Australia looking better and better to more Brits

With the UK jobless rate at a 12-year high of 7.2%, it’s not surprising that tens of thousands of Brits are preparing to follow in the footsteps of those numerous Aussies who have ‘upped stumps’ and headed home to an economy which has eschewed recession.

Not everyone can come to the party though. Australian immigration policies continue to be tailored to particular skills and professional qualifications and experience.

An example is the Mercer family from the Wirral, who are set to move to Australia this year.

"My expectation is that Australia is a land of opportunities where hard work will be recognised in a way that I think it is taken for granted here," says Tony Mercer, 31, whose property business went bust when he was caught in the eye of the economic storm last year.

Despite being an aircraft engineer by trade, his skills did not meet the qualifying criteria because he had not worked in that area in recent years. Instead, the Mercers secured the points needed to move to Australia because his hairdresser wife, Jane, has an in-demand skills set.

With two children, seven-year-old Samuel and Jessica, four, the Mercers' preferred location is Adelaide in South Australia, the star-performing regional economy in the country.

Will Morrin, a 38-year-old from Glasgow who was made redundant last year from his job as a broker, is about to embark on a three-year radiography degree in Newcastle, New South Wales, even though he was accepted for a similar degree here with no fees to pay. "I have savings and had been doing a bit of thinking so I sold the car and the house. Weighing it up, what's important is the quality of life," he says.

"Weather is the number one draw, and getting away from the rat race. I think that things in the UK will only get worse."

Once qualified in a sought-after profession, he may stay for four years to qualify for Australian citizenship.