just 70, you know, just over 73 grand is a lot of money plus supermate.

Wes: Per year to sponsor. Yeah. But people can play with salaries on that to get some costs back. But again, if you've got the right employer or you are an employer and you've got a really good culture with your business and you generally care about your staff, well. Mate, the sponsorship pathway is good because the money that you waste, well, my, my feedback from employers, Greg, [00:41:00] is when they're bringing on the young people or depending on, especially depending on the occupation, obviously it depends on the location, mate.

Wes: Migrants are flooding, you know, the sunny coast WA, you know, Perth and all that. They're easy to find. You know, employers will always find migrants there, but if you, if you are like an employer and you're somewhere that's might be a little bit regional, then it does make it harder to attract Aussie talent or when you get them, the odds of them staying is, and this is the feedback I get from employees made is that, you know, like by the time they're there for a couple of weeks, maybe a few months, then they end up just leaving.

Wes: So by the time they learn the company culture, learn how that, you know, the company does things and everything like that, then they're gone. So. We've got so many employers, like we work with hundreds and hundreds of employers. The, the thing is, mate, most of them could just be like a a bloke looking for a mechanic who has his own shop.

Wes: Well, we find it for him. He's, he's, he's set for the next three, four years, isn't he? [00:42:00] 

Greg: Yeah, that's the thing. And that's massive for businesses to get a, you know, a long term, secure, loyal employee that's going to be of your three years or whatever that or possibly longer, that's, that's huge. So that's definitely something to consider.

Greg: And so with the sponsorship, I guess one of the worries for Aussie business owners is what if I go and sponsor someone, and they come over and they're absolutely useless or they're not working or they're just, they're just terrible. I wish I hadn't taken them on. What's, what's the, like, can you just sack them?

Greg: Like, how, how does it work? Like, what's the downside for a business if they get the wrong person? 

Wes: Yeah, you can. Yeah, you can sack them. You'd like, they're basically like an Aussie, like you gotta follow the same sort of, [00:43:00] you know, the rules, you know, like you can't just be like, Oh, I don't like you. You made a mistake.

Wes: See you later. But again, the government, for some reason, they seem to be, I'm not saying it's negative or not negative, but they're really looking after the migrant. They've changed it, mate, to you've now got six months to find another employer. So you can actually be in Australia, like you can lose your job to advise immigration.

Wes: You've got six months to then find another employer who's going to sponsor you or apply for your skilled visa or apply or find another option to, to gain a visa. Now, obviously there's some migration stuff. Our migration agents will go into a bit more detail if people are in that situation, but the risk isn't so much being there.

Wes: And I think for most employers, I think if you're, before you get yourself into a position of Bringing someone in, we've got really good systems. So we actually have an employment team, Greg, that I mentioned we're not a recruitment company, but we provide a service where we advertise jobs and to our migrants, you know, to our clients to people that are using other, maybe other agents or anything like that.

Wes: Maybe just doing the skills assessment with [00:44:00] us. We'll sort of help and get the employee to ask the necessary questions to make sure that the person's the right for them. Like I remember, I know we've got a bit outta time here. I remember chatting to a company, a pretty big company over here, and they told me that they spent all this money bringing someone over on a on a, they just got him here working.

Wes: Just a, just a, just a guy. He was working for a, for a large company, I guess. Well, a known, a family known company. This is bring them in and. Did all that, spent all the money, put him in a really good accommodation, everything like that, mate, decides to fly the partner over. She turned around and said, well, I'm going to miss mom.

Wes: So I spent all this money, got their hopes up to bring someone over to work on special machining with the cat and all that really, you know, head on to the, in, but the guy wasn't ready to migrate. So I think one of the first questions, if you are in that situation, see if the actual migrants invested, you know, they're actually invested in it and they're actually keen to move.

Wes: You're not just saying to a complete random, Hey, do you want to move to Australia? Because that's not going to work in the long run. Because they're going to want it. And [00:45:00] once they understand, once a migrant Like, moving to Osgoode, you've done it, mate. It's so hard. None of it's fun. I always say to clients, like, none of it's fun.

Wes: If you want to get here, we'll get you here. We know what you need to do. It's like on the social media sites, mate. We'll see people go, Oh, but we were told this and we were told that. Mate, you're either eligible or you're not. It's the information that you have provided that migration agent that will tell you if you're eligible or you're not the rules are pretty clear you've got that, or you don't have the information, and what you don't have you need to get, and then you look at the visa like some will go off but I wasn't eligible will say to people you know eligible for the points based skilled visa.

Wes: But that, that doesn't mean they're not eligible for an employee sponsored visa, but they're talking to someone from our team regarding a skilled independent visa, not an employee sponsored visa. So it's very different. So I think same with the employer, you've really got to be like, okay, if someone's got their skills assessment, their English test done, they've invested.

Wes: What a great. You know, you know that they're coming over. Have they been to Australia before? There's so many questions that you can ask them. The other one too, for the [00:46:00] employers listening is when's the person ready to go? You mentioned it yourself, mate, you know, you had to sell a house every, you know, you like, you've got to do things, you know, just if the visa takes six months to, from, you know, chatting with us to getting a grant, it's sometimes less of does the employer expect you to be there in month seven?

Wes: Or does he expect you to be there? You know, the visa takes three months to get granted. They expect you to be there straight away. Or are you looking to go out there in a year? You know, there's all those things that, that I think communication's got to be open. But if you ask the right questions, mate, and you make it really clear with the employer, And the migrant that they communicate themselves, you know, our job is to process the visas, but I, I really as the owner of the down to the center, I really feel that we've done a really good job throughout our career of really focusing on what's important.

Wes: And that's people, you know, that's not I'm not just saying that because it's a podcast, mate. It's, it's, it's a truth from data. I don't know any other company that put all their clients in a Facebook group. Not one. But I chose to do that because the emotional side's challenging and you [00:47:00] need to be able to confide into people that have done it in the past and same with the employers.

Wes: So, you know, our job is to sort of, you know, process visas and skills assessments, et cetera. But at the same time, if the, if you, if you know what questions to ask the migrant, if you're an employer, it's going to make your life a lot easier and same with the migrant, like we, we, we had Greg some bloke asking to pay to sponsor plumbers in down your way.

Wes: 60 grand a year going to wear like, mate, you can't the minimum 70, you know, like, like we explained to him what the minimum is like, oh, well, I used to get him for 60 and I'm like, how can they survive on 60 grand? Like we, we just wouldn't work with that employer, mate. Like, well, we don't. It's like, what's, you know, that's, we wouldn't send a migrant there who's not going to survive.

Wes: You know, but at the same time, we're telling the migrants to view things, check out what the salary is, check what the cost of living is, where are you going to live, like what, it's one of those things, mate, like what do you sacrifice to make this dream to move to Australia happen? They're the questions, and I think it takes time.

Wes: The guys [00:48:00] that rush into Aus, go, yep, we're moving to Aus, we get it all the time, like, you know, yep, we'll sign up, we're moving to Aus, yep, no worries, but you are aware that it's going to take a while. You know, yeah, 

Greg: yeah, 100%. Yeah, I think I think that's really valid to say, just just wrapping up the bit on the Aussie employers, then I think what's really good about the down under center is that you do, you've got the synergy between the two, haven't you?

Greg: You're helping skilled markets come over, but you're also helping employees. match those migrants. So you've got the two connections. So if you're an Aussie employer listening to this and think, Oh, you know, I'm desperate to get some more trades into my business, it's well worth talking to the Down Under Center about how they do that.

Greg: Cause you run, as you said, you run expos in events, don't you? So you're constantly, your database of skilled trades must be, you know, absolutely huge to potentially make those connections. So that's 

Wes: Yeah, it is. And inquiries, you know, it always, it always varies. But I would say the employees is, mate, these people have gone and gone and jumped through hoops to get to Australia.

Wes: They're not going to wreck it. You know what I mean? They're [00:49:00] not going to block. They're genuine. Yeah. They are genuine, good people that have made a decision to move to Australia for whatever reason. You know, is it because family here, is it to benefit themselves, you know, like financially earn more money?

Wes: Is it, is it, is it the lifestyle? There's so many reasons why people move to Australia. And they're really good reasons. So employers, I think, you know, English speaking skilled migrants, we've got lots of them. And we are not a recruitment company. 

Greg: Yeah. Awesome. And just to clarify as well, it's not just from the UK you bring people over, do you?

Greg: Where else can you bring? Sponsorships from people from, have you got other countries you work 

with? 

Wes: Oh, all the time, mate. So it's really, it's a really good question, Greg. So if you, Australia have a few different rules, you know, where sort of get born saying there's rules for one and there's rules for others.

Wes: Well, that's Australian immigration. So if you are a carpenter, for example, or a motor mechanic, a cook, a chef, a fitter, a fabricator, a welder an electrician, and you have come from the UK, you are not required to do a skills assessment for the purpose of migration. Okay. But if you have a passport from Zimbabwe, [00:50:00] Philippines, South Africa, China, there's a whole heap of other countries there too, Greg, you need a skills assessment to be eligible for the 482 visa.

Wes: So that's showing them. And again, what we spoke about before skills assessment, irrelevant qualification, three years of experience. They've got to provide photos, videos, references, pay documents, tax documents. We don't just let people pass a skills assessment because they pay a fee. They don't even pay us.

Wes: They pay immigration. We process it on behalf of immigration. But yeah, like, I think if you, like anyone can, you know, to people, anyone who can come you know, inquire with us, but if you are an employer, like there's lots of, I think it depends on what you're looking for. Like we find South Africans, people from the Philippines, Up in the hospitality, the engineering sections and everything like that.

Wes: The South African, Zimbabwe, they're quite strong. They're used to the, you know, the climate of Australia as well. You know, if they were, you know, different regions, but yeah, it's pretty much, pretty much anywhere. Just, you know, the, what will explain to you [00:51:00] is when I, so, so how it works Greg and listeners is we get you to fill in what's called as an employer questionnaire.

Wes: Okay. You tell us your location. You tell us about the job and everything like that. We just advertise it to people who have skills assessments, visas who are looking to apply. They apply by filling in what's called is the migrant questionnaire. And then the migrant questionnaire advises, what stage are you at?

Wes: Have you got your skills assessment done when you're looking to move and answers to questions that are direct for that job. And then we just say, all right, employer, all right, migrant, you guys chat. You guys work it out. Here's some things to ask and just sort of, you know, create that sort of environment so they're comfortable asking each other, you know, the relevant questions.

Wes: And if the person's already got a visa, What an awesome result for the Down Under Center. Like we've helped them in the skills assessment, Visa, we've helped them get a job. And then that client who's screaming for a good worker is going to get someone who's jumped through hoops. If they, Greg, if you, if you're a migrant and you know that you've got a job on arrival, that means securing a house is a lot easier.

Wes: That means we're going to put the kids in school. Now [00:52:00] you've got a location. It really helps that migrant. So that's why we don't charge, you know, recruitment fees, so to speak, you know, because we don't want to put a barrier between what that. The migrant can or cannot do it's, it's about let's, you know, the best of both worlds or, but, but at the same time, the employer if they have, if they haven't got a, if they've got a visa, awesome, there's no costs, right?

Wes: But if they haven't got one, then you've got the sponsorship option, but then you're securing them. Yeah. You're securing them there. So 

Greg: without a doubt, it's a win win for everyone, isn't it? There's a, for sure. Just want to touch on the last thing before we wrap up. Just some practical tips and considerations.

Greg: We've touched on obviously you've got to sell your house and there's obviously, there's no answer to that, is there? The difficulties of when do you sell the house to come over? But think of the things like things that I never thought of, like, tools, bringing tools over, things like that. Can, can you bring tools over?

Greg: Like what, what, what, like if you want to, you've, you've invested all your life in your toolkit grams worth of tools, will, will they work over [00:53:00] here? Like how does it work? Like what do you have to do if you're trying to bring tools over? 

Wes: Yeah, it's a good question. Depends what it is, because we use different voltage and all that here as well.

Wes: But generally your battery operated tools, like you can go to Bunnings and all that guys and just pick up a little adapter from the UK to Australia. They're not too, too hard, but if it's you know, there is ways to do it. I think it's also the arrival, Greg, of when you're getting your tools here. So can you, if, and it depends on your occupation, like you won't see many mechanics leaving their tools behind, mate.

Wes: You know, compared to a Sparky, I've got to, you know, being a plumber mate, I've got to dig into the Sparkys. They've only got a a screwdriver, so they can pick up plenty of screwdrivers here. But, you know, you won't see mechanics leaving their toolkit and toolboxes there, but then how long does it take to actually get to OSC and can they afford not to be using their tools before they leave to, to come over?

Wes: But this is just one of, it's a great question because this is just one of many challenges. And it's at what point, I think in migration, I'll always say that I'll get, I'll speak to people and they'll be in a rush. But, you know, what do we do about the school and what do we do about, and then I'm like, just hold on.

Wes: You're [00:54:00] not at that point yet. Okay. Yeah, we've only spoken for three minutes and you're worrying about the end game. The end game is going to come in about six months. Okay. What we want you to do is focus on, are you eligible? What's needed and then during that time as you move to each step, you know, you'll get it.

Wes: I mentioned earlier that we offer free relocation calls. So I actually pay our relocation agents who are previous migrants to the D. C. Money to talk to clients that are making the move to make it better, but also to. Advise on the products and to help them out with the answers because everyone is different, but you've got like ship my tools and I think ship my bag and all that, Greg, that do it a lot quicker.

Wes: You can sort of send just boxes of tools over to do it, but then you've got to, then you've got to clean it, mate. It's got to get through a custom. So it's got to be spotless. 

Greg: We got caught out with that. Yeah, it took us 12 weeks to get our stuff over. I only, only bought a few tools, but it wasn't my tools that got picked up.

Greg: It was my bikes and stuff like that. Brought the kids bikes over and some other bits and bobs. And wow, they, they went through it with a fine tooth comb and they wouldn't, they wouldn't [00:55:00] release them. So they went into whatever it was, their quarantine bit. And they said, right, if you want them, you want them released.

Say that again. 

Wes: Did that cost you money? 

Greg: Yeah, big time. Yeah, I think it was a lot. It was, I say big time. I think it was about 1500 bucks to clean them all or that dispose of them. And so yeah, so we had to get, I think we cleaned some and disposed of some others and yes, it was painful actually. And if I was giving advice to someone, we, we actually paid for half a shipping container, brought all our furniture and TVs and whatever else over.

Greg: And when I actually work out what it costs me to bring all the stuff over. In some ways I wish I'd have just saved that money and bought fresh here, you know, because I was bringing over secondhand stuff and I should have just saved that money and bought brand new over here because everything's here, you know, you can get it all here anyway.

Greg: So that's my, my personal tip unless yeah, you've got a house full of gear that you really love, but yeah, I wish I hadn't have bothered in many ways. 

Wes: We shipped a few things, but we again, came in the pandemic when the shipping was all over, you know, the, everything was just all over the shop then.

Wes: And we just [00:56:00] sort of shipped mainly that, you know, the memorabilia. I think that's a really important thing. Yeah, that's right, we'll be leaving that behind you. You'll need all the, it's like when you buy a puppy mate, isn't it? They've got to have the, you know, the smelling rug and everything like that.

Wes: You know what we're in the market for this Christmas now, sort of surprise for the kids, but you've got to have all that sort of stuff because you want to, yeah, it's got to have that memorabilia there. It helps with it all. 

Greg: Yeah, definitely that link to back home. Yeah, for sure. Well, it was, this has been really, really useful.

Greg: I appreciate all your time and massive benefits there for anyone that's thinking of coming over to Aus. And of course for Aussie employers, if you're looking at bringing some sponsors over whereas if someone wanted to learn a little bit more about what the Downunder Centre does I'll obviously put the links in you've got, so you used to live in the UK, didn't you?

Greg: But you're obviously now in Melbourne. You still got Obviously a team there in the UK that people can talk to. 

Wes: Yep. Yeah. We're just shy of a hundred in our team now, which is good. Yeah, we've got, yeah, we, we, we can guys, I think, you know, Australia is there if you want it. Just don't think it's easy, but yeah, you can just we've got a free visa points [00:57:00] calculator that people fill in.

Wes: And then we've also got an employment hub website if you're looking for jobs and everything like that, but yeah, join our monthly our monthly webinars. Which is the first Tuesday of every month. So when I used to live in the UK, Greg, it was fine, mate, because it started at 7. 30. Now I've pushed it back to eight o'clock, but we've just hit daylight saving.

Wes: So on my winter months, I'm here at 4am in the morning, doing, getting ready for the podcast for a 5am start. And it's not so bad now, daylight saving, swapping over from the UK, because I think it's now 7am my time. Yeah, yeah, I'm experiencing all the pain of that myself. 

Greg: Yeah, that's awesome, Wes. So, thanks so much for your time today.

Greg: We'll put all those links on the show notes, so if anyone wants to pop onto your website and take that test, they can do that. But yeah, thanks again, mate, and we'll catch up soon. 

Wes: Good on you, buddy. Thank you very much for having me. Cheers, guys.