The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded • Hacker News Board

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#141

Post by goatforce5 » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 3:21 PM UTC

throwaway2048 wrote: post #6

Accreditation is common in many industries in Australia, it's basically a huge racket. To legally do any wiring work at all it must be done by an accredited electrician, not merely inspected by one as in most countries. in fact most home improvements of any kind must be performed by an accredited tradesman. add to this the laws that state any home improvement must bring the entire house up to current building codes,…

NPRs Planet Money did a podcast along these lines - "Why It's Illegal To Braid Hair Without A License":

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/06/22/155596305/episode-...

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#142

Post by JoeAltmaier » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 3:42 PM UTC

Nursie wrote: post #118

jpatokal wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please read this, then come back and tell me that Australia's visa system is sane: http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints...

That guy has - moved all over the world - applied for a visa while inside the country in question - some expectation that having an employer vouch for him means anything - most of his trouble with getting a COC out of Singapore Oz basically want to know you have skills, education and no criminal record. They ask you to go to some length to prove this. I really don't see a problem with this. As I say, they are in the…

That explains the delay. What explains the money? Thousands of dollars line their pockets for each immigrant, successful or unsuccessful. That's just greed.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#143

Post by JoeAltmaier » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 3:45 PM UTC

JacobAldridge wrote: post #114

throwaway2048 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it may not be a big problem at present, as there is a huge real estate boom in Australia. But when there is an economic downturn these regulations are going to hit older areas extremely hard, just like they have in many other nations.

Property values in Australia declined by 4.5% last year. Forecasts are for around 5% growth this year in my city (Brisbane), but continued declining prices in Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide. Huge real estate boom fizzled at the end of '09 / early 2010.

So, what they need is, oh I don't know, maybe lots of immigrants looking for a house?

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#144

Post by Nursie » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 3:45 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #142

Nursie wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That guy has - moved all over the world - applied for a visa while inside the country in question - some expectation that having an employer vouch for him means anything - most of his trouble with getting a COC out of Singapore Oz basically want to know you have skills, education and no criminal record. They ask you to go to some length to prove this. I really don't see a problem with this. As I say, they are in the…

That explains the delay. What explains the money? Thousands of dollars line their pockets for each immigrant, successful or unsuccessful. That's just greed.

What government doesn't like money?

Yes, the processing fees are enormous, especially considering you don't get it back if you fail.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#145

Post by murbard2 » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 6:30 PM UTC

ghshephard wrote: post #80

beilabs wrote: post #58

Here's my experience with the Australian Computer Society. Having studied abroad (Ireland), I was required to send in all of my exam results for my B.Sc, H.Dip & M.Sc. as well as a reference from each employer that I worked with in my field (Software Engineering). For the visa I was applying for at the time it required that I was certified by the ACS, have a minimum of 5 years experience. The process took 6 months fo…

Compare that to a Canadian coming into the United States as a "Computer Systems Analyst" - Show up at the airport 20 minutes earlier than you normally would, give them a one-page letter describing your employer, what you'll be doing, where you'll be working. Include a either a 2 year diploma + 2 (3?) years of work experience or a 4 year degree. 10 minutes later you have a Visa good for three years. Normally one expec…

TN's all fun and games until you find an asshole immigration officer who decides you've been working for to long in the US. It happens.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#146

Post by mylittlepony » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 8:18 PM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #119

astrec wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're still interested, and can find someone willing to employ you look at the 457 visa and the transition stream to PR. Circumvents that whole mess IIRC.

Yup, this is the best option if you can swing it -- the problem is that you need to find an employer to sponsor you, which is a significant hassle and expense for them.

It's usually an egg/chicken problem. Employers want you to have a visa first, and visa wants you to have an employer first.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#147

Post by mylittlepony » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 8:23 PM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #117

mylittlepony wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I was watching videos trying to catch the Australian accent, which I found to be very cool... One video led to another, and somehow I ended up watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6J6PF47CM From another angle, and longer explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsWhGBgbUsc I have never seen something like that in real life, I couldn't believe it.

There's 22 million people in Australia, don't assume a few idiots reflect the entire country. Neither my wife nor I were born here, but as parents with a mixed-race kid and experience of living on four continents, we haven't found a better place to bring him up yet.

Indeed, but to be fair, 22 million is nothing, especially for a country so big as Australia. Also, it wasn't just one crazy person or crazy group. They were random people in a bus, and they had the same anger and hate. Wtf was that?

I'm curious, where in Australia do you live if I may ask?

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#148

Post by jpatokal » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 10:09 PM UTC

mylittlepony wrote: post #147

jpatokal wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's 22 million people in Australia, don't assume a few idiots reflect the entire country. Neither my wife nor I were born here, but as parents with a mixed-race kid and experience of living on four continents, we haven't found a better place to bring him up yet.

Indeed, but to be fair, 22 million is nothing, especially for a country so big as Australia. Also, it wasn't just one crazy person or crazy group. They were random people in a bus, and they had the same anger and hate. Wtf was that? I'm curious, where in Australia do you live if I may ask?

Melbourne, same city as the bus attack. For what it's worth, that took place in Frankston, one of the city's dodgier suburbs, which has a reputation for crime, drug problems and lots of "bogans".

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#149

Post by jpatokal » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 10:20 PM UTC

Nursie wrote: post #118

jpatokal wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please read this, then come back and tell me that Australia's visa system is sane: http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints...

That guy has - moved all over the world - applied for a visa while inside the country in question - some expectation that having an employer vouch for him means anything - most of his trouble with getting a COC out of Singapore Oz basically want to know you have skills, education and no criminal record. They ask you to go to some length to prove this. I really don't see a problem with this. As I say, they are in the…

That guy is me. My application for permanent residence in Singapore -- another place "swamped with applicants from all over the world" -- was all of three pages long but managed to cover skills, education and criminal records, was processed in a few weeks, and cost precisely $0. By comparison, my employer and I have paid approx. $10,000 to date to the Australian government in visa fees, not including the charges of the agents my employer hired to navigate the morass, despite being unusually versed in this sort of thing.

As I state at the end of the post, I'm quite well placed to deal with all this and thus personally find it mostly rather comical. However, dealing with this as eg. a refugee fleeing war or persecution is another kettle of fish, and the sheer rigidity of the system means that plenty of people fall through the cracks: a friend of mine recently had to leave the country after 10 years (!) of legal residence and entrepreneurship because his self-employment didn't fit squarely into Immigration's boxes.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#150

Post by rdouble » Thu, Jan 31, 2013, 10:32 PM UTC

jpatokal wrote: post #149

Nursie wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That guy has - moved all over the world - applied for a visa while inside the country in question - some expectation that having an employer vouch for him means anything - most of his trouble with getting a COC out of Singapore Oz basically want to know you have skills, education and no criminal record. They ask you to go to some length to prove this. I really don't see a problem with this. As I say, they are in the…

That guy is me. My application for permanent residence in Singapore -- another place "swamped with applicants from all over the world" -- was all of three pages long but managed to cover skills, education and criminal records, was processed in a few weeks, and cost precisely $0. By comparison, my employer and I have paid approx. $10,000 to date to the Australian government in visa fees, not including the charges of t…

My sister got the boot from Australia for 9 months even though she was young, had a master's degree in a needed occupation, was attending unimelb, and was about to be married to an Australian. Australia likes to tout its fair and transparent points based immigration scheme, but at the end of the day the decision is arbitrarily decided by an official who might not like your home country or may simply be having a bad day.