# Social Work in Australia



## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

Hi, I have an interview for a social work job in Australia, if I get it then it'll be a new life for me (I'm terrifed at the thought of being thousands of miles away from home but excited at the same time)

Just wondered if there were any UK social workers who had made the switch to Oz and what working and living in Oz is like

The thing that most worries me is being isolated, lot of people I've spoken to either go over to friends and family or go with their partner/family


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi there,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not a social worker so can't help you on that but there are a lot of people who move over on their own. To start with it would be a good idea to stay fairly close or even live in a city.

The onus is on the expat to initiate friendships etc, it will not come to you. This can be very hard indeed but it will happen.

If you get the job which State will you be moving to?

Dolly


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

Dolly said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> ...


Could you give me some tips on how to make friends ( i sound like a junior school kid dont I lol!) i'm not one for going to bars on my own etc

Dolly are you a Brit living in Oz? How long have you been there?

This has all come very sudden so I haven't had much time to even think about it, I sent my CV off to an agency, forgot all about it then was told out of the blue that I've got an interview this week! The state is Victoria (I'm right in thinking Victoria's a state aren't I? I'm rubbish at geography!) and the region is Hume but she sent me links to Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga, so are these all areas of Hume? 

I have no idea where are the nice areas to live and the not so nice areas (to avoid) like i say it's all very sudden and if i get the job then i'll be expected to be over there, settled in and ready to start work in less than 3 months


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi,

I guess if you get the job you'll be coming over on the 457 visa?

Making friends can be difficult and take a while. Joining clubs can help...the gym etc. Also, making friends at the workplace helps too. I've found so many people here to be friendly and helpful.

Shepparton is about a 2 1/2 hour drive North of Melbourne. I've never been to that area so I can't help you with what it's like. If you google map the area you'll see it looks quite rural. Yes, Victoria is a State, the smallest in Australia (but to me, the best :lol: ).

Here's the link for Hume city council Hume City Council Home Page 

Take a look at websites like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au to get any idea of how much rental properties are.

We moved over from Buckinghamshire 3 years next week and haven't regretted it for one second. We love it here.

If you have any more questions please just ask away.

Good luck for the interview and let us know how you get on.

Dolly


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

Can I ask why you moved over? Did you have jobs to go to when you moved? How come you chose the area as oppose to the rest of Oz?

I dont necessarily want to live and work on the same patch so I'd have to do some proper research on that, as I really do not have a clue, I know nothing about Victoria apart from it's the same size as Britain. I dont want to be in a rural area that would make me feel even more isolated. I wouldn't mind being by the sea

I currently live in Staffordshire with my 21 yo son, and to be honest the UK is pretty much doom and gloom not a great lot to be happy about. The recession is still rife, despite what the government will claim, my son has just been laid off from his joinery job, this is the 2nd time in a year, there is no work here, even the university graduates are struggling to find work 15% of 16 -24year olds are NEETS as there's just nothing out there for them. Crime rate is through the roof, particulary sexual assault and knife/gun crime. I've been burgled twice, I dont like walking the streets in the daytime let alone at night. I'm all for a multi-cultural society but we are flooded by illegal immigrants. Unfortunately the UK is not like Oz, they let anyone in here. Teenage pregnancy is rife etc etc but you dont need me to bang on about the terrible stated of the UK these are probably some of the reasons you escaped 

Whats Oz like in comparison to the uk in those matters? My friends uncle lives there and he says there's a recession over there too, I'd hate to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi,

We moved over in October 2007. My OH has family over here, an uncle in Perth and one in Ocean Grove here in Victoria. 

Initially we were looking into Perth, did loads of research but in the end we felt it was just too isolated for us. We then thought of Sydney as my OH had worked there before but felt it was too expensive so that left Melbourne. We definitely wanted to have the 4 seasons and not hot all the time like FNQ (Far North Queensland). So in 2005 we came over to Melbourne for a reccie and visited Geelong, Lilydale, Mornington, Gisborne, Daylesford, Mount Martha, Mount Eliza, Woodend etc etc. 

Initially we were going to head for Mornington because we loved it but I happened to find a school report on Mornington Secondary School's website and didn't like what we read. The best Government school in the area was Frankston High so we chose Frankston South to be in catchment so the boys could go there. Since then Mornington school has had a new principal and I think it's a lot better than it used to be!

We got our PR visas in March 2007, started doing up our place to sell. The plan was that we'd sell up and then move over and start to look for a job then. Just by chance one evening we put my OHs CV forward to a couple of recruitment agencies and the very next morning we had a phone call from one of them asking my OH if he'd be interested in a job. To cut a long story short, he got the job, we came back in September 2007 to validate and 4 weeks later moved over her permanently. Luckily on the validation trip we managed to sort out a rental so when we came back a few weeks later we were sorted. Actually we tried to sort out utilities from the UK but it just wasn't working so we ended up staying at the Big 4 in Frankston for the first week until we could get the utilities sorted out.

We love it here.....luckily we moved over just as the economic climate started to go into freefall so I have no idea really what it's like back there now.

Will your son be coming with you? Have you checked that he can? As he's 21 you'd need to prove he's totally dependent on you otherwise he'd have to apply for a visa in his own right.

TBH life here is better than in England at the moment, the recession hasn't affected us as badly.

Dolly


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## once a jolly swagman (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice to know a social worker is going to Australia totally ignorent of it!!
I suppose the usual accent mystification and a heap of bluff will suffice.

You ought to be pleased to be offered work in the wonderful countryside and towns of Wodonga and Wangaratta. Sheparton is not some kind of Montana Badland..it is a great area of Victoria.and yes Victoria IS a State. I am not intending to be rude but it's about time you got your act together before going over to teach Aussies how to suck eggs and be a good yankee. There are atlas' and even your employer will guide you if you bother to show any interest in how to learn about the areas which most affect you and about the difficulties they face. Wahgaratta is near the Murray River, a politicl nightmare at presnet as pople try to save the river from extinction. Farmers are frightened and traumatised, systems ar changing through hotshots who know very little about the land and about the land's people.Wodonga 100 years ago was heavily German and they were great workers. Wangaratta saw successful Bavarian farmers take up ground as they prospered. You will not need the image of another American "expert" ****** being imported by a government so stupid it cannot see the quality of Australians in your role and for Christ's sake don't recommend weekly "therapy"....they are not dimwits. Listen and learn long before putting up your shingle as an expert from the land of all everything, Australians have great problems, much caused by sycophants to the US presidency and by the outrageous conspiracy of the "global melt down". Some will need to be helpen in what to hold and what to shed whilst getting themselves together as glued together people....not a morass of American psychojargon <snip> which the psychiatrists use because it keeps themselves. To help people you must know your resources and not become a bellyaching crybaby because of the weather or the politics or because you are not flagged down the steeet like Jesus on a donkey. Most Aussies will listen to the baseball and grid iron story out of politeness and few will enjoy it but Victoria is the home of the Australian Football League...support the local side and learn what it's all about. Voila


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

once a jolly swagman said:


> Nice to know a social worker is going to Australia totally ignorent of it!!
> I suppose the usual accent mystification and a heap of bluff will suffice.
> 
> You ought to be pleased to be offered work in the wonderful countryside and towns of Wodonga and Wangaratta. Sheparton is not some kind of Montana Badland..it is a great area of Victoria.and yes Victoria IS a State. I am not intending to be rude but it's about time you got your act together before going over to teach Aussies how to suck eggs and be a good yankee. There are atlas' and even your employer will guide you if you bother to show any interest in how to learn about the areas which most affect you and about the difficulties they face. Wahgaratta is near the Murray River, a politicl nightmare at presnet as pople try to save the river from extinction. Farmers are frightened and traumatised, systems ar changing through hotshots who know very little about the land and about the land's people.Wodonga 100 years ago was heavily German and they were great workers. Wangaratta saw successful Bavarian farmers take up ground as they prospered. You will not need the image of another American "expert" ****** being imported by a government so stupid it cannot see the quality of Australians in your role and for Christ's sake don't recommend weekly "therapy"....they are not dimwits. Listen and learn long before putting up your shingle as an expert from the land of all everything, Australians have great problems, much caused by sycophants to the US presidency and by the outrageous conspiracy of the "global melt down". Some will need to be helpen in what to hold and what to shed whilst getting themselves together as glued together people....not a morass of American psychojargon <snip> which the psychiatrists use because it keeps themselves. To help people you must know your resources and not become a bellyaching crybaby because of the weather or the politics or because you are not flagged down the steeet like Jesus on a donkey. Most Aussies will listen to the baseball and grid iron story out of politeness and few will enjoy it but Victoria is the home of the Australian Football League...support the local side and learn what it's all about. Voila


*how rude! 

i've come on here for advice not to be spoken to as if i'm something that you've just trodden in!!

how very dare i come on to a site that offers information to would be expats without swotting up on Australia as if it's going to be my specialist subject on Mastermind...

I have no intention on teaching Aussies how to 'suck eggs' and for the record I'm not a Yankee

I take it that SW's aren't your fave people then? well tough! I have no idea who you are and what you're about, but if you are an Aussie I just hope that you're narrow mindedness is in the minority

ps I love football  *


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## vguzm001 (Sep 29, 2010)

dawn01 said:


> Hi, I have an interview for a social work job in Australia, if I get it then it'll be a new life for me (I'm terrifed at the thought of being thousands of miles away from home but excited at the same time)
> 
> Just wondered if there were any UK social workers who had made the switch to Oz and what working and living in Oz is like
> 
> The thing that most worries me is being isolated, lot of people I've spoken to either go over to friends and family or go with their partner/family


How is Australia?


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

vguzm001 said:


> How is Australia?


I dont know I'm not there yet


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## once a jolly swagman (Jan 3, 2008)

*Daning or Gloaming??*

I forgot these are all nice towns...not villages....Albury-Wodonga is a region and Wodonga is an older town originally very German, Wangaratta and Shepparton are nice places and all are "country". It's 170 Kms ( about 100 miles) from Shepparton to Wodonga and about 120 kms (85 miles) from Shepparton to Wangaratta (old Ned Kelly Country) so logically living in Shepparton might be a good choice if you are to serve each place in some kind of roster, Voila


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

dawn01 said:


> I dont know I'm not there yet


I dont want to live in the country, I want to live ideally by the sea or near to a city

any ideas?


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## JDavenport (Jul 9, 2009)

Hi Dawn - I'll be fascinated to know how you get on. I'm really interested how you got on with the AASW transfer (assuming that you intend to do Social Work in Aus). I'm just getting my paperwork ready to send off this week for transferring my degree. Did you come up against any barriers?


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## dawn01 (Oct 13, 2010)

JDavenport said:


> Hi Dawn - I'll be fascinated to know how you get on. I'm really interested how you got on with the AASW transfer (assuming that you intend to do Social Work in Aus). I'm just getting my paperwork ready to send off this week for transferring my degree. Did you come up against any barriers?


Hi, do you have a SW job in Oz to go to? looks like you're ahead of me as I haven't done anything as yet, have no idea what the process is of transferrring my degree, hoping thats something the agency will help me out with as they've got a 12 month pastoral care commitment. I have an interview and if I get the job then I'm pretty sure Ill be moving over however there's a few things what I'm not sure about. 1. being the location, I have no idea what Victoria is like or the region of Hume, where the job is, I've been frantically looking on the net, but it's not gonna tell me the nice places and the grotty places is it? What i was hoping for was someone who could tell me about first hand experience, someone who lives/works there, but so far I'm coming up against a blank wall.


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

dawn01 said:


> What i was hoping for was someone who could tell me about first hand experience, someone who lives/works there, but so far I'm coming up against a blank wall.


Most people move to the state capitals or their suburbs and that's why you won't get many answers for anything else. On some websites like realestate.com.au they do have videos of certain areas so you can see what they are like for yourself but again this may not be for the areas that you are looking at. 

I don't live in Victoria so I can't help. 

Regards,
Karen


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Also what you have to remember is that one person's perception of nice, isn't probably another persons perception.

The majority of people have to wait until they are over here and work that one out for themselves.

I can't recollect any members residing in the Hume district.

Dolly


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## revs30 (Dec 2, 2010)

Hello Dawn,

Did you get the job?


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