Thorpe1

My hubby brought a family pass (Bronze) to the Sunday 5th test and is now unable to go due to having to work. Anyone interested before he advertises on e bay. Face value is $20 each. Row B South Concourse. Karen

Does anyone know if you can work on this bridging visa A. I know the aged parent 804 visa only applies to people who are retired but what if you wanted to get a little job to meet people etc. Are you allowed to work??? Is there a restriciton on hours ?? Cheers

Hi Dianne, The way it was explained to me yesterday was that once you have been on the 804 bridging visa for 2 years you can apply for and are entitled to the CSHC. Having said that I was also under the same inpression as the previous poster in that you are not entitled to any benefits from Centrelink until after your visa is granted, and then there is a waiting period. The form quite clearly asks for a visa number and the letter supplied informing you of the allocation of the bridging visa does not give a visa number !!! It might be worth you re checking in relation to the CSHC as the lady was reading the entitlement rules from her screen. It may be as you have passed the 2 year period on a bridging visa that you are entitled to claim. If this is the case I would make sure whoever submits your claim provides you with a copy of the entitlement rules, for your own protection as things do seem to vary from state to state and even person to person. Cheers Karen

Sharon I have pm'd you

Hi Sharon, Its so frustrating isn't it. I dont want to have anything I'm not entitled to for my mum but I also don't want to miss out on anything coz the person in centrelink didn't know what she was on about. I'm half tempted to fill out the form and see what happens. Thats why I asked what visa number you put in ??? There is no visa number on the form for the bridging visa Karen x

ooops hit enter too soon lol Did your mum come on a 676 visa first?? Q 34 and 35 ask wheather you arrived on a perm or temp visa and then which subclass of visa you have. The lady at the office today said the computer would reject a subclass 676 visa number. maybe this is not the case !!!!!

Sharon, Does you mum have a TFN ??? Q 24 says Are you living in Australia permenantly???? How can anyone (not just your mum) say they live in Australia permenantly when they are on a tourist visa??? The question defines permenantly as : Permanently ' means you normally live in Australia on a long-term basis. Holidays or short trips outside Australia would not affect this

Sorry Dianne but my above post was meant for you too. I was refering to you not Jill when I was talking about the 2 year option lol Having another blonde moment lol

Ok guys here goes Today I went into the local office and spoke to a very helpful lady. I took with my my mum (useful I know lol) her passport which only has her original 676 visa, her medicare card (which espires on the 12/12 coz they would only give her 3 months at a time on the 676 visa) and the letter from immigration showing informing her she has been alocated a bridging visa A. I explained to the woman what the situation was and she told me the following 1. The Health Care Card - This entitles you to a discount on prescriptions and some other health care services. this card is means tested. You need to have an income of less that $50,000 a year. This is not just for seniors. Australian residence requirements: - An Australian Citizen, or - the holder of a permenant visa, or - a New Zealand citezen who arrived on a New Zealand passport, or - the holder of certain temporary visas. 2. The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card - This entitles you to a discount on prescription, travel, rego and all sorts of other utilities/ammenaties The lady in the office asked me what subclass visa mum was on and she checked both the 804 and the 676 tourist visa. Apparantly you cannot claim using a 676 tourist visa as the computer asks you for the visa number and will reject it when you put the 676 visa number in. In relation to the 804 visa. I dont know about you Gill/Sharon but my mum does not have a visa number as such just a client ID number and a file reference. Apparantly you have to have held the bridging visa for 2 years and then you will be eligible for a CSHC. This may be why you, Gill, were able to get one when you applied after 7 years, as you will already have passed the 2 year waiting time. Sharon I have no idea about your claim as you said that your mum was given her card whilst on a tourist visa. Sharon I fully appreciate that it is their error but please bear in mind that your mum is on the list for a much sought after visa. If she is not entitled to it and 'their error' is discovered it may affect the eventual outcome. Its just a thought but I would be trying to stay whiter than white during this period. I must admit I was alittle surprised to hear that even after 2 years you could be entitled to this visa as I thought that you were exempt from all centrlink claims whilst on the bridging visa. If anyone hears anything different I would love to hear but for now my mum is going to wait it out. Whilst it would really assist her to have a concession on her medication she is very scared about having to pay back any monies she may have claimed accidently

I telephoned centrelink (Seniors Dept) and spoke with a woman. Not sure if it was local or a centre but she looked up the eligiblity for the card and said that the applicant (my mum) had to be a resident. I explained the situation to her and she said that they would need to test her eligibility. She did say that she just sends out the forms from there so I'm guessing she might fall in the category of 'if you don't know make it up' much like the advice regarding the RHA being only 3 years. Anyway I will fill out the forms and keep you updated. If she can get one of these cards it will be a HUGE bonus to her. At the moment she spends about $130 a month on medication. Not even for anything serious !!!! Ben/Sharon - I would be interested to make contact with you for advice re this as you are in adelaide. Also if your mum is looking for any company it might be good for them to get together Cheers Karen

I have 2 GSP's both of which I brought from a very reputable breeder. I also know lots of and have met lots of others who have brought puppies/dogs from her. Both of them come with papers !!! Unfortunatley one of my dogs has a thyroid problem which he will have for life. I told the breeder when I kenneled him with her for a few days but there is no way I would want to give him back, even for a full refund. Thank goodness for pet insurance !!

I have a friend who got one from a Rep breader in April this year. Will try and get contact details.

Hi, I need a maths tutor for my twins who are nearly 11. They seem to have lost interest in maths and did not do so well in NAPLAN this time. Everything else is great but maths seem to have hit a stubling block. Can anyone help??? Cheers Karen

I like the idea of the calander. Anyone done that????

Hi Julia, Cant help with a tumble dryer but it remineded me of when I trained my daughter through the night. Someone told me to put one of those square mats (The purple ones from the UK pampers i think) or similar under the sheet then layer it a few times ie matress, square sheet, sheet, square sheet, sheet. That way you just have to take one sheet off and can save time making up the bed. It worked for me. Just a thought Good luck Karen x

Hi Gill, I found you reply to my post by accident as I dont have the chance to log on everyday. I have read your submission and to be honest I had NO IDEA what was going on. I'm not sure if it is a good or bad thing that I know now !!!! Anyway I have decided not to worry my mum with all the What Ifs as she will drive herself mad with worry. I am an only child and therefore my two girls are her only grandchildren. Mum has just turned 64 and although she is not sick she has the usual aches and pains no one ever dies of (her words not mine). I think I am going to be as philosophical about it as possible and be grateful for whatever time she has here. Maybe that will be many years and maybe not !!! I am amazed at your dedication to thiis subject and will continue to read your updates. Cheers Karen

I applied for the onshore visa which means she has to be in the country when she applies for it AND when it is granted (Thats the final visa). They issue a 'bridging visa A' which allows her to remain in the country while a decision is made (about 10 years at the moment). She can leave Australia but needs to apply for a 'bridging visa B'. Dont know much about how that happens coz we haven't got there yet. Filled out forms without any assistance and paid the $2575 fee. There is another fee of about $1500 which you pay when decision has been made, just before they grnat full visa. Also a bond of $5000 has to be paid by the sponser (me) but not sure exactly when this will be. When they tell me I guess and I think it must be around the same time as the $1500 fee. So eligibility 1. Have to have at least half your children living in Australia 2. Have to be 64 for this visa 3. Have to have a sponser who is a perm resident or citizen ( and settled) There may be more but thats the criteria we went on The most important thing is that you mum must be in the country when she applies and when it is finally granted

OMG I'm so excited. I applied for a subclass 804 Aged Parent Visa for my mum last week and today we receievd her bridging visa. Cant believe it happened so quickly. Now she can stay until they decide whether or not to grant her a visa. This could take 10 years so looks like she will be here for a while !!!

Funny I feel more like the OP during winter, Not sure if thats coz I hibernate a little. We have been here for nearly 3 years and have settled in really well but I totally understand how the OP and others feel. I love entertaining but I do get a bit fed up when I seem to do ALL the entertaining. It gets to a point where I stop inviting certain people and wait and see if we get an invite back........It sometimes doesn't happen and then I resent them. I hate how that makes me feel but I just cant help it !!!! I have tried to make friends with my daughters friends parents but even that can backfire, especially when the kids fall out !!!!! Still summer is on its way (ha ha ha I hear you say) and hopefully we will meet some more people.

Adelaidenow, Thanks very much Di has passed on your details and I have passed them onto my friend Anita. Hope fully she will e mail you and can sort something out. David - Thanks for your offer but they are living in Highbury so a bit far for them to come Many Thanks Karen

Hi Guys, This is a bit of a long story but the short version is that I have a dear friend in the HIGHBURY area who is desperately looking for a dog lover, who does not want the commitment of owning a dog. Basically she has an 11 month old German Shorthaired Pointer who recently lost his best friend. Now he howls all day when left alone, causing the neighbours to be knocking on the door with worry. My friends husband works shifts and she works days so there are days when 'Ralph' is left alone for up to 10 hours. I know this is probably a bit of a long shot but is there anyone in this area that would like to babysit a dog on the odd day, maybe take him for a walk. Or if anyone is at home would they like him for company. He is an absolute treasure and I live south (and have two GSP's of my own) otherwise I would help. I have suggested to my friend that she do a leaflet drop in her local area, thinking that there may ne someone elderly, or who works from home that would like the company. My friends hubby works 2 days then 2 nights (so he needs to sleep). he then has 4 days off so it would not be every day. Anyone know anyone that might fit the bill Thanks for reading this Karen

Hi, I've flown with both and Tiger are definitely cheaper. I must say I have always been lucky with them and have booked to go to Brisbane with them later this month. I know that others have had issues with Tiger so its really a matter of cost !!!!

Hi Everyone, So sorry but have had a bit of a drama with the internet lately. The place in Moana is called 'Horsing Around Naturally'. It is run by a really nice lady called Amanda. She does lessons and trail rides on the beach during the correct season. Her number is 0421770205. Hope that helps

Oh there is also a place in Moana on the main road to Aldinga. Amanda is the proprieter. Its called 'horsing around'. She was nice too but we have not been there yet. She does beach rides which sounds fab and my girls will definitely like to go there. Well kept horses and she was really helpful. She does lessons too.

Hi Guys, We have been here for just over 2 years and have been to a few riding places so hopefully I may be able to assist. Initially we went to a place in Trott Park which did Sat and Sun mornings. Think it was about $40 an hour but that was a group lesson. Really nice guy but didn't feel the girls were getting a one on one. It was s bit hap hazzard but the girls loved it there. It was not a stable as such as the horse owner travelled up from south somewhere on a Sat morn and back on a Sunday, leaving the horses there overnight. We then moved to woodcroft and found a local place but did not like it at all. The owner didn't appear to like kids that much. Was paying about $25 for ahlf hour lesson but very rarely got the experienced owner, mostly a 15 year old who was very unpleasent to the kids. We now lease a horse at Woodcroft but the girls have their lessons at Blewtitt Srpings (near McLaren Vale) only about a 20 min drive from Woodcroft so probably about 30 mins from HC, the drive is lovely too. The proprieter, heather is soooooooooooooo nice. The girls have a private one to one half hour lesson for $25. She has an indoor manage so if it rains she can still teach. The horse are great too. She also does Horse days in the summer and this year the girls did their first overnigh camp at her property. If you are interested let me know and I will pm you her details. She is very busy so it may be a while before you get a permenant spot but she often has cancellations or people that rearrange thier lessons. She also takes the kids out to the woods on a hack if you want Karen