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Moving to Australia – Everything You Need to Know Before You Move into Your City Apartment

If you are looking at moving to Australia, before you can become settled into your inner City Apartment. There are a number of boxes you must tick before you can unpack your bags. The top things you must do before you arrive include, a Visa locked in, insurance and health cover, savings or a job, a bank account.

Applying for visas or citizenship in Australia

  • For applying for a Visa, The Department of Home Affairs has an excellent website which walks applicants step by step through the requirements and application process for the dozens of visa options.
  • Visa regulations do change regularly, so candidates should check the website for the most current information.Visa application costs do range vastly from A$440 (€ 277) for a working holiday visa to A$8,580 for some of the skilled and investment visas.
  • Migration agents can assist with the application process for an additional fee, but are not essential. If you do go down this avenue make sure your migration agent is registered with the Australian government.
  • Becoming a permanent resident entitles you to Medicare (Australia’s healthcare scheme).
  • If you have a permanent residence, you are entitled to apply for Australian citizenship. This will give you the right to vote, to apply to work in the public service or defence forces, to apply for a passport and to travel freely to and from Australia, to receive help from Australia while overseas if needed, and to register children born overseas as Australian citizens by descent.

Buying a home

  • Regardless of which city in Australia you are moving to, the good places will be snapped up quickly.
  • Buying off the plan is popular with international buyers as the Australian property market is known for being competitive.
  • It is important to do research before you set out to look and have a realistic timeline of how long the process may take.
  • Something to keep in mind when moving to Australia is International removals can take up to 6 weeks to be transported and cleared through customs.

Employment

  • When considering the wage on offer, it is important to compare the net income rather than the gross salary.
  • Employment throughout Australia is projected to increase in nearly all major industries up to May 2022. According to the Labour Market Information Portal, “Health Care and Social Assistance is projected to make the largest contribution to employment growth (increasing by 250,500), followed by Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (126,400), Construction (120,700) and Education and Training (116,200).” These four industries combined are expected to make up more than half of the total employment growth to 2022.
  • In the 12 months to August 2016, the largest increases in trend employment occurred in accommodation and food services, construction, public administration and safety, and health care and social assistance.

Health

  • If you are moving to Australia on a temporary work or study visa, you won’t be covered by Australia’s public health system Medicare. That said, you will be entitled to receive immediate treatment in the public health system for any urgent health issue.
  • Without any type of medical insurance medical hospital admissions, doctors’ fees and visits to dentists, opticians, physiotherapists and other practitioners could end up leaving you out of pocket thousands of dollars.
  • To research the costs for all private health cover the following websites are helpful privatehealth.gov.au or iselect.com.au.
  • If you become a permanent resident, you will be entitled to Medicare services in the public system and can buy the same private health insurance policies as any Australian citizen.

Education

  • Australian children usually start primary school at age 5 or 6  then attend secondary school at 12 years of age, finishing school at 18.
  • Most public schools are open, meaning they take any child in their catchment area, but some require prospective students to sit entrance exams. These schools are seen as more prestigious and often are not open to temporary resident visa holders.
  • Although state schools are technically free, some states charge a fixed tuition fee to temporary visa holders, which can be A$4,000 a year or more for each child.
  • Private school fees cost from between A$23,000 and A$40,000 a year and are usually up to 50 per cent higher for non-residents.

Cost of living

  • The cost of living in Australia is generally somewhat higher most, although it depends where you live and how you live. Groceries tend to be more expensive and electricity costs can be considered high.
  • It’s smart to open a bank account before you get there. You can do this online through any of the main banks: ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac.
  • If you are going to work in Australia, you will need a tax file number (TFN). This can be addressed  through the Australian Taxation Office website once settled in Australia.

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