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It seems that not all residents are eligible to become citizens and English language ability is a deciding factor in many cases. It isn’t obligatory to change residential status and the implications of becoming one can seem relatively small in some ways. For more details about citizenship eligibility have a look at the following website: www.immi.gov.au Interestingly, in a 2001 government census published on the above mentioned website, 23% of Australian’s are born overseas, a further 20% have one parent born overseas and 200 languages are currently spoken here, making Australia the world’s leading multicultural country. The local Government Multicultural office is concerned with encouraging a multicultural way of life for existing and newly arriving Australian residents/citizens. In order to do this the state laws and workplace regulations are fairly stringent about employing immigrants, encouraging cultural diversity within the workplace with language awareness clubs, job exchanges and general promotion of citizenship opportunities. In the community as a whole, there are international and multicultural festivals and local town events. There is of course a fine line though between retaining one’s own identity and having that respected here and realising the need to adapt to Australia’s ways. Many new immigrants join a local expat style club, teach their children their mother tongue and shop for preferred international food products as we have done. It’s great to have the connection and feel at home away from home. In one or two recent documentaries however, the bottom line expressed here is that multiculturalism is encouraged; tolerance, understanding and respect of difference is the buzz word. Ultimately the dominant culture is at the end of the day the Australian one. In day to day life we’ve noticed Australians who have lived outside Australia are genuinely interested in differing cultures. Many other members of the community are in comparison not interested despite multiculturalism and positive immigration being a large part of their national identity. Others of course do expect immigrants to change and live the way they do, not really understanding the implications or difficulties of that. Local studies carried out concerning the impact of migration and immigration on the local communities have generally found that more new immigrants are professionals with an ability to speak the English language and are welcomed due to the shortage of skills here. Selling up a business or property to move here gives a good financial start and with the typical adventurous spirit of new arrivals, immigrants are often buying up businesses or property or finding work within 6 months. This kind of image helps. On the whole,
people move here to be with family, to Sydney or Melbourne for work opportunities
and then to Brisbane or Perth for the life style factor. Australian’s are
generally happy with their lot in life as are most new immigrants. From
our experience it takes two years onwards to really settle in and become
familiar with local surroundings and understand how the state/country works.
Surrounded by people unable to relate to what you are going through can be frustrating and draining. On reflection, we moved in a very independent, self sufficient manner which required boundless energy and has at times felt like a lot of hard work. There has been a lot of running around to get information that is tailored to explain the steps of settling in. Often there are boxes to tick and forms to be filled in that don’t reflect the reality of our situation or information we are able to provide and this has lead to many dead-ends. However, it needn’t be this way as I recently discovered, there is real help available! An independent immigration information, advisory service agent is Aussiemigrant. www.aussiemigrant.com. This website provides up-to-date local information (Brisbane) and contact details. At base they are a company that is a one-stop specialist in independent expat moves. There are a number of companies and agents helping immigrants to get visas and other local agents who can provide some services, but I haven’t as yet found another that does the lot in one go like Aussmigrant. What Aussiemigrant can do is: organise a visa, assist with recruitment/linking up Australian employers with potential immigrant employees, give CV advice, as well as advising you on buying a business in Australia. In addition, they have local housing and investment market knowledge and offer a range of financial services. They aim to make the complete move as smooth as possible. The information is free and the financial services are at a competitive price. Why take on help? “You don’t know what you don’t know”. There is a big need for local know-how. Tax laws are different in every country. Banks offer different services the world over. For finding information on house-prices, investments, money transfers, private health insurances, private pension plans(superannuation as it is named here), setting up a business or relocating and selling before you come can be one big headache and take lots of time. Overall, something we’ve realised is that it is important to recognise and face the difficulties of the task of moving and re-settling and to look after each other and work together. The power of information and maintaining a positive outlook is invaluable. Taking visits to local places of interest and joining in the local festivals makes it fun. Making empathetic friends takes time, having good neighbours is a real help and talking to like minded adventurers working to establish a life and work balance that we came here seeking is motivating and encouraging. Having been inspired by the immigrants and travel of the first Australians I’ve written a series entitled ‘Sunflowers in the Desert’ which can be read on www.keepitcoming.net or my web page CreativeArts on http://members.optus.com.au/~jeanjacquet/ The following are the previous articles Sarah wrote for the magazine:
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Brisbane’s
Building Madness ~ 