We have just had some completely unexpected and devastating news today. My husband's trade assessement has not been successful. He has been a successful self employed plumber for 15 years although his training prior to that was on site and he has no official apprenticeship qualification. I am a qualified teaching assistant however this does not appear to be on the occupation in demand list. We have two 11 year old children and between 3 and 4 hundred thousand dollars we could take to Australia. We had hoped to emigrate to Adelaide and have a pile of completed paperwork relating to our visa application all ready to go. We had planned to apply for a Skilled Independant visa subclass 175 but without the trade assessment we are at a loss as to what to do next. We have contacted Vetassess to ask their advice but would appreciate any help concerning alternative visa options or any ideas at all. We would now consider hiring an agent and would appreciate opinions on this too. I hope someone out there can help me. Jane

Please feel able to telephone my colleague Stephen Dickson who handles applications to VETASSESS and TRA for our trade skills clients - T 00 61 3 9935 2929 (Melbourne).

A call before 8am should catch Stephen (5pm in Melbourne), though not on Monday, as it is a public holiday in Victoria that day.

Best regards.