Plumber Paul

I've never got used to shopping here in Oz - its too bloody expensive!

Hey Cheryl I'd say that there is a fair amount of work in Perth at the moment, for both male and female skilled plumbers. The only draw back for migrant plumbers is their lack of knowledge of the Australian standards, so in this respect employers can be quite hesitant to take migrant plumbers on and if they do, there is a chance that they'd take you on a lower than average wage to start off with. Once you recieve your Western Australian plumbing tradespersons license you have to go on a compulsory 2 week migrant plumbing course at either TAFE or MPA within 6 months. On completion you'll recieve an Australain Level III plumbing certificate. I reckon that once you have at least a few months 'Australian' experience the easier it'll be to find work. I am not familiar with any websites that you could look at ... I've been pretty fortunate with work so far, landed my first job 3 days after arriving. I have since started a new job last week - plumbing transportable containers (living quarters, kitchens, ice rooms and ablution blocks) for the mine sites up north in Pilbara and with the opportunity of doing FIFO. Its a much better industry to work in rather than on residential housing - its very cut throat and labour intensive. There seems to be a fair amount of commercial plumbing projects on the go too. Cheers Paul

We are a family of 4 (our girls are 3 and 1) from London and I arrived in Perth in February 2012 with only (£10,500). My wife and 2 girls stayed with relatives in Brisbane for a month while I looked for work, a place to live, a car etc. (I stayed with friends for a month). I managed to find a job on my 3rd day and bought a 2nd hand car for $5000 in the second week. It took me a month to find a decent clean 3 bedroom rental property for $400 per week. We shipped over about 8 boxes and no furniture. We've had to buy all new furniture, including a fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, couches, dining room table, drawers, beds and appliances and other stuff as well as tools for my trade. We have pretty much nothing left so now its a matter of slowly building up some savings again. Its been a bit nerve racking living off just my wage but we absolutely love it here. The weather is near perfect, the open space and beaches and the general relaxed vibe is brilliant. We knew it was going to be a bit tough in the beginning but its been worth it. Good luck Paul

We are a family of 4 (our girls are 3 and 1) from London and I arrived in Perth in February 2012 with only $15,000 (£10,000). My wife and 2 girls stayed with relatives in Brisbane for a month while I looked for work, a place to live, a car etc. (I stayed with friends for a month). I managed to find a job on my 3rd day and bought a 2nd hand car for $5000 in the second week. It took me a month to find a decent clean 3 bedroom rental property for $400 per week. We shipped over about 8 boxes and no furniture. We've had to buy all new furniture, including a fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, couches, dining room table, drawers, beds and appliances and other stuff as well as tools for my trade. We have pretty much nothing left so now its a matter of slowly building up some savings again. Its been a bit nerve racking living off just my wage but we absolutely love it here. The weather is near perfect, the open space and beaches and the general relaxed vibe is brilliant. We knew it was going to be a bit tough in the beginning but its been worth it. Good luck Paul

$3000 for a 'decent' frige? Hells bells, I picked up a good fridge from Harvey Norman in Osborne Park for $700 bucks!

I stay in Dianella. Its a good suburb, nice and central. 10km NE of the city, 25 min drive to the beach and around the corner from Perth's 2nd biggest shopping mall the 'centro galleria'. Morley, Embleton, Bayswater, Bassendean and Giuldford are cool areas Good luck Paul

I'm currently on a state sponsorship visa in WA and have been here for 3 months. I have close family (parents and brother) living in QLD and ideally we would have liked to live closer to them but the processing time for a WA SS was quicker than the 175 option so we went ahead and thought a 2 year stint wouldn't be too bad. Our agent at the time said that once we arrive in WA we have to register our arrival at the governmental office central Perth with a copy of our State Sponsorship approval letter, a tenancy agreement and our passport. When I phoned them up to book an appointment they seemed totally uninterested in the matter and said it wasn't really necessary and if they did it would only be for statistics and surveys. They also said the 2 years starts once you enter first enterAustralia. i've often wondered if we should have just stayed in Gold Coast rather but you never know what would happen once it comes to applying for citerzenship .... Besides, Perth is really really nice - the weather is near perfect and its got a good vibe. We're pretty settled already and will have to see whether we go against the flow of people and migrate east. Go well Paul

Hey Ian, I did take my pipe bender along but I wouldn't bother if I were you, they dont work here. I'd also leave your 15mm, 22mm and 28mm pipe slices in the UK too - they dont fit. The aussie pipe sizes are smaller. Once you're in oz you'll have to buy expanders, pipe slices, a flaring tool, pipe benders and a few other things. I've spent about $1000 upgrading my tools since i've been here and there is still more to get .... Bring your power tools, you'll be fine ... cheers

Kinross and Hillary's seemed like nice areas. My kids are still young, 3 and 1 so I think it was a good time for us to make the move. With older kids it definately makes it that more tricky. The company I work for has their office in Osborne Park so its only a 15 minute drive for me to work and then from there we take the ute for the days work. We start at 07:00 and knock off 15:30. Most of the plumbers get to take the vans home with them and hopefully soon that will be the case with me too. Realistically I'd be looking at between $25 - $35 since you won't have WA experience. The guy I work for is really understanding and has allowed me to adjust nicely but he does expect me to get my gas sorted asap. He is starting me on commercial work soon. Up until now I've been plumbing on residential houses and units. Rentals are crazy here. It took me a month to find a place and I'd been to view about 15 places, with about 20 other families each time. Expect to pay around the $400 a week mark for anything decent. Laters

Dunno, I suppose between 60k - 80k p/a? Hopefully you can enlighten me.

Top dollar up in the mines varies considerably mate. Anything from $100,000 to $280,000 a year. I'd expect a tradie like an sparky or a plumber etc could look at getting around $120,000 to $140,000 a year.

Ha! Your mood description is spot on!

Ha ha ha I read the same article! I'm a tradie, working and living in Perth, and have come to realise that its only a handful of lucky guys that are able to earn top dollar. My opinion is that electricians seem to have the best possibilities of getting work in the mines. The money is on the union sites and mines. Every man and his two dogs are trying to get up there. There is an ad running on TV at the mo saying that people shouldn't expect to arrive in WA and land a job in the mines. There is a 'skill' shortage not a 'labour' shortage. Firstly you have to make sure that the skill you have is in demand, you have good experience, you have all up to date certificates etdc. Rio Tinto has just said that they need 6000 new workers to help out at their new projects ... Good luck

G'day I'm a plumber and shipped all my tools over from the UK. Australia is bloody expensive, so I'd advise you to bring them over with you. Besides, you're familiar with your own tools and it would be a time waster to have to hunt where to buy tools over here. Undoubtedly you'll have to add to your collection once you're here. Go well Paul

Good stuff Ian Its all moving quick, you're nearly there! We live in a suburb called Dianella, its about 10km NE of the city. Its a good central location. I wasn't too impressed with Joondalup and the areas north of there - those suburbs are all so new and purpose built and come across as being souless with no character. They haven't been lived in yet. The Aussies are a good and friendly and relaxed bunch. I got my tradespersons license 1 week after I arrived in Perth. The conditions with you license is that that you have to book a migrant plumbing course with either TAFE challenger in Fremantle or MPA in Maylands within 2 weeks of recieving your license and you have to show the licensing board that you have done so. Then you have to actually do the course within 6 months. All the while you are able to work. I've just completed the course - all that is involved is some theory (the drainage section was pretty insightful) and the rest is practical assessments like the vetassess. You are also required to buy the AS 3500 plumbing standards book ($280) and water regulations ($30). I've never had gas qualifications but a few of the guys on the course with me have had it back in the UK and they were all enquiring about how they could get there gas license without having to go back to college. The fact is that unfortunatley its a 3.5 week course and you come out of with a full gas fitters license. The standards of plumbing here are good. A few guys from the UK reckon that its pretty backwards especially the gas. Its much more simplified then back in the UK. But the tradies here seem to take there trade seriously and most of the ute's are pretty well kitted out. I can't believe how good the weather is here. Since February it rained only about 3 days. Its is starting to get cooler now but its still good. Perth does offer a good lifestyle and I'm enjoying it tremendously. Go well, hope it works out nicely for you guys Paul QUOTE=Georgiajoemillie;35687]Hi mate, glad to hear from you. glad to see everything is Woking out for you . I did my vetassess back in late feb, passed in ok, as you said it was nothing to worry about ( bit of a con to be honest) I was out by 2 pm. we applied for WA SS and got that in 2 days. applied for visa on 30 th march and got a co appointed yesterday . so it's wait for medics, police checks etc and fingers crossed then hopefully visa still looking at Perth nextvfeb/ march . we'll definitely have to meet up when I'm across. what area are you staying in ??? hope you don't mind me flying a few questions at you . how did the Australians take to you, on a lot of job adverts I see they want min 5 years WA experience. did you have to wait long for the gap training and could you still work as a plumber while waiting, I've contacted the gas side to see about there gap training but are yet to hear back. what do you think of there standard of plumbing, a guy I was posting to on poms in oz ages ago said it was rough but that is just his opinion Hope your wife and children have settled well , on the radio they said that Todays temp is colder than on Christmas day last year and it's May, can't wait to get across Thanks or getting back to me , sorry again for all the questions but it helps from speaking to someone's thats doing it and those who have done it Cheers mate Ian

Hey, how you going? How was the Vetassess? You moving forward? Been in Perth 3 months and so far so good! Landed a job with a plumbing company that works on new residential houses and units as well as commercial. I've just completed the 2 week migrant plumbing course that is prescribed by the plumbing licensing board. Its quite an eye opener and now I have an Australian level III in plumbing. Interested to hear how you getting on. Good luck Paul

Hey Swifties, In order for him to get his WA plumbers license, he'll need to produce all his Vetassess Certificates and college and tradesmans qualification papers. They'll all need to be certified copies of the originals that can be done at the justice of peace. He'll recieve the tradespersons license but he'll have to complete a 2 week migrant plumbing course at a cost of $606 within 6 months of recieving the license. On completion of the course he'l be given an Australian level III in plumbing andJob wise there seems to be a fair bit of work about. At the end of the day I think it all boils down to luck - the right phone call at the right time, or email etc. I wouldn' t waste time looking for work from the UK, rather wait until you arrive. Good luck QUOTE=swifties;29955]Hi Paul, congratulations! we are waiting on visa grant now! But hubby concerned what docs are needed to get WA plumbers licence & also where best to find about jobs, as we are not seeing much on the web for plumbers. Any help you can give is appreciated. Good luck with the rental Swifties

Good day Ella Statton, I'm currently in Perth and have been to view several properties around Morley, Dianella, Nollamaru, Ballajura as I'm quite desperate to find a place to rent. Could you please give me some advice or hints on obtaining a rental with so much competition around. Its been quite disheartening to see over 40 families all looking at the same property each and every time ... Thanks in advance Paul

Hey everyone, Just a quick note to say hi. I've been in Perth in just under 2 weeks and have been really fortunate to get pretty much everything sorted except a house to rent. I landed a job on my 3rd day (I'm a plumber), changed over my drivers license, got my mobile phone, medicare card, TFN number, sorted bank accounts, organised my plumbers tradespersons licence and finally bought a car today! I was really nervous before arriving, constantly worrying about things but am thankful that everything has turned out how it has. I've been fortunate to be able to stay with friends in Kalamunda, otherwise I think I'd have been screwed. I'm currently waiting in my car outside a house in Duncraig, waiting for the viewing.. My wife and 2 girls are in Brisbane waiting ever so patiently for me to get a place to rent so that they can come over and enjoy Perth too. Warning: its crazy here with rentals. There isn't enough. I've been to about 10 viewings and each and everytime there have been at least 40 other families rock up to check the same house. Its pretty disheartening I must say, but I'm persisting! I bought mobile internet for my laptop (its expensive) which has helped me a lot for accessing work sites and sorting out all the information for other stuff while on the go. Good luck all of you who are about to arrive! Paul