simple1

So there is a huge labour shortage in WA and Qld, and Vic is cutting TAFE Positions.

Apples and oranges.

Not really Victoria is part of Australia and these people that would be trained for Australia's future could fill the shortages in WA & QLD, in fact anywhere in Australia. Australians would be employed in Australia and no need to import labour. In 1901 the 6 separate British Colonies got together and formed one single Nation, the country we have today so hardly apples and oranges. When you apply for a job you are generally asked are you and Australian citizen or do you have the right to work in "Australia." Not are you a WA citizen (QLD,VIC whatever) and do you have the right to work in WA. Australia is one country and nothing like Nth/Sth Korea.

Not correct, different states have seperate certificatiion requirements for trades people, at least from overseas. Friend of mine, electrian from South Africa applied for job in WA and they wouldn't recogise his trade certification, whereas QLD did so

Foxy chases 1 motor bike in particular - an employee of the hotel who over the last few months kicks her as he rides past! In 6 years living on this small street off the ring road near Bophut - she has lived in harmony with the business staff and the hotel guests with no problems. Due to the actions of 1 employee in the hotel she has understandably showed a very small amount of unacceptable behaviour (barking at people at night and chasing a particular employee's motor bike) and because of this the hotel want to remove her from the street! Surely there is some one on Samui who can offer this sweet friendly but not so pretty girl a home!

What would you do if you managed a hotel and a dog was barking at night & I assume thereby irrating paying guests?

OAP.

It seems they have now stated some firm guidelines.

If you lived in Australia all your working life they will pay you the full pension (less special allowances) presumably whereever you choose to live. Lesser pension for lesser residency .

Is this correct, and does the 2 year qualifying still apply?

Two year timeline is in reference to returning to Australia after living overseas, you have to stay in Australia for a minimum of two years to continue receiving OAP if you then re-locate overseas. For details refer to email I recently received for Centrelinl. The 25 year period mentioned for Australian working life residence (WLR) below has now been extended, as I recall, to 30 as of 1/01/2014 (?)

A customer does not have to remain an Australian resident to continue to receive Age Pension while overseas and the overseas absence can be for any reason. For both temporary and permanent departures, the rate of payment after 26 weeks will paid at a proportional rate calculated by using the person's own Australian working life residence (WLR)

If a person has more than the maximum WLR of 25 years, the rate of pension will not be affected. If a person has no WLR (for example, they arrived in Australia after reaching age pension age) then the proportional rate will be nil and payment will cease 26 weeks after departure from Australia.

For permanent departures, only the basic pension and Pension Supplement Basic amounts are paid. Any add-on payments received, such as Rent Assistance (RA), will be cancelled from the date of departure. For temporary departures the supplements will stop after 13 weeks

If a customer who has only recently returned to live in Australia, is granted or transferred to Age Pension based on being a former resident then leaves Australia within two years of the recent return, payment will cancel on departure.

I have been informed that if you are married with a Thai you cannot obtain a Usufruct to be "certified" by the Land Office/Amphur?. Guess you should check this one out to verify.

I'm married to a Thai and have an usufruct ( and a yellow Tabien Baan) My wife bought the house before we were married and got the Tabien Baan ( I think) before we got married, Might have been after, can't remember! Now she has my farang surname and I have the magic book etc

Even though you have the yellow Tabien Baan, I believe the Usufruct is not enforceable by you, unless you have the co-operation of your partner, should at some time in the future you seperate from your Thai wife. Perhaps you or a member of the Forum can provide factual information on this matter

I have been informed that if you are married with a Thai you cannot obtain a Usufruct to be "certified" by the Land Office/Amphur?. Guess you should check this one out to verify.

My stepson has dual Thai/Australian citizenship. The Thai embassy in Australia advised that if he did not return to Thailand at the age of consciption (21) to go though the process he would be detained at the airport next time he returned to Thailand. I do not know if this advice from the embassy is actually the truth. However, as he did not wish to return to Thailand for the consciption process we contacted our family in Thailand and matters were negotiated and resolved at the Amphur , relevant documentation was provided.

I am not interested in discusing the pros/cons of the above, so please don't bother with a reply

Just done some brief reseach via Google and their is a WHO report that states approx 1,000,000 cases p.a. of food related illness in Thailand in 2004 refer http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/MEETING/006/AD703E/AD703E00.HTM

A more recent scientific study, 2011, of food bourne disease in Thailand is http://www.eurojournals.com/EJSR_52_1_13.pdf

Keep your school fees and tea money in your pocket,doesn"t matter what school you send you kids too they"ll still come out as thick as mince.

+1

What baffles me in the nearly compete lack of curosity by so many Thais across all generations. Ask a question and response is "you to serious / think to much". This of course leads to the perception of "thick as mud". Of course their are exceptions, but...

Australian Working Life Residency — strengthening requirements

Department of Human Services - - .. - -

The Government will achieve savings of $50.8 million over four years by amending the Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR) rules applying to the Age Pension, from 1 January 2014. The new arrangements will strengthen Australian residency requirements and improve the equity of assessments and bring them more into line with international practice.

Under the change, Age Pension recipients who are overseas for more than 26 weeks will be paid their maximum entitlement of pension only if their AWLR is 35 years or more, rather than 25 years as applies under current arrangements. Pension recipients with less than 35 years AWLR will be paid a proportional rate. Pensioners overseas on the date of implementation will not be affected by this change unless they return to Australia for at least 26 weeks.

In addition, all partnered pensioners residing overseas will be paid based on their own AWLR rather than their partner's AWLR. Grandfathering provisions will protect existing customers who are currently being paid under an international agreement.

http://www.budget.go..._expense-09.htm

Read more:

http://dspoverseas.p...1#ixzz1uHUdeUnb

Bugger

Last week I emailed Centrelink ([email protected]) requesting current policy for the OAP for Australians living overseas and received the following response:

A customer does not have to remain an Australian resident to continue to receive Age Pension while overseas and the overseas absence can be for any reason. For both temporary and permanent departures, the rate of payment after 26 weeks will paid at a proportional rate calculated by using the person's own Australian working life residence (WLR)

If a person has more than the maximum WLR of 25 years, the rate of pension will not be affected. If a person has no WLR (for example, they arrived in Australia after reaching age pension age) then the proportional rate will be nil and payment will cease 26 weeks after departure from Australia.

For permanent departures, only the basic pension and Pension Supplement Basic amounts are paid. Any add-on payments received, such as Rent Assistance (RA), will be cancelled from the date of departure. For temporary departures the supplements will stop after 13 weeks

If a customer who has only recently returned to live in Australia, is granted or transferred to Age Pension based on being a former resident then leaves Australia within two years of the recent return, payment will cancel on departure.

There is no mention of reciprocal agreements with other countries; based upon postings is this forum does this need to be queried?

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

No you don't, it's bleeding obvious. They want to do a bit of union busting while paying under award wages.

Do your research & you will know you're misinformed regards T&C's for 457 visa workers

Think people are not seeing the forest for the trees, whether john Smith is fit or not to work is not what this is all about. Joe Hockey has said that Australia should not be following the European welfare system, but should follow the Asian system. They are not just changing the DSP, but hacking in to all the social security. Seems that even though I have worked since I was 15 and moved to Thailand at 53 years old, I will not be eligable for the OAP as I will be classed as a non resident.

People forget that the original system was like the UKs, you paid into a pension fund. The Government just took the money and changed the rules. What we will end up with is a system where you will work until you die and if there is no work you will live in a box eating from soup kitchens.

The Government has acted no differently than the banks in the GFC, they screwed up and now want someone else to pay and that someone is the tax payers and the poor. Jim

You may find the following info I received via an email from Centrelink of interest.

A customer does not have to remain an Australian resident to continue to receive Age Pension while overseas and the overseas absence can be for any reason. For both temporary and permanent departures, the rate of payment after 26 weeks will paid at a proportional rate calculated by using the person's own Australian working life residence (WLR)

If a person has more than the maximum WLR of 25 years, the rate of pension will not be affected. If a person has no WLR (for example, they arrived in Australia after reaching age pension age) then the proportional rate will be nil and payment will cease 26 weeks after departure from Australia.

For permanent departures, only the basic pension and Pension Supplement Basic amounts are paid. Any add-on payments received, such as Rent Assistance (RA), will be cancelled from the date of departure. For temporary departures the supplements will stop after 13 weeks

If a customer who has only recently returned to live in Australia, is granted or transferred to Age Pension based on being a former resident then leaves Australia within two years of the recent return, payment will cancel on departure.

I understand that when transferring funds to Thailand you will need to state the purpose i.e. buying condo. You will need a reord of the funds transfer from your Thai bank which as I recall is a "Tor Tor 3". This will empower you in the future to transfer the funds back to your home country.

There has been a traffic jam all week-end as they switched the traffic lights on Sukhumvith to a very long cycle time

Do you know why BIB are doing this?

As dicussed many times on the thaivisa motor forum a full valid 5 year ( not 1 year ) Thai driving license can be used to drive / ride in UK for 12 months.

What you need to do is make sure that the Insurance company are aware of what license you are driving on, it is normally accepted by carhire companies..

You can get a International Driving Permit if needed (not license) in Bangkok but many people going to the UK have not needed it.

You will need a IDP for driving in non-English speaking countries as the IDP is translated into there language.

Sorry you are correct. For the OP confirmed in the following URL http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022561

Refer to today's Pattaya Times follow up article re foreigner managaged company structures for acquiring house and land now banned. To state the obvious if you're in the market need to go to Pattaya Land Office to cross check info

You can obtain an international license at the provincal capital or in BKK. same department as for the normal driving license

URL link for land transport offices as follows: http://driving.information.in.th/thai-dmv.html

Depending on your friends driving descipline it would make good sense to have him/her undertake a few driving lessons in the UK.

You can obtain an international license at the provincal capital or in BKK. same department as for the normal driving license

To answer your question - Yes. Look at the recent new articles in the English language press here in Thailand and the massive amounts of the precursor drugs being illegally imported from the likes of China and South Korea - billions of cold tablets. The newspaper stories alledge even the hospital procurement managers are involved along with "influential persons"

If you are really concerned that an arrest warrant was issued you could always contact a lawyer to check it out for you

Unless you already know the requested info from DIAC probably relates to changes to sponsorship law in late 1990's that relatess to you not being permitted to sponsor another foreign partner within five years of the previous sponsored relationship. So long as you're divorced and have the court divorce papers (decree nisi?) you will be fine.

Just a word to advise I went to the Pattaya centre & was asked to leave and change my shorts as they were to short - minimum of knee length required

The definition of middle class I have given is not British or one from any island you seem to believe belongs to me - It is the international definition of Middle Class.

No, it's not. Read this to see what the US government thinks middle class is - hint - it's not what you do, it's what I do

http://www.commerce....orce-report-pdf

They even expend the definition beyond the purely income based definition normally used in America, as "Families at a wide variety of income levels aspire to be middle class and under certain circumstances can put together budgets that allow them to obtain a middle class lifestyle".

What is that lifestyle they aspire to that defines being middle class in America? "Middle class families aspire to home ownership, a car, college education for their children, health and retirement security and occasional family vacations" The current problem in the United States is that the middle class is shrinking, because "It is more difficult now than in the past for many people to achieve middle class status because prices for certain key goods â€" health care, college and housing â€" have gone up faster than income."

If you can afford those things in America, you are middle class, unless you are too rich. Being middle class is something that is achievable through careful planning and budgeting and sufficient income. That is the accepted definition used by almost everyone, from economists to politicians

The way you seem to be using it is simply not middle class in America, it is a subsection of the middle class. White collar or managerial class. They are part of the middle class, usually at the upper end of it because they have higher incomes. But in America anyone who has a sufficient income to afford a house, car for each adult, health care, retirement, college for their children, and family vacations is widely considered to be middle class by everyone.

So, how many people in Thailand can afford these things?

I think you have the right idea. In western countries the middle class is composed of quite a large percentage of the population, while in a developing country the middle class would make up a comparatively smaller portion of the population. It has nothing to do with social status, it's just a measure of an individual's economic purchasing power.

Found interesting quote from google:

"Thailand is one of the most socially unequal countries in Asia. According to a Bank of Thailand report, the top 20 percent of the population controls 69 percent of the nationâ€s wealth as compared to just 1 percent for the lowest 20 percent. The average income for the bottom 20 percent is just 1,443 baht or $US45 a monthâ€"the official poverty line. As the economy contracted by 3.5 percent last year and credit dried up, it was the small farmers, businessmen and vendors, along with the working class, that were hardest hit. The resumption of economic growth and booming share prices this year have not alleviated the privations facing working people......The social tensions that have erupted in Bangkok are a harbinger of class struggles throughout the region and globally. The lavish affluence of the small minority who enriched themselves through speculation and the exploitation of cheap labour is not only on display in Bangkok but in major cities throughout Asia. The social divide in China and India, where a relative handful have grown fabulously wealthy at the expense of hundreds of millions of workers, will inevitably have socially explosive consequences."

As with most developing countries, the wealth seen in cities such as modern shopping malls and five star hotels, belies the reality that most people are still very poor. It's the exact same situation here in Egypt, though the wealth here is concentrated in even fewer hand. All it adds up to is a recipe for prolonged periods of unrest and economic uncertainty.

And in the USA 1% of the population owns 40% of the national wealth according to the following study URL: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/16/135472478/study-americas-wealth-not-widely-distributed

This could be great opportunity for Thai workers who are skilled to a high degree, some are though most aren't but all receive a comparative pittance to what they could earn in Farangland.

But you have to ask why?

I think the Australians are also hoping to pay them a comparative pittance.

Your obviously not from the lucky country,we are an egalitarian nation and believe in a fair go(not sure after next election).Ozzies don't like their wages undercut and there are laws in place to try and prevent this happening.

Wrong I assume you haven't heard of Qantas or rung a call centre lately. The fair go ideal is upheld by employees rather employers in my experience. Just ask anyone with a disability, health issue or back injury. As for undercutting wages, how many times have employers been busted paying foreign students below award?

Sorry if I seem cynical but I have seen all of this firsthand too frequently to believe otherwise.

Thai workers in Oz will require a 457 visa and employer salary & conditions are mnonitored by Federal Government. Sure some employers have endeavoured to scam 457 staff, but to their credit the unions have been very active in working with Government agencies to resolve any issues bought to their attention

Assuming most of the available skilled work would be in remote locations you would expect the wages to be in the region of A$120k plus p.a. as employers are required to pay the same wages and conditions as Australians enjoy. 457 visa holders can apply for permanent residency after four years with exactly the same rights as Australian citizens. With regard to OH&S I suggest employers would also need to invest in their local staff as unfortunately their is still a racist undercurrent in Australia. e.g. my Thai wife use to commute to work by train (in a major city) with a Thai friend and converse in Thai. It was not unusal for some friendly Australian to let them to stop talking in Thai and speak English as they are in Australia. Unbelievably I know some Australian guys with Thai wifes who complain about Asian immigration to Australia & yes they are tradesmen.