We got it!
I'm now on holiday in Oz - more about this later. This post is just to say that we finally got the Visa!!!!! We checked our e-mail while we was in Singapore and we've got an e-mail to say the visa has been granted. What a relief! After 18 months of hassle we can finally put the house up for sale and make serious plans for leaving.
Of course the added bonus is that while we're here on holiday we can do a proper recce knowing we're actually going to be living here.