Home > Our Publications > Travel Australia and New Zealand > Feburary 2000

AUSTRALIA has just experienced another quarter of economic growth, making the current boom the longest in its history.
And it's showing no signs of the decay usually evident at this stage of the economic cycle, due to several factors: the new e-economy, the upcoming Olympics, and low inflation.
The world seems attracted to Australia: its young, dynamic, informal lifestyle and wide spacious opportunities attract people looking for more out of life.
A recent survey of independent travelers reported a rating of satisfaction with Australia of 98 per cent. So if they are going away disappointed, they're disappointed at going away!
There is a range of different ways to stay longer. Anyone who is not a citizen needs a visa to enter or stay. There are many different visas, from short term visitor's visa with no permission to work, to working holiday visas, to visas with permission to work for skilled occupations, and visas for trainees and businesspeople.
Some give the right to temporary residence, others to permanent residence. Some visas require sponsorship by an Australian person or business, others do not.
The best way to find out about these different visas is to obtain professional advice and Justin McDonell, a registered migration agent will be happy to help you from their Sydney offices or contact them by fax or e-mail before you leave the UK.
Currently the labour market in Australia is experiencing demand of Olympian proportions.
Both government and business are pressing for more young, qualified, skilled, English-speaking tradesmen and professionals to help with the boom in building and construction, information technology, tourism and hospitality, together with all the spin-off industries that are affected. It's party time!
Most of the visas for skilled occupations have a 'points test', which means you get so many points for your skills, so many points for relevant work experience, so many for speaking English, and so on. All these points need to add up to the number required in each different visa class. The more your occupation is in demand in the labour market, the more points you get, and the easier it is to get a visa, whether temporary or permanent. And you get extra points if you have a job offer.
Fortunately, for qualified tradespersons and professionals, this is not difficult in the current economic climate. However, the timing is important. If too much time has passed since your last relevant work experience, you may be disqualified or disadvantaged.
So the trick is to use your time in Australia well in order to line up the kind of job offer you want, and to apply when the time is right.
Demand is especially strong, and there are extra points, for pastrycooks, refrigeration mechanics, welders, boilermakers, chefs, radiographers, physiotherapists, nurses, information technologists, accountants and IT managers.
There is also strong demand for skilled occupations in all kinds of trades such as bakers, bricklayers, carpenters, roofers, cooks, plumbers, plasterers, fitters, mechanics, electricians, gardeners, hairdressers, nurserymen. (There's a building boom going on because of the Olympics. And there's also an eating boom because everybody's getting hungry just thinking about all that work.)
On the professional side, there is strong demand for all kinds of managers, accountants, teachers, counsellors,