Bad news if you planning to come  with your spouse/wife/family to Australia for work. DIAC just announced there will be fees for second or more applicant that attached to primary applicant. Eg. subclass 189 will have to pay $1.5k for secondary applicant which mean $3060+$1.5k

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/new-visa-charges-1july2013/

The thing to note here is that if you have the experience and the skillset which they are critically in need of, then i don't think they mind flying you down to Australia for an interview.
Like what Nemesis is (i think he mentioned he has 10+ years experience but don't know which industry). I know of a few friends who also have companies in Australia flying them in for an interview - all expenses paid. But they are senior (15+ years of experience) in the Oil & Gas industry in Malaysia.

I guess the ones you are referring to are either on the junior side where there are more demand for jobs than supply.

I got a couple of questions in mind, which I hope LYN people will be able to answer:
1. Where do I register for IELTS?
2. Do I need to attend classes or it's optional?
3. Cost of exam fee for IELTS
4. Any websites which I can learn and practice on

Thanks in advance!

1. Can register at British Council or IDP
2. Classes are optional and additional cost. If you speak English daily, i think you dont have to attend the class. Just be familiar with the exam format and requirements
3. This year fees is RM610
4. You can search in Youtube for tips and guidance

All the best

I thought that this linkedin discussion would be useful in answering some of your doubts regarding getting a job in Australia.
Link

Well, that definitely paints a negative perception about the job markets in OZ.

Well, that definitely paints a negative perception about the job markets in OZ.

Well things are not getting better. IBM is cutting jobs as well. link

Good question, the trigger was sometime in 2008/9 I think me and my wife decided that we were bored of working/living in Malaysia so we decided to apply for something else and the Aussie PR was reasonably easy to get. Compared to the UK, Canada and the US, Australia was then booming in the industries I was interested in (energy) with decent weather and access to Malaysia.

But I haven't migrated (yet?) because the Aussie economy is now tanking, plus I will have to put a lot more effort into getting a higher paying job in Australia since I'm already making decent money here. I'm also a bit turned off by the kampung attitude by some Aussies but that doesn't seem to be a major issue in the major cities.

what if those whom r already earning rm10-15k here? worth to consider migration to aussie?or better stay put here?

fyi, i earned rm10-15k in MY b4 coming to oz..

imo.. rm10-15k in MY is really nothing, as in the buying power is not high.. (which has been discussed many many times)

it all depends on what you want..

so how much r u getting there?

at least have to be rm300k p.a to be comfortable over there rite?

The only advice I would say is, don't come to Australia for the $. Nobody should be talking about $ without knowing the personal circumstances.

If your household income is AU$100k and you are sending 2 kids to private school which cost AU$30k each, how much do you have left after tax? Probably not enough to even pay your mortgage. If your household income is $150k, which is supposed to be the benchmark for being rich in Australia, considering limited investment for tax deduction and the need for after school child care, how much is there really left?

fyi, i earned rm10-15k in MY b4 coming to oz..

imo.. rm10-15k in MY is really nothing, as in the buying power is not high.. (which has been discussed many many times)

it all depends on what you want..

Not only IBM, Telstra as well.. they announced that last month i think..

what if those whom r already earning rm10-15k here? worth to consider migration to aussie?or better stay put here?

and ANZ bank(one of the big four) going to outsource 600 call center jobs to offshore. IT prospects in Australia not that good as before
For me, earning that much of money before 30 years old is kinda enough for me. IS good enough in Malaysia but traveling to oversea is another thing.

Btw, just received my IELTS score and feels humiliated by the score. I never expect to score that low as I very confident especially in Reading and Speaking. Would probably retake again but I kinda suspicious in the way they marking. 

Maybe I should tick 2 years of study in English in application form to make the marking level lower

The only advice I would say is, don't come to Australia for the $. Nobody should be talking about $ without knowing the personal circumstances.

If your household income is AU$100k and you are sending 2 kids to private school which cost AU$30k each, how much do you have left after tax? Probably not enough to even pay your mortgage. If your household income is $150k, which is supposed to be the benchmark for being rich in Australia, considering limited investment for tax deduction and the need for after school child care, how much is there really left?