Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Moving to Oz in August - what do I need to do?

74 replies

Lisyloo725 · 18/05/2021 13:05

Hi ladies!
My husband is within touching distance of a job offer in Oz, in a role that they are allowing ‘into Oz’ at the moment (there is a priority migration list). The company sort the visa and pay for quarantine etc. They expect it will take circa 3 months.

So, on about 18th Aug, I could be on a plane out there. I have two kids (7 and 3) and one on the way (due October). We have a house we intend to rent out. We have a car it’s not worth taking.

What do I need to do / plan / buy over the next 12 weeks? As soon as the job is offered I’ll want to pounce on my list - and I’m coming to you all to help me compile it (please) 🙏🏻

Any tips/thoughts appreciated

OP posts:
Lisyloo725 · 18/05/2021 13:08

So far I’ve:
-Got a few (hugely varying) quotes for removals via container
-Got a rental valuation for the house
-Renewed a passport that was out of date soon
-Looked at apartments we can rent short term for immediately after quarantine but before we find our rental
-Looked at flights prices/availability

OP posts:
Thefourthcraw · 19/05/2021 00:23

Hi @Lisyloo725! I am in Melbourne and moving back to the U.K. in August, just as you are moving the other way. Where in Australia will you be moving to? Is it a permanent move or time limited? We had to change our mortgage to a buy to let one and get landlord insurance for our U.K. house. You might want to get some storage in the U.K. too if you don’t want to take all your belongings. I will have a think about your list, but you will need a print out of your kids’ medical records to show what vaccinations they have had as they will need different vaccines in keeping with the Australian schedule. Consider health insurance if it’s not covered by employers. Also we opened a bank account in Oz before we left. You may need to rent furniture etc for your house in Oz before your container arrives. Ours took 9 weeks to get here.

Do you have a choice where you quarantine? I think I would go for Howard Springs in the Northern Territory if I got a choice!

TheSandgroper · 19/05/2021 00:51

Rentals all over the country are really difficult. Get the company to organise it. Over 300k Australians have come back in the last year and they all needed somewhere to live.

Ditto with cars.

I will write more in a bit.

sunbunnydownunder · 19/05/2021 00:59

where are you going as that will have a baring on some things to bring. Stock up in the summer sales for clothes. We are in Perth and the my kids are in summer weight clothes a lot of the year. If you know what type of school your 7 year old is going to you can pick up shoes. The private schools are quite stricted on proper shoes the public schools the kids wear trainers. Pick up summer shoes too, the choice can be a bit limited and expensive especially for Clarks.

TheSandgroper · 19/05/2021 01:30

You don't say what state/area you will end up in. Knowing that would be helpful. I reiterate what I said above about rentals (and even buying). www.realestate.com.au will give you some idea. Stories of 40 or more cars queuing for a rental home open are common now.

Flights are really difficult to get a seat on. Don't burn your bridges in the UK until you absolutely have to.

Bank accounts www.commbank.com.au/moving-to-australia.html?ei=segm_mta
www.nab.com.au/search?term=overseas+banking are just two of the banks.

Shopping shop.coles.com.au/a/national/home?cid=cdc:top-nav:shop-online
www.woolworths.com.au are the two main supermarkets. Aldi is around if you want to pay a couple of old German blokes and IGA supermarkets are independent.

Schooling - every state school has to take every child from catchment that turns up on their doorstep. Then there is the Catholic system and then other private schools. Some take children from 3 years old part time.

Otherwise www.playgroupaustralia.org.au will have local groups. Look at www.toylibraries.org.au/

Australia isn't all warm sunshine. You are likely to need good warm clothes when you think about packing because you plan to come in winter.

When you have your baby, your hospital will pass your details on to your local child health nurse who will do your checks until 3 years old and facilitates mothers groups for the first few months.

When/if you know where you will be living, go to your local government website (City/shire). They have lots of information.

www.ato.gov.au/ DH will need at Tax File Number first thing. I assume his company can help with this.

PM at any time. I'm in Perth fwiw. Good luck.

Rainbowqueeen · 19/05/2021 01:49

Check the rules on what you can bring and what condition it needs to be in. Friends who have moved to Oz have said you need to clean out the inside of your Hoover so it’s spotless, clean any outdoor sports gear.

Declutter.

Check what kind of visa your DH will have. Under some, you need to pay for your kids to go to public school

timeisnotaline · 19/05/2021 02:00

Agree check rules on types of thingsyou can bring in. I only accepted quotes from movers that would come eyeball the house to get a proper estimate of how much stuff we had.
Do the company help? And do overseas people get Medicare/centrelink? Because you need your vaccination evidence approved to send children to school. If a local the gp uploads it to Medicare online, not sure how that works if you don’t get Medicare, hopefully company can explain. That was our number one priority.

Cormoran · 19/05/2021 05:29

My advice is to spend a lot of time with families and friends because it will be a while ( years?) because you are allowed out of the country.
The cities are not in lockdown but the country is locked in, with people not able to leave or come unless exceptional conditions.

And bring wool clothes. For a country that has more sheep than humans , it is very hard to find nice and good quality wool items.

TheHoneyFactory · 19/05/2021 06:25

Check whether your kids need catch up vaccines to attend school/playgroups etc. if I remember correctly Aus has more child vaccinations (chicken pox etc) and you need to be up to date to/before access public services/school etc

You will prob get better/ specific advice if you say what state - such a variance between the states and territories

Pythonesque · 19/05/2021 06:42

In your position id be checking very carefully what you need to do for antenatal care and delivery. I'm out of touch with current rules and systems in Australia, but knowing what your health care entitlements will be and what to expect to pay for, insurances etc, will be important.

Also, if your visa gets delayed beyond the suggested timeline or, more likely, you have difficulties with flights, you could easily get too close to your due date to fly. I'd seek specific advice immediately you have the offer to make sure that things can be expedited promptly. Even in normal times I'd have been worried about the potential for delays but of course these are not normal times.

Having said all that, good luck and I hope it works out for you all.

People are right to say check what you can take. I think painted wooden toys should be ok, but customs has a long history of being very difficult over anything made out of plant material that could possibly carry insects etc. Think about baskets for example. Some stuff can be treated (at expense), some stuff may be destroyed. Check advice and if in doubt leave it behind.

Lisyloo725 · 19/05/2021 12:14

Hi everyone!! Thank you so much for your responses!!
We will be heading for Sydney (living in suburbs) on a temporary 482 visa.
I have heard that this means I need to pay for state school, so I would be keen to look to private options and the cost is not always that much greater.
The antenatal care does concern me - as here I will be having a c section due to my placenta sticking last time. I’d like to get a letter from the consultant here that says c section is necessary as I fear that I’ll be forced to try and push baby out on Medicare.
We should get Medicare as we’ll be coming from the uk.
Thanks for pointing out we can’t throw away all of our cold weather gear - I’m a cold person so I’ll certainly make sure that goes into the cases that we’ll have straight away!
The availability of rentals also concerns me. We will get a hotel apartment for immediately after the quarantine for eg four weeks, but after that I’ll be getting very close to popping so I know that’ll be stressful trying to secure a rental in that state/with a very young baby if things run over.
The removal quote chap outlined items we can’t take - rattan and I’ve got to varnish some wood (or not take it!)
Thanks for the immunisation tips. I’ll look that up and see what the kids have had/need and sort here ASAP.
X x

OP posts:
Cormoran · 19/05/2021 20:58

It was some years back, but I seem to remember that your container cannot leave until you are in the country so there will be a two- three months delay for your stuff to arrive . This means you will be renting a house without furniture, bedding, plates, ... unless you are in an AirBnb
We bought some cheap furniture for the interim at ikea, bought essentials (vacuum, kettle, washing machine, ...) , which we then sold, gave away.

You need to be aware that airlines will prioritise business and first class tickets, because there is a limit to the number of passengers they can carry. It is a very common occurrence that they will dump economy class ticket holders it the chance to fly a more expensive tickets occur.
You also need to be aware that more than once, in case of a community transmission, some states have suspended international arrivals.

Houses are very cold. They don't have radiators, like we have in Europe. IF and it is a big IF, a house has some heating system is will be aircon or if you are lucky a gas bayonet to which you will attach a Rinnai heater .
I am on the northern Beaches and one morning as I was driving my son to a 7 am class, we had to scrap the ice from windshield. It happened only once and I remember my son asking what it was. We had to use his "L" sign to remove the ice. So it can get cold.
In winter it will be 5 or 6 in the morning, but because houses here are truly crap, the house will get very cold, very quickly.

Dental care is expensive, you need the private care for that.

Important: ambulance is NOT covered with medicare, but will be covered by private health, which you have to have to get a temporary visa. However, pregnancy will not be covered red because your have a delayed period for that .

When you enrol at the doctor, if you don't want to pay, it has to be a bulk billing doctor. Otherwise, many (the majority?) will charge you around 75-80$ for a short visit and medicare will pay you back $36.

Specialist visits, unless done inside an hospital and here the waiting list is quite long, will be very expensive, around 200-300 and medicare will cover around $70-80 depending on which speciality .
Exams and test such as imaging, again, sometimes free, sometimes (often) not.
For your everyday medical needs, just a GP, for a cough , aches and pains , healthcare system is fine. When you have more complex issues, it will become costly even with the top platinum diamond whatever private health.
Some people mortgage their house for cancer care or take loan for surgeries which are classified as elective even if you are unable to walk.

Rentals are very high and you need to prepare the 100 points ID. Here is an example of what constitutes 100 points. www.health.nsw.gov.au/art/Documents/100-point-id-check.pdf
You will need certified copies for several services.

Car. Depending where you live, you might need 2. So be very careful about transport around you.

Try to negotiate with the employer if they will cover some of the first year expenses.

Sydney is very big, and suburbs will vary. You can have very nice or very ugly.
It will be more expensive near the beach. The norther beaches have very poor public transport as there is no train. South Shore has more transport options.

The cheapest private will probably be Catholic I think.

Lisyloo725 · 19/05/2021 21:28

@Cormoran thank you for that link. I was not aware of that list - very useful - I will print and keep safe.

OP posts:
Cormoran · 19/05/2021 21:56

Here is a list of "who" can certify your copy.
www.police.nsw.gov.au/safety_and_prevention/policing_in_the_community/retired_police_officer_id/retired_id/who_can_certify_my_documents
Usually the company's accountant will do that, but once I had to do it last minute, so I just went inside the police station and the police officer at the desk did it right there and then.

Lisyloo725 · 19/05/2021 22:02

Oh I can’t make copies and get them certified here in the uk?
Thank you

OP posts:
Cormoran · 19/05/2021 22:03

I don't think so.

Cormoran · 19/05/2021 22:06

Someone more knowledgeable might step in. I looked up for more detailed links and it doesn't mention foreign certifiers
www.abf.gov.au/licensing-subsite/files/100-points-identification-guidelines.pdf

blahblahblah2000 · 19/05/2021 22:24

Finding a rental in Sydney can take time.

Also plan what to do stuck in a hotel for two weeks with the kids for quarantine and be aware the quarantine time is occasionally extended another week or if there is a covid outbreak in that hotel.

Remaker · 19/05/2021 22:31

I live in Sydney and am Australian but my husband is English. He’s been here for 25 years. Where in Sydney will your husband be working? This will help narrow down where you’ll live. You don’t want to waste hours every day commuting instead of enjoying the lifestyle.

What month was your 7 year old born and what grade are they currently in at school? The Australian school year runs Jan-Dec and kids start older than in the UK. If their birthday is Jan-July you have the choice to send them at either 4 turning 5 or 5 turning 6. If they’re born in the latter half of the year they start at 5. In “nicer” areas most parents choose to wait until they’re older.

Cormoran · 19/05/2021 22:46

A bit of info on quarantine here www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/12/getting-ready-for-quarantine-a-guide-to-the-final-step-in-coming-home-a-guide-to-the-final-step-in-coming-home-part-1-before-you-depart.pdf

While checking in, you might want to ask how much you have to pay for a window that opens to allow fresh air. www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-19/hotel-quarantine-guests-charged-up-to-1400-extra-for-balcony/13067440

Can you arrange for someone to drop Australian SIM cards to you, so you can start making calls, using hotspot, ...?

You can read a bit more about return travellers experience and tips here forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/149

Once stuck inside hotel, spend some time on that forum real estate page on how to fill up the inspection report when you rent. It has helped me tremendously .

MoppaSprings · 19/05/2021 23:05

The rental market is quite competitive, so you may need references. I would see if there is anything your mortgage company can give to show payments on time. Also be aware some of the rental paperwork is insane, they want to know everything.

Furniture is expensive here. So I would bring as much as you can. It can be really expensive here for furniture. Even second hand stuff can be expensive.
Things like washing machines and fridge/freezers aren’t standard in a rental ( at least not on SALE not sure about NSW) so factor that expense in.

School fees for 482 visa are around $5400 for primary.
We choose a catholic school and pay just over $3000 a year. This also meant that we could keep our kids in the same year level they were at in the uk, instead of having to drop down a year.

What is the plan going forward is it to stay for 2/4 years then return? Or do you want a route to PR?

silentpool · 19/05/2021 23:12

You won't get the same wide choice of clothes or stuff in general (although some UK brands will deliver to Aus) so it's worth doing some shopping. In terms of random things I've discovered on my return:

  • My UK TV didn't work here, I needed to get a set top box to view TV but it doesn't pick up free to air TV (I use catch up apps).
  • My small appliances work and it's very easy to replace plugs, especially the kettle cord/printer cable type.
  • Australian houses are freezing during winter so that's a surprise.
  • The medical system (Medicare) is great, so much nicer than the NHS.
  • With regards to shipping of household goods, mine left the UK before me but I did not receive them for 4.5 months. So plan ahead, ask your husband's employer for an allowance to ship some stuff by air. Also, Australian customs is very strict so take advice from your movers. Outdoor stuff, shoes, sporting equipment, vacuum cleaners (anything that poses a biosecurity threat) etc is a common issue.
colgatewhite · 19/05/2021 23:59

*Some people mortgage their house for cancer care or take loan for surgeries which are classified as elective even if you are unable to walk.
*
Rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Why do people talk such nonsense when it comes to Australia.

I've lived here my whole life, know a few people who have had cancer treatment (including my mum) and none of them have done any such thing.

You won't be forced to try for a vaginal birth since you've already had a c section.
Get private health cover, it won't cover for baby as there's a wait period but you'll need it for other things. If you want to give birth in a private hospital you can but it will be expensive without the cover.

Otherwise the public system is fine. You won't have to take out a loan Hmm