Australia PR visa holder benefits - Permanent resident benefits

Here is the list of PR visa holder benefits

1. Live indefinitely in Australia
2. travel and work in NZ
3. Social security benefits  - payments for students, families, retirees, unemployed, parents and people with disabilities
4. Do any work - There are no work restrictions. Do any legal work in Australia if you have a PR visa
5. Business - You can start a new business. Staring a new business is very easy. No red carpet. No corruption in Australia
6. Higher Education Loans Program (HELP) - This program can get you finance for higher studies
7. Australian born children are granted citizenship - If one of the parent is holding a PR visa and child is born in Australia, he/she will become an Australian Citizen by birth.
8. Sponsor relatives - You can sponsor relatives for work visas like 489/190
9. Medicare - With medicare, you can access the free healthcare system in Australia 
10. First home owner grant - You may be eligible for a grant if you are planning for first house in Australia. Different states have different rules.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Things PR holders should do after landing in Australia for the first time

Here is the list of things, new PR holders must do

1. Book airbnb for temporary accommodation.
2. Get new SIM card at airport
3. Apply for jobs, interview preparation and get a new job
4. Apply for TFN for tax filing purposes
5. Apply for Bank Account
6. Get Rental accommodation on realestate.com.au - Think about nearest school, child care, shopping malls, public transportation
7. Get Internet connection/power - electricity and gas / water connection
8. New or used Car on carsales.com.au
9. Driving license
10. Local transportation system - For example - Get travel go card in QLD
11. Child care
12. Kids School admission
13. Sort out Private health insurance. For PR holders, it is not mandatory but recommended
14. Register for Medicare Card
15. Register for centerlink benefits
16. Buy house - first home owner grant
17. Start business

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Permanent job vs Contract job - Differences, Pros and Cons of Contract Jobs in Australia

Here are the major drawbacks of contract jobs

1. No sick (Personal) leaves or annual leaves - In permanent jobs, you are entitled to certain number of personal and annual leaves. 
2. Risk of losing job More. Risk of firing is very high in contract job and notice period is also very less. 
3. No Superannuation and PAYG - Super is not included in daily rate. You have to arrange superannuation payments on your own.
4. Getting loans is difficult e.g. home loan, car loan as Banks see contact job as a big risk with regards to loan repayments
5. Poor work life balance as there is a high work pressure and you are closely monitored 
6. Contracting can be done as PAYG managed by thirdy party or as a private ltd company or as a sole trader
7. Long service benefits not provided
8. Relocation benefits not provided
9. You are not eligible for annual awards/rewards/appraisals/bonus/pay rise etc

Main positive side of contract jobs is that you get more money as you are taking a job risk. Apart from money, there is not any other reason why you should look for a contract job.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Healthcare System - Medicare and PBS in Australia - what's covered and what's not

Medicare

Medicare is a healthcare system in Australia. If you have a medicare card, you will be covered for many health related services as mentioned below

1. GP (General Practitioner) visits. It is covered as MBS (Medicare Benefits Schedule) item 23 (cap of $37.05 per visit)
2. Specialists fees upto certain threshold amount
3. Certain blood tests
4. Goverment hospital treatments
5. Emergencies
6. In certain states (e.g. in QLD), Ambulance cover is also provided
7. ...and many more

Below things are not covered by Medicare

1. Dental
2. Eye treatments (Optical)
3. Hearing aids
4. Acupuncture
5. Cosmetic Surgery
6. ......and many more

If you are not sure about if the specific service will be covered by Medicare or not, you can ask to your doctor. Alternatively you can also search online at http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/search.cfm

PBS

PBS stands for pharmaceutical benefits scheme. You can claim certains costs related to medicines. You can find more details on http://www.pbs.gov.au/pbs/home

Bulk Billing

Bulk billing simply means no out of pocket expenses. You go to a doctor, get a treatment and come back without paying a single penny. All costs will be taken care by medicare and processing will be done by health service provider or medical center. For example - If you visit a GP, he or she may charge you $75 for first visit and $55 for next visits. But medicare will only cover GP visit costs upto $37 as of 2018. So you need to make a gap payment of $18 (55-37). This is not a bulk bilking as you are making gap payments or you are paying $18 out of your pockets. Some GPs will only charge you $37 but you do not have to make any payment because medicare will paye GP that amount and your medicare records will be updated. This is called as Bulk billing.

Not all GPs will provide bulk billing. Some GPs provide bulk billing with main intention of growing customer base. Especially GPs who have just started practising will do bulk billing in order to gain popularity. 

Public Hospitals vs Private Hospitals

If you take a treatment in public hospital, most of costs will be covered by Medicare so less out of pocket expenses. On the contrary, if you take treatment at private hospital, there will be more out of pocket expenses. Only benefit of taking treatment at private hospital is that there are no waiting periods and you can choose which doctor will do treatments, which is not the case in public hospital.

Major public hospitals in Brisbale QLD are Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital, Mater hill Hospital.

Pregnancy and Medicare 

Most of the people prefer to go to Public Hospital for pregranancy related services as costs are very less.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Practical Car Driving test in Queensland Australia

If you live in Queensland, Australia, this article would help you understand the car driving licensing requirements.

Types of Licenses

There are mainly 3 types of licenses

1. L plate (Learning) - You must be at least 16 year old. After getting license, you should display L plate and other person haing 1 year old open license should be supervising while you are driving.
2. P1/P2 plate (Provisional) - If you are less than 25 year old, you will need to apply for P1 license and then move on to P2. Age should be at least 17 and also you need to meet logbook requirements of 100 hours to apply for P1 license. When you are on P1 license, you should display red P plate. There are several restrictions on P1 license holders. To get open license or P2 license, you need to be on P1 license for at least 1 year. On P2, you do not have passenger restrictions and hands free mobile phone can be used.
3. Open - To apply for open license, you should be at least be 20 years old.

If you are a PR holder and have got overseas license and 25+ year old, you can convert your license to QLD license by giving below 2 tests. Below tests may be required for L/P1/P2 licenses as well. Rules keep changing so you are advised to contact TMR department for upto date information.

Paper based road rules test 

You can walk in to any TMR (Transport and mains road) office and appear for general road rules test. It will cost you around $27. You will be asked 30 multiple choice questions. 10 questions will be based on give way rules. You need to score 9/10 to clear the give way rules test. 20 questions will be based on general road rules and traffic signs. You need to score 18/20 to clear this test. So overall you need to score 27 out of 30 to clear the paper based test. You can take mock test at https://www.service.transport.qld.gov.au/practiceroadrulestest/public/Welcome.xhtml  

Booking a practical driving test and making payment

You can book a test on QLD TMR website. I paid $67 for the test fees. Test duration is 35 mins which includes approx. 25 mins of driving. I chose the Sherwood test center. But you can choose whichever center you like. There are several test centers in various suburbs in QLD.

Taking your own car for the test

You can give a test in your own car with below things in mind

1. Car should be registered
2. Car should be road worthy
3. Tyres should be in good condition especially tread depth
4. Car dashboard display should not have any red lights
5. Certain features should be turned off e.g. GPS, Speed alarms, Park Assist and Cameras
6. You must switch off your mobile phone upon arrival at the test cente

Car controls

Before actual driving test, examiner will check your knowledge about the various controls in the car like

1. Adjusting mirrors
2. Purpose of Sun visors
3. Rear view mirror and how to remove the glare of following vehicle lights 
4. Headlights - low beam and high beam and adjusting the level of beam 
5. Operation of hazard lights
6. Windscreen wiper and washer
7. Demister
8. Climate control system
9. Seat and steering wheel adjustment
10. Central door and window lock system
11. Any other special controls fitted to cars

Before you start driving 

1. Fasten the seat belt
2. See if all mirrors are adjusted properly
3. Start the engine in one shot
4. See that no red light is on dashboard display
5. Do head check and indicate then only start
6. Release the hand brake just before you are ready to move the car.
7. Ensure that you are not restarting the already running engine. See dashboard display for this.

Critical errors

All errors mentioned below are critical errors. All remaining errors come under non critical category.

1. Using Mobile phone while driving 
2. Not using Seat Belt
3. Stalling the car
4. Sudden braking
5. not using the hand brake properly
6. removing both hands off steering wheel
7. Not maintaining the correct road position
8. Driving over the speed limit [school zones, road work ahead sign]
9. Not having a rear view (through rear view mirror and by actually turning back) while reversing
10. not following road signs and not reading the time restrictions on the sign board
11. Entering the choked intersection
12. Not giving way to pedestrians 
13. Not leaving intersection (When you are turning right and you are in the middle of intersection and signal turns red).
14. Not Keeping a distance of 2 seconds from the vehicle that is ahead of you.
15. Not doing head checks including shoulder checks, left and right checks
16. Not making a good judgment when approaching the traffic signal (You must keep an eye on signals. If signal turns yellow and you are about to cross the intersection, keep moving ahead if other vehicle is following you. You need to apply brakes only when you can safely stop before the stop line and no one is following you)

Manoeuvres

1. Hill start - You should use hand brake and avoid roll back
2. Gear change using paddle shifters - Use paddle shifters to set the low gear when going down hill so that less braking is required
3. Reversing - You should not use indicators. Look back through rear window. You also need to give way. Car wheels should not touch the kerb side and should be parallel to the kerb side
4. Turn around (Left side street and right side street)  using 3 point turn - Mirror, indicator and shoulder check should be done. Do not forget to straighten wheels before each point. Also do not forget to give way.
5. Reverse parallel parking - Indicate left and slow down. Car must be 1 m away from other car. Do not forget to giveway. Turn the car to 45 degree to right and straighten wheel. Then reverse till door handle aligns with gutter/kerb. Then do parallel parking. Park so that you can see rego of car parked ahead of you.
6. Forward parking
7. Reverse Parking
8. U-turns - Indicate and do shoulder checks 
9. Car park forward

Some common errors

1. Not taking proper course during U-turn
2. Not positioning the vehicle properly 
3. Not scanning and observing at the railway level crossing and intersections
4. Not coming to a full stop at a stop sign  
5. Not waiting 5 seconds after indicating before pulling onto a road from a parked position
6. Not doing shoulder check (blind spot checks) during merging and changing lanes
7. Not indicating when leaving a roundabout 
8. Not following speed limits (driving too slow and too fast)
9. Not keeping safe distance
10. Not looking into side and rear mirror

Some important tips

1. It is always better to know the test route. So when choosing the test center, consult with your driving instructor about best center and the possible driving route. Have a driving feel of the route and suburb few days before the test day. 
2. Drive to left side of the road.
3. Hold steering wheel in 9-3 clock position.
4. Brake smoothly.
5. Keep safe distance from nearby cars, pedestrians etc.
6. Give way to pedestrains.
7. Keep looking ahead upto 100 meters for traffic signs and signals.
8. Indicate left or right when arrow marks are there. Keep indicating for at least 5 seconds. Stop the indicator as soon as you finish the turn.
9. Difference between single continuous and double continuous lines - With single continuous line, you can not overtake or do U turns. With double continuous line, you can not cross the line unless you have to pass the bicycle rider.
10. Take evasive action when other person makes mistake or confused.
11. Do not stop on the section of road with "Keep Clear" sign.
12. Driving test also includes below checks
13. T intersection give way rules
14. Cross roads rules
15. Merging rules
16. Round abouts rules
17. You should be able to give the demo of controls like wipers, washers, demisters, heat the mirrors
18. Road position - Keep your car to the left most side of road 
19. Keep safe following distance
20. Keep an eye on all signs like pedestrian crossing, stop, giveway, clearway sign etc
21. Road positioning should be good
22. Know all controls of car
23. Know how to use paddle shifters
24. In automatic car, do not use left foot at all...Use right foot only
25. Road and lane positioning should be accurate
26. You should use handbrake when you want to park the park and also when you do uphill start.
27. At school zones, you need to drive at 40 km/h during specified time but only when the school term is on. On public holidays and when school is out of term, you can drive at 60 km/h

If you need any help for getting a license, write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com for any queries. I live in Brisbane QLD.
What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

All about Tennis - Scoring, grand slam tournaments, shot types

Tennis General Information

1. Tennis is played on 3 types of courts - Hard court (AO and US Open), Clay courts (French Open), Grass Courts (Wimbledon)
2. Equipments required for playing tennis - Rackets, Court, Tennis balls, Min 2 players
3. Top seed men Players ranked by ATP (Association of tennis professionals) as of 2018 - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer
4. Top seed women players ranked by WTA (Women's Tennis Association) as of 2018 - Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki
5. Other well known players  - Andy murray, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams
6. ITF (Internantional Tennis Federation) - Governing body for Tennis
7. Major tournaments - Grand slams (AO, French Open, Wimbledon, US open) , ATP, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Hopman, Laver
8. Tennis is also included in Olympics
9. Every country has different governing bodies. e.g. In Australia, governing body is https://www.tennis.com.au and you can access tournament calendar at https://www.tennis.com.au/tournaments/calendar

Tennis Rules and Scoring

1. Scoring - A match consists of sets. Usually best of 3 or best of 5 sets are played. Each set contains games. To win the set, you need to win at least 6 games with a margin of 2 games. For example 6-4. If the scores are like 6-5, you need one more game to win the set and so on. If the scores are 6-6, then set is tied and tie-breaker is played. Each game has min 4 points. Game points are counted like 0-0, 15-0, 30-0, 40-0 and game point. If game score is 40-40, it is called as Duece. To win the game in this situation, you need to lead by minimum 2 points.
2. Serve - Play starts with a serve. You must stay behind the baseline and between sideline and centre line until you hit the ball. Good served ball must land in the service box of the opponent without touching the net. Opponent must hit back the ball after it is bounced once.
3. When the game count is odd, players change the court sides. 
4. Play area - It is the area where players can hit the ball without losing point. For singles, play area is within inner side lines. For doubles, play area is within outer side lines.
5. Let - When the served ball hits the net and lands in the service court, it is called a let. It is not a fault and server still has 2 serve attempts remaining.
6. Fault - When the served ball does not fall in the service box and it is not let, it is called as a fault.
7. Double Fault - Second consecutive fault is called as double fault. When double fault occurs, opponent gets the point.
8. Foot fault - When serving, you should stand behind the baseline and between sideline and center mark. If foot touches the baseline or sidelines before hitting the ball, it is a foot fault.
9. In/out - When ball is in play area, it is called as in. Otherwise it is called as out
10. Game point - The point that decides the outcome of the game
11. Break point - When opponent is serving and you are just one point away from winning the game, you will be at a break point.
12. Match point - The point that decides the outcome of the match
13. Tiebreaker- When the set is tied at 6-6, last game is played and it is called as tie-breaker. Different grand slams have different tie break rules.
14. Deuce - When the game is tied at 40-40, it is called as Duece. 
15. Advantage - When game is in Deuce and if you win a point, then you are said to have an advantage.

Tennis Shots

Before I talk about tennis shots, let me tell you about grip types - the way players hold the rackets. There are mainly 3 types of grips in Tennis

1. Continental - When the base knuckle of your index fingure is at bevel 2 of racket.
2. Eastern - When the base knuckle of your index fingure is at bevel 3 of racket.
3. Semi-Western - When the base knuckle of your index fingure is at bevel 4 of racket.
4. Western - When the base knuckle of your index fingure is at bevel 5 of racket.

Now let us see the types of tennis shots. Tennis shots can be divided into 3 categories

1. When you hit the ball - Serve, Ground Stroke, Volley, Half Volley.
2. How you hit the ball - Forehand, Backhand, Overhead Smash (hitting ball so that it catches high speed), Flat, Sidespin, Block, Slice, Topspin, tweener, Backspin.
3. Where you hit the ball - cross court (Hitting diagonally over the center of the net), dropshot (tapping a ball so that it barely goes over the net), passing shot (hitting a ball so that it goes out of reach of an opponent), lob (hitting the ball high and near the baseline of the opponent's court) , down the line (Hitting the ball parallel to the sidelines).

Now let us see types of serves in Tennis

1. Flat - Hitting the ball without any spin.
2. Slice/reverse slice/Wide slice (Side spin) - Hitting the ball with side spin.
3. Kick/topspin/American (ball bounces very high) - Hitting the ball with top spin.
4. Twist/Reverse kick - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxlngF-sKSQ
5. Underhand - Racket is swung from below the waist in upward direction.
6. Pat-a-cake serve - Beginner level serve. In this type of serve, ball is hit without swinging the racket behind the head.

Tips for maximum number of tennis matches

1. Play with confidence.
2. Find out the weak areas of the opponent and exploit it.
3. Hit the ball in such a way that ball will go out of reach and away from the opponent.
4. Predict the movement of opponent and hit the ball in different direction of prediction.
5. Try to stay in the centre of the baseline ready for next shot.
6. Follow through is very important after hitting the ball as it allows you to spin the ball and impart desired speed.

Don'ts in Tennis to avoid mistakes

1. Don't mishit the ball. 
2. Do not hit the ball out of the center of the racket. 
3. Don't play like a pussycat. Be fearless.

Footwork

Footwork is very important in Tennis. There are mainly 2 types of stances in Tennis.

1. Open stance - This is when your feet are parallel to the side lines. This is useful when the ball is high.
2. Closed stance - This is when your feet are parallel to baseline. This is useful when ball is short of you.

It is important that you position yourself properly before hitting the ball. If the ball is not in your reach, you should reach the ball as quickly as possible. 

Split step is another important thing to do when recieving the serves. Split step helps you to get ready for the served ball.

Tennis Terminology

1. Ace serve - When opponent can not touch the served ball, it is called as Ace.
2. Dead net - When the ball hit with ground stroke or volley touches the net and falls in opponent's court, it is called dead net.
3. Ground strok - When the ball is hit after it is bounced, it is called as ground stroke.
4. Volley stroke - When the ball is hit before it is bounced, it is called as volley stroke.
5. Half Volley stroke - When the ball is hit just few milli seconds after it is bounced, it is called as half volley stroke.
6. Break serve - When opponent is serving and you are just one point away from winning the game, it is called as break serve.
7. Hold serve - When you are serving and you are just one point away from winning the game, it is called as hold serve.
8. Singles - 2 players are involved.
9. Doubles - 4 players are involved.
10. Mixed doubles - 4 players are involved but gender is different in each team.
11. Lob - hitting the ball high and deep into opponent's court.

More info can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_tennis_terms

Tennis Tournament types

1. Knock out
2. Ladder
3. Round Robin
4. Elimination
5. Multi-stage
6. Poker
7. Bridge

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com