billabong Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Hi everyoneHow are things going in Canberra?. We received our "living in Canberra" package and received such a lot of info! It looks absolutely great. The included a lot of "work for the ACT government" things - surely if you are not allowed to work for them (as a non Aus citizen) they won't include this in the package? We are also going to the seminar here in Cape Town at the end of March....but with all these good things going on I started getting a little...um...depressed? Maybe not the right word. I SO want this to work out, BUT what if we get there and there is just no job for my husband...what if what if what if....I guess I just need some reassurance that we'll be fine. He is in IT - Systems manager. Not sure if there is anyone out there that is in the industry - of maybe knows someone? I'm a legal secretary - will I have problems securing a job? I am willing to do general admin as well - no problems with that! I'm not looking to be hooked up to a job, just want to know if we will struggle?.....Anyone out there willing to give me their 2c?..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retha_hhr Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 You can work for the ACT government, just not for the Federal Government. It is like you can work for the South-Australian government but not for the federal government. All states, including ACT has its own government which is under the umbrella of the federal government.I am also interested to hear if you get responses from SA people in Canberra specific in the IT market who are not yet Australian citizens. I am looking at the jobs every day and even if it is a consultancy business with clients other than the Government as well, they want you to be a citizen. I did see however that it looks like that one can get a protected security clearance if you are not an Australian citizen, you just need to be in a country where it is not difficult to retrieve the information they need for the clearance. However, very few jobs in Canberra ask only for protected clearance, most ask for the top security clearance or the defence clearance. See if you can find the website of the company called: Logica. I have seen on their website that they are only asking for protected security clearance. I cannot remember the website unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Retha has said it how I too understand it. Working for the Federal gov is a different ball game.We too went to the liveincanberra seminar when still in SA. It was ok - no great shakes, there were some job opportunities at the time mostly medical and amazingly hairdressers. Mrs Rathbone (spelling ??) gave a talk about how she enjoyed living in the ACT. Otherwise cant say I learnt very much. Nothing really prepares you for this move, but I do understand where you are at - you want all the info you can get. Canberra is a great place to start out - the only thing I can say that I truely miss is the ocean. Thankfully Batemans Bay is only 2hrs drive - so when I need to smell the sea air / walk on the sand / wet the toes - at least its possible - just the drive there thru the forests and very steep areas is scary. But worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billabong Posted March 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Thanks guys. I'm sure we'll be fine. Actually phone the ACT government this morning to follow up on our sponsorship application. A very nice lady, the head of the department, wanted some more info from us (requested from our agents on 4 March already -we're still waiting on them!) and she said that as a legal secretary I will definately not have a problem finding work. As long as one of us have a job we'll be fine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine and Riana Pienaar Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Asked the people that handle the sponsorship directly about the issue of working for them and here is their reply:Question:"Someone mentioned to me that there is a limitation on us working in government – something to do with security clearance and citizenship.I am not totally clear on this – will you possibly be able to shed some light for me so I can ensure that I target my search appropriately. Is there a limitation and how does it work if I want to work in either central government or ACT government?"Response: "Australian citizenship ( and sometimes a security clearance is a requirement for the Australian (Central) Government. However, it is not a requirement for my (ACT) Government."I am sure you will be fine. Looking forward to seeing you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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