Relocating to Australia (during Covid!)

[PipersOrange]

Work have just dropped a bombshell and offered my relocation to Australia this year (September / October). It's been a dream for a while but I hadn't really looked into the specifics. Has anyone done similar? Do you regret it?

Single parent, 6yo. What is reasonable to ask for as part of the relocation - short term accommodation when I get there? Help with school fees (not free for visa holders)? Covering the costs of putting my flat up for rent? Need to give a decision by the end of the month!

Oh and health insurance. Visas etc were sorted by personnel

Airside customs in Sydney have been told there will likely be no incoming long haul flights until early January at least, so the chances of your relocation happening this year are nil.

@PipersOrange

As others have implied or said you really need your company to be on top of this because so much has changed in the last 6 months and I'm not sure how much an individual can achieve ATM...

Changes include Visas, quarantine (now your own/employers expense) and also the current paucity of flights into Oz from pretty much anywhere - certainly from Europe.

Good Luck...hope it works out.

I would think your chances of getting in this year are pretty slim tbh, between the new restrictions around arrival numbers (and that is for citizens and those who hold PR) and the inevitable tightening of business visas as companies are encouraged to hire locals. You need proper advice around this before you start planning on uprooting your life, not just an optimistic HR department! I would probably start by contacting the Australian Embassy in London.

If you do get past those hurdles it is a fantastic opportunity. As you have seen though Sydney is eye wateringly expensive (yes those rental prices are weekly, not monthly) so you need to negotiate the best deal possible. You will have to have private health insurance as that will be a condition of a business visa, but for normal GP visits etc. you will use Medicare. The system is very different to the UK though as there is nearly always a "gap payment".

You will have to pay school fees for public schools so you need that covered as a minimum (you will also have to pay for books, stationery, uniform and the school contribution which varies from school to school so factor those in) - as a single parent I would really push for private school fees as that would help with wraparound care, public schools usually have long waiting lists for before/after school care where it is available. Private school fees are a lot more affordable here, and there are a number of layers of options. They also tend to be more flexible around admissions and year of entry, 6 is compulsory school age here so your child might have done two years of schooling in the UK but be classed as a Kindy kid here depending on birthday, If you were a citizen or had PR you would be guaranteed a place at your local public school but in some of the more popular areas for Expats the public schools are now refusing to take kids on temporary visas if they are oversubscribed so make sure you check that out before signing a rental agreement.

If you are going straight into work you will need four weeks rent covered as it could easily take you that long to find a rental. Don't rely on maps to work out commuting time, depending on your mode of travel what looks like a 20 minute journey can easily be an hour. The. Rites has Expats site is a great source of information on the details. Feel free to ask any more questions here 😊

Sorry, that was long and it should have read British Expats website!

Make sure your return flights and the container is covered in the contract.
We moved out to Oz in 2011 and stayed for two years. Dh was made redundant. The flights were covered but the bastards didn’t pay for the return shipping of our stuff. That took a chunk out of his redundancy money 😡