About Me

I qualified with CIMA (management accountancy) back when I worked as a business analyst for a mortgage lender in the UK. I had no idea when I took the exams that they would allow me to move to Australia!

The course was offered to graduates in my department as a way to learn about how businesses work, and initially I turned it down, as I’d taken so many exams at uni. I ended up going on a taster day which swayed me, and as I had so little work to do during the global financial crisis, I took the course to keep me occupied!

Since management accountancy was on the skilled occupations list, and I had enough points on the visa test, I was eligible for the 189 visa. Read my post on how I got PR in Australia to see the process.

I got 65 points, and at the time (2014), you only needed 60 points to apply, and there were enough places for everyone eligible to submit an application. Here’s a breakdown of what I scored:

30 points: age (25-32 years);

20 points: superior English (at least 8 out of 9 in all 4 components of the IELTS test);

15 points: educational qualifications (at least a Bachelor degree).

I didn’t get any points for skilled employment experience, as they only count the time after you became fully qualified, and I had less than three years.

The following year, the points needed to apply through accountancy increased to 70, since applications increased so much in that sector. If I hadn’t applied when I did, I would never have got my visa! So, go for it if you’re eligible now!

No, not with skilled migration. I applied in the UK, and the visa was granted while I was living there. With some visas you do have to live in Australia for a certain length of time before you can apply for permanent residency though.

It’s very hard to choose, as Australia is huge and so diverse, and I travelled some parts about 20 years ago! Here are some highlights:

Whitsunday Islands: tropical paradise in the Great Barrier Reef – snorkelling there is unreal.

Jervis Bay: a huge bay in NSW lined with stunning beaches and said to have the whitest sand in the world.

Bruny Island: an unspoilt island off Tasmania. The scenery here is so beautiful, with fantastic beaches and walks.

Yeagarup Dunes: this enormous sand dune system in WA looks like endless fields of snow.

I’ve been to every state and territory in Australia and every capital city! I travelled the east coast and red centre as an exchange student in 2001-2002, the west coast and east coast again on a working holiday in 2004-2005, then the south coast and Tasmania in 2015-2016 when I moved here as a permanent resident.

No! I bought a station wagon (normal two-wheel drive car with an extra long boot) and drove all the way from Perth to Brisbane via the south and east coasts in that. 

There were some places we couldn’t access, and we couldn’t drive across sand dunes, but there was still more than enough to see.

After living in Australia for a year as an exchange student, and returning on a working holiday, I knew I wanted to return one day and maybe work in Sydney for a year or so. The weather and scenery is so amazing.

Once I’d spent a few years in a corporate job in the UK, I began to enjoy life less and less and thought of Australia daily. When I realised I could get permanent residency, I finally made the move for good.

I visited a couple of times when I was younger and loved it more than any other city in Australia. After that, I had an overwhelming feeling that I was meant to be there and constantly looked at pictures of it online!

All I’d really seen of Sydney before I arrived was Bondi Beach and the city, but I followed my gut instinct and it absolutely paid off.

The weather and seasons here are ideal for me; the vast amount of beaches and national parks are amazing; and there are so many fascinating areas to live in and visit.

The fact that I could house sit in over 50 random suburbs here and not end up anywhere that felt remotely rough is a real testament to the city.