I presume you are talking about 189 (independent Migrant Visa). It took me about a year and a half under the old system (175) but I think it should be almost the same, provided the quota is not full. Otherwise, you will need to wait for another year for the opening.

The long wait depends on the queue for the nominated occupation. Obviously if there is a lot of people applying under the nominated occupation, the longer you need to wait. Usually, it is invitation process that takes really long time because time required to assess your suitability and eligibility. Once the invitation is sent out to you to invite you to apply for visa, it should only take at most half a year.

As for 457, which is Employer Sponsored Visa, it will be shorter, provided there is an Australian company (global / international company will be more willing to do so) that is willing to sponsor you. Generally it only takes few months and you will be granted the right to work in Aus for 2 years under the company. Unlike 175 however, you are not a PR.

There are also 820 (Spouse VISA) which may be shorter too especially if you are onshore. But the general timeline is about 1 year to 1.5 years.

Hope that helps

Hi there,

I have been in Aus for about a year and I have moved from Brisbane to Sydney.

When you say accounting, do you mean financial reporting role / accounting entry or do you mean professional accounting practice that includes financial advisory and consulting? This question is relevant because the latter is heaving recruiting, especially from the Big 4s here. Generally, there is a pretty healthy demand for accounting professionals in Sydney but it is limited to the experienced market. If you are in the fresh graduate market, it is really really tough and competitive.

To be honest, I don't have answer to your question because it depends on so many factors but crucially timing is everything. In my case, it was all timing (though my work experience definitely helped too) and ability to articulate why you are suitable for the role and why are you passionate about the job. Generally, you may stand a better chance of getting a job when you are onshore and physically present in the interview because Aussies prefer to talk to candidate in person and see if they like you and can 'click' with you. However, I did mine through video conferencing when I moved to Brisbane but I did a physical interview and case study when I moved to Sydney.

I don't know much about your background, but if I may advise (and if you are willing to wait), I will suggest that you gain your relevant experience in Asia before you move to Australia because the chances of getting a higher paid job will be better. Starting low in Aus may put you at the risk of a static career progression, and this is quite painful especially if you are living in expensive cities like Sydney.

Here is my 2 cents since I know a bit more about you:

I am not sure if it is a surprise to you, but I think it is easier for you to get a job in Big 4 than to get a job in commercial in Aus because the turnover is high too in professional services here. Assuming you are in assurance, I think getting a role should not be an issue as there is always headcount for Assurance (experienced) roles and it is definitely easier for you to get a commercial job in Aus with that as your stepping stone.

Again, timing and luck matters still notwithstanding you are already a PR. You might wanna consider that after you have your 3 years or once you finished your CA. In fact, you can try now as well since there is no harm, depending on your intention. I think it is possible because I have seen it happened although some had gone through a bit of waiting.

Here is the other considerations that I want to share if you don't mind:

If your intention is to get international exposure, your intended move makes sense but if you want to accumulate wealth, Australia is a lousy choice because of the tax. At the risk of sounding like a cliche, SG is WAY BETTER (I worked there before I moved and trust me, I saved a lot more). I am not sure if that is true, but I have the impression that having working exp in SG may put you in a better light to secure a job in Australia for whatever reason so you may want to try working in SG for a while and try your luck from there.

On a separate thread, Sydney might be a very hard place to start because rental here is really high and you should try Melb instead if you insist. I did not mention other cities because job opportunities in other cities are lesser (hence presuming you are less likely to get a job there) although cost of living is cheaper, especially if you are considering to buy a place of your own.

Suffice to say if you get a job in other cities, you should pick them over Sydney if you want to save more, though it goes without saying Sydney is a more interesting place and the job market is more liquid for you to move around. Sydney is also more Asian-centric which makes it easier for you to adapt to your working environment (Studying environment and working environment are really different)

Wish you luck btw!

I am not sure if I am an Accountant as per se as I am not in audit or tax, but I can share my experience with you since I working in one of the Big 4s in the consulting / Corp Finance practice. I am not sure what is the angle of your question so I will just share what I have been through and hopefully you can get some idea on what to prepare for.

The first stage is usually a telephone interview where the HR will give you a call and ask more about your background and your intention. This is typically a filtering process before the HR forward your CV to the hiring Manager. If the hiring Manager likes your CV, they will proceed to arrange an interview with you face to face. It usually take 2 days to a week before they come back to you because they need to schedule the hiring manager's time to have an interview with you. (Managers are quite busy).

If you are not in Australia, they will arrange an interview with you through video-conferencing (It is quite common these days, although some still prefer to chat with you physically, hence the reluctance to employ oversea candidate because they can't 'gauge' you properly without physical presence). at this stage, the hiring manager will be chatting with you about your work experience and why Australia etc, and maybe throw you some question regarding your technical field. Again, you will need to wait for another week or 2 before you know you succeed as they are also interviewing other candidates during your waiting period.

The third stage usually involve a case study / test. In my case, I had a phone call again with the hiring director who then gave me specific instructions on how the test will be conducted and what is expected in the test. The materials was emailed to me 15 minutes before the call and I was given an hour to read the case and prepare my answers. The director called me an hour later and ask for the answers. They will not tell you whether you pass or fail and you are expected to wait for a day or 2 before they come back to you.

If you pass the technical test, you will proceed to the final stage of the interview, which is meeting / video-conferencing with the Partner. At this stage, it is very likely that you will be getting the job unless for a very rare stroke of misfortune the Partner decided he or she does not like you. The session is really for the Partner to know more about you and officially tell you he will be making an offer. However, you may have to wait for another 3-4 weeks before the HR give you a call and talk to you about your salary package and your employment start date.

Tips? - do not fear the interviewer just because they are in the position of hiring - speak like they are your equal and be confident to ask anything.

It is very hard to express what I mean by that but I think a lot ppl, esp Asians, because out of respect to the superiors / hiring managers, they avoid asking confrontational questions or difficult questions that will make interviewer think. Aussies are generally very open with questions and the more you ask, the better impression they have with you. Fluency of english is definitely helpful. I suppose I do not need to talk about technical knowledge since it is given.

Hope that helps.

I am not a tax expert so I am not in the position to give you any tax advise here. I am merely telling you based on what I understood so far so that you can verify that / check with qualified tax advisors on your own later.

Yes, the employer has the right. In fact, Under the Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding rules prescribed by the ATO, as long as you are deemed employee (not contractor), employers have an obligation to collect tax from payments they make to you.

The super contribution made by the employer is generally taxable at a concessionary rate of 15%. I am not sure what you mean by 'counted towards your annual remuneration', but generally your annual remuneration includes superannuation contribution. For example, let's say your annual package is AUD100k, this include AUD9.5k (9.5%) superannuation contribution from employer, which will be taxed at 15%. In other words, your actual pay that you 'received' is only AUD90.5k, before tax.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Apr 17 2016, 11:14 PM

I presume your co does not provide relocation cost in your pay package. Unless you stay in a friend's place for a while, otherwise I strongly suggest you have at least 8k to 10k.

In Sydney, the general practice is to 2 weeks bond and 2 weeks - 4 weeks advance rental, that will require you to come out with at least 4k. (assuming your rental is about 500 to 600 weekly, and you are not renting a room from a sub-leasor). I presume it is similar in Melb.

On top of that, you might want to have 1k to 2k for deposits / others - mobile phone / internet subscription, furnitures and car, if u are planing to get one soon. (assuming you are not getting a fully furnished unit).

Maybe you should check with your friends who stay in Melbourne and ask them SPECIFICALLY those question. People who has lived long enough in Aus would have conveniently forgotten about those question because it probably only happens once / twice in their life when they move overseas, but it is without a doubt critical.

Cheers and good luck!

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Apr 24 2016, 08:25 AM

Relocation package is helpful and it is good they offer that.

You are better off to be in Melb instead of Sydney / Perth. Sydney's accommodation is more expensive than Melb and Melb is more liveable in terms of traffic, city landscape etc. The only complain I have with Melb is the extreme weather changes. Perth on the other hand is a quiet city - too quiet for me personally and job opportunities are lesser too compared to Sydney and Melb, although rent / housing cost is probably the cheapest compare to Sydney and Melb.

Of course, friends can be more important but that is your choice.

Hi there

First and foremost, there is very little job opportunities in Canberra. Even if there is, it is mostly government related jobs, which unfortunately can only be undertaken by Citizens due to sensitivity of dealing with confidential government data.

Your best bets are Melbourne and Sydney and in fact, I would say Sydney has a more liquid job market compared to Melb. I am not sure which part of IT segment are you in but if you happened to know programming, ERP system implementations or SCRUM, you should have a good chance of getting a job. The job market here is seasonable so maybe you are in the wrong season. You should engage a recruiter to help you if you can.

I am not in the IT industry so don't think I can help much.

Mate, just wanna share my view:

First, it is true that Asian experience is not well recognised in Aus - It doesn't only affect Asian who are keen to look a job in Aus, Aussies who spent years working in Asian markets such as HK or SG also suffer similar predicament because Aussie business are pretty parochial with the exception of international companies or professionals service firms. This issue was reported in a newspaper article in fact.

In terms of recruitment, what you know and how good you are are secondary - yes technical knowledge is important but it is a given, what they look for are generally 2 things - whether they are going to like you as a person and if you fit into their culture, and if they think you are going to stay long. Generally it becomes a subjective exercise. Subconscious bias happens because you are from overseas and you do not speak in the way they do - Just imagine someone from for example, Bangladesh or Brazil applying for a job from you and you are interviewing them, as much as we want to be objective, we might ask ourselves if we can get someone locally first before we offer them a job because we are afraid that we have hard time working with them because they will need time to adapt to our own environment, although they might be willing to work harder. I think only companies in Sydney or maybe Melbourne are more open about recruiting internationally because people are so used to a multi-cultural environment, still they need to "feel good" about you.

Unfortunately I do not have a solution for you other than keep trying. I myself tried looking for a job for almost a year offshore but then again I was applying for Big 4s (and in Sydney), which they are more receptive about international candidates. Honestly, it took me almost 2 years to really understand the culture and finally communicate effectively with the local counterparts. I think what is important is the need to present yourself confidently and speak loud, even with broken english. Local Aussies focus a lot on perception and they tend to view confident people highly - I might be biased but that is why Indians have an advantage over Chinese in general because they are confident when they speak and they tend to be very chatty as well.

In terms of discrimination, I have yet to encounter critical discrimination but I know it happens. Then again, that is mainly because my company is a global company and my team in Sydney is very global minded and they worked with an international team. In fact, local Aussies in my team acknowledge discrimination happens and they detest it too. You will realise people in Sydney are very different from people in Brisbane or Perth and generally based on my short working experience in Brisbane, smaller town Aussies (like Brisbane) do not like Aussies from Sydney or Melbourne because they tend to be pushy (A competitive environment shapes the character) and they think differently too. So as you can see, even Aussies see each other differently depending on where you are from as they are very parochial. So racism do happen because if they never encounter an Asian before, they do not know how to communicate with them,there is nothing much you can do about it really.

Just FYI, I worked in SG before and there are discrimination as well in SG - where SG people will prefer SG and secondly, Msian candidates over candidates from other nations like China or India. It just happens everywhere mate, nothing personal.

Wish you all the best

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 3 2016, 09:10 PM

You made some fair points and I get that but here is the thing: I honestly think Bangladeshis and Brazilians are generally very good because I worked with some of them before in a professional capacity. This goes on to show all of us are susceptible to subconscious bias - just like how Aussie tend to think people from UK and US are better, which is a misconception to a certain extent. I totally agree with you that "Aus experience" is really rubbish, it is really a convenient excuse.

Again I might be biased, Aussies in generally are not the most detailed-oriented person in the world, their strength lies not in numbers and details, but conceptualisation and presentation skills. Besides, it is generally in the culture to "do first and correct later" and they have higher tolerance for mistakes as long as it gets corrected.

I have the privilege of recruiting candidates so what I told you is what Aussies are generally looking for. Bear in mind that you are also competing with people from all over the world. The sheer amount of CVs that my company receive and that I need to read through is ridiculous, even after HR filtering. Sometimes, as much as I want to give favour to oversea candidates, HR and higher level will ultimately have overriding power.

I also believe Hong Kees have higher productivity but technical capability is secondary, it is more important for Aussies to believe that they can "trust" you, you are likeable, and you are in for the longer game. They all know very well Asians can work hard, but that is not the overriding quality they are looking for and that is the problem why Asians are not getting jobs like they should, on top of the fact that they are very parochial.

Welcome to the global world where everyone has their own strength!

As soon as I developed relationships with my Aussie team mates, they actually taught me how to "project manage" (Read Tai-Chi and politics) so that I do not do unnecessary work without any compensation and have better quality of life. Look at it however you like, Aussies sincerely believe delegating and passing work around is a critical skill to learn when you are at the management level. Hence why they hope to hire someone they can trust so that they do not need to know everything and can pass work to those they can trust and let them handle everything when needed. This is something I sincerely believe hardworking, job-hoarding Asians need to learn and let go otherwise we will all work to death.

I am not sure if you should migrate and made sacrifices because you are not the only one who asked this - it really depends on how much buffer you have and where are you heading. I mean why do you want to move to Aus anyway? I am sure you know that the tax is high in Aus and career progression is also slower here because it is a mature market compared to Asia which is a growing market. You might be better off going to SG (You will earn and save a lot more).

Suffice to say, Perth is in pretty bad shape now in terms of economy and obviously you stand higher chance with Sydney and Melbourne, but the problem is you also have higher competition. Ideally, not only it will be helpful if you are physically in Aus on stand-by for interview, headhunters also prefer to talk to the candidate face to face so that they know you better and can sell you better. Physical presence is definitely helpful if you can afford it. I know some of them stayed in friend's place for few months to do so. One more thing - it is actually easier for Asians to get job in Aus now compared to few years ago as the market is more receptive with Asian candidates, you might wanna take a bet on that and keep your hopes high.

When I was in your situation with visa expiring, I made myself a plan (with enough savings) to stay in Aus for at least year unemployed and hope by then I can get a job. Fortunately it turned out better than I planned so I am still counting my blessings. Luck and timing plays a big part no doubt about that.

My only other advise is that 90 to 120k is relatively high by market standard and you might wanna lower your expectation of the sake of getting your first job.

Hope that helps.

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 4 2016, 04:14 PM

I was actually thinking of moving to Perth exactly because of cheaper housing and the fact that it is nearer to SG and Msia for travelling back. I think I am able to ask for relocation to the Perth Office because they need people but I am still thinking. Sydney is just too expensive to invest and live.

The only other thing is that I have never been to Perth before so will try to travel there once just to get a feel of things.

Mate, here is my take on your friend's situation and perhaps you might find it relevant:

Sweet spot and marketing is the 2 main theme about getting a job in Aus. Speaking of sweet spot, if you were in a senior position, recruiters are unlikely to recruit you for junior roles because they question your intention to stay in the long run - you are likely to move out once you find a better job. It is more logical to apply for the right level that looks like a right fit (i emphasise "looks like a right fit", not "fit you right"). I am willing to bet that if you friend applied for managerial roles or more senior roles instead, he is more likely to get calls because it looks like he is making a right progression compared to asking for junior roles. I do not know him personally so I can't judge how well your friends present himself. Academic credentials are pretty irrelevant if you are looking for experienced roles, I myself graduated from a local twinning college in KL and have never studied overseas. I really do not think I am smart but I think I might have positioned myself correctly for the right role by telling the right story about my career progression, with a large dose of luck and good timing obviously. Long story short - able to craft a very natural and interesting story about yourself and your career, with a dash of unique personality are the selling points in getting a job, in my opinion. Aussies dig that.

About laid back lifestyle, Sydney is as bz as it gets and it is getting more "Asian" in terms of working culture if you know what i mean. You can try out if you want and there is no harm with that but I think you will find better quality of life in other cities like Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide. Melbourne is getting pretty Asian too in terms of working culture.

Just out of curiosity, you mean Aus allow you to stay in Msia for the next 10 years after your PR expired? Anyway, that is all good but I think the longer your drag, the more unlikely you will find a job because of career gap etc. Getting a job in Aus is a leap of faith, not really a calculated measure mate, so one must be prepared to lose in some way in order to gain. I digress.

Cheers

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 6 2016, 06:19 PM

Congrats in order I say.

I accumulated my savings from my one-year job in SG. Maybe you can consider getting a job in SG and save enough "ammunition". In addition, SG experience is more recognised by Aussies compared to Msia, perception wise. It is probably a safe choice too. Think about it.

Again, you are focusing too much on reality. Whether everyone will eventually move out or not is not important, perception is. Contracting is a good idea too and it pays higher as well. Modesty is not something Aussies believe in and if you are good, Aussies believe that you should always shout it out loud and make it known, if your friend discount himself too much, Aussies will believe he is probably not that great anyway because they will not understand why people would wanna discount themselves if they are good, it is counterintuitive to them. So don't discount it yourself too much, it is like a genuine Rolex selling at price that is too cheap - people will start wondering if the Rolex is genuine because it is too good to be true. You get my point.

It is not exactly clear if you actually have a PR status ready or not but suffice to say if you don't, recruiters will not be as keen as well. Long story short, if you need to do too much explanation about your career or your right to work, it becomes messy and recruiter prefer a cleaner candidate. That is cruel reality. So get your PR reinstated once you set your mind to it so that your profile is cleaner.

That is all from me. Good luck once again!

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 6 2016, 07:28 PM

In short, demand for accountants is strong based on ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey in the following link:

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/jobs-mos...stralia-2016-10


In fact, this trend is underpinned by the recent Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement where 2 countries are setting up framework for mutual recognition of professional qualifications with priority be given to engineers and accountants, you can get the relevant details in the following:

http://www.theaccountant-online.com/news/a...gapore-5035033/

However, all these are only relevant if you have EXPERIENCE - and that is the difficult part.

In the market, there is indeed a shortage of EXPERIENCED accounting professionals and most of the high paying accounting jobs are in Sydney, the financial service capital. On the other hand, there is a lot of accounting graduates who are not able to get a relevant job because very few employer are willing to take on inexperience employees because they expect employees to hit the ground running - hence you have two tier job market for accounting roles.

On that note, I personally think it is wiser (and cost efficient) to study offshore and gain the relevant experience outside of Australia. Studying onshore does not give you much competitive advantage because it is the experience that matters. I personally studied offshore and have never set foot in Australia until 2 years ago after working in Msia and Singapore for about 7 years and I managed to get a relevant role in a professional accounting firm in Sydney anyway. Of course luck and timing helps too.

Hope that gives you some perspective. Cheers

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 22 2016, 03:50 PM

I am not sure about the 7-10 years part, maybe you can enlighten me on this.

Regardless, getting the relevant experience is just one part of the equation, getting a job in Australia is another challenge of its own even with experience. You may refer to some of the earlier post in this thread as we have exchanged at length.

I think another important thing to note is how the accounting industry is evolving - overall accounting jobs are growing more sophisticated and the segment that is with strong demand are areas in financial analytics and modelling - an area that requires a mixture of accounting, finance (for project finance and M&A related work), programming and IT. Statutory reporting for listed co and internal audit is also going growing in demand because of more complex accounting standards and regulations. Traditional accounting roles (AP, AR, general compliance type) on the other hand will remain static and unrewarding in the future, not to mention it is getting competitive.

You might wanna give a thought about those points and carve your career path accordingly if you are serious about working in Australia in Accounting mate. Just my 2 cents.

Right. You are talking about the ACCA CAANZ Strategic Alliance. it is already effective and ACCA members are invited to join CA ANZ if they meet the following requirements:

1. At least five years of relevant post-ACCA qualification experience.
2. Two CA ANZ member's recommendation (CAANZ may ask for three)
3. Being a resident of Australia and New Zealand

I happened to be one of the beneficiaries of this Strategic Alliance.

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Oct 23 2016, 07:25 AM