funkee frog... My DH had to go back to the UK to apply for his visa to immigrate here. I met him while he was on a 12mth working visa. He had overstayed his visa (long story) and was advised to go off shore to apply for the immigration visa, even though we were married. I was informed by the immigration dept, that if I was pregnant he would have been able to stay here and apply for it, he would have been granted a bridging visa until the spousal visa was approved. Your DP will not be eligible for any benefits until he has been here for 4 year - two years temp residency, then two year permenent residency. after that he will eligible to apply for australian citizenship and be able to apply for centrelink benefits if required. When DH first came back after his temp res visa was approved, he had to find a job, and as he couldnt recieve benefits we were entitled to be classified under section 24 which meant that I was able to recieve full parenting payment, and FTB. the only reason I found out about section 24 was because I was going to uni with someone who worked for centrelink. it isn't well known - and won't be offered up unless you ask about it. basically if you are going to be put into financial hardship because your partner is unemployed, and can't receive benefits, it means that you can. look it up on the centrelink website. The whole immigration process is hard and stressful. good luck with it!