Hi again Carol
If I could give you one piece of advice it would be to get sponsored directly. If you go through an agency then you will have very little control over where he works and what type of job he works in (I've heard some horror stories about Nurses ended up doing a completely different job - well below their qualifications). If you go directly to the hospitals then you will have control of it. With a 457 Visa you really need to be careful because Nic can ONLY work fot that employer while on the 457 Visa - if he loses his job (even if they decide they no longer need him) you would have 28 days to leave the country. Just be careful OK. We were lucky because we knew what job my husband was coming out to because we were sponsored directly by the Company (Qantas in his case) and we also had friends here who had done the same thing.
Areas - sorry theres not really a lot I can say about areas. Most suburbs have good and bad areas. We're in Richmond which is an hour West of Sydney and its pretty quiet here - but nice because its just a train ride into the City. The areas you've mentioned I havent heard anything bad about
To give you an idea of what sponsorship is - a 457 Visa is a Temporary Visa allowing skilled people from other countries entry into Australia for a certain period of time - ours was up to 4 years. The company who sponsors you basically has to prove that the skills are in shortage in Australia and that they cant find anyone suitable here. The Visa usually takes around 4-8 weeks to be accepted - assuming that there are no problems with medicals etc. Nic would then only be allowed to work for that company (this is where the problem may arise.......if its the agency who apply for the Visa then they could pretty much put him anywhere and theres nothing he could do about it.......if its the hospital then he'll know which department etc and his job description. A 457 Visa gives the partner of the 457 Holder full rights to work - like I said previously though it can prove difficult at times finding an employer who is willing to employ a temporary visa holder.
If you've got any more questions just ask. My advice though would be to speak to the Agency and see exactly what their procedure would be - would they sponsor Nic or would the Employer they find sponsor him......very important.
Chat soon
Rach