POST 2:  Objective Of The Blog  
We wish to provide information, advice and support to the immigrants from the sub-continent who are planning to come or are already in Australia.

Type Of Information To Be Provided On The Blog: All relevant and useful information for living a gainful and happy life in Australia and for becoming a useful and respected member of the local community.

Method of providing advice: In addition to this blog we plan to set up volunteer groups which will guide by e mail, on phone and in face to face meetings.

Most of the information to be provided on the blog, is already available but is not available at a single place. We shall provide a short summary with appropriate web links. The whole idea is to provide authentic information, in a well-researched fashion, at a single location.

Who will provide guidance:  Volunteer groups to be formed from  Indian associations, regional cultural groups, college alumni associations, religious organizations, well-settled residents etc.

Type of support: Guidance for obtaining all legally available help from recognized official bodies, self-help groups, community groups and community volunteers.

Specific beneficiary groups/stakeholders: 

       Potential students planning to come to Australia for studies,  

Existing students enrolled in Australia

Spouses of students;

Employees of Indian companies, coming on long and short 

term stints;

Skilled Immigrants coming for jobs in Australia;

Entrepreneurs wishing to set-up companies in Australia;

Parents of residents (temporary or permanent) coming for staying in Australia; 

Topics to be covered for guidance and assistance:

Help and guidance for selection of colleges/courses;

Residential alternatives for short periods;

Local guardians for support and guidance;

Emergency medical and legal assistance;

Indian sub-continent food locations – specific regional cuisine availability;

Sub-continent events and cultural function schedules;

Sub-continent news and media, both local and from sub-continent;

Sub-continent consular assistance;

Local culture guidance for better assimilation;

English language training facilities available to immigrants;

RTA and Driving License guidance;

Banking and insurance guidance;

Religious places for worship;

Immigration and visa guidance;

Local and federal government benefits and assistance programs.

We plan to take up each topic and discuss various aspects with appropriate web links. Readers are welcome to raise comments and requests for specific information. As all help is provided by volunteers, readers should have patience. It would be helpful to readers if they first do their own research based on the information and web links provided, so that they can raise specific issues.

We welcome suggestions from all our readers to respond to our above suggested initiative to make it best suitable for the community.

Sincerest regards,

Pravin Gupta

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