Top 6 Things To Organise Before Moving To Australia
Looking to relocate to Australia? PeachT can help make your international move as easy as possible.
Comparatively speaking, Australia is a great place to live. Cities like Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane are some of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Understandibly, many people worldwide apply to live and work here. PeachT specialises in international home relocation and car shipping Australia for when you decide to make the move.
Moving to a new country is a significant change in someone’s life. Although it is very exciting, it can also be quite stressful. We thought we’d make it a little easier with a list of things to sort out before moving to Australia.
Without further adieu, here are 6 things to organise before moving to Australia:
- Immigration Requirements
- Content Relocation & Travel
- Accommodation
- Employment
- Studying in Australia
- Driving & Public Transport in Australia
These topics should be on the top of the consideration list prior to moving to Australia. Ideally, you’d want to plan between 3 to 6 months in advance to make the move as stress-free as possible. Most importantly, you must check on your visa requirements and the application waiting time ahead of time. You will also need to account for university application times if you are planning to study here.
It may even be a good idea to visit Australia before deciding to make the move permanent. You can get first-hand experience in all aspects of living in Australia and decide whether it’s for you or not.
Immigration Requirements
Naturally, you must check and apply for any visas necessary to immigrate and live in Australia. Here are some of the most common types of visas to move to Australia:
Study visa options are for those who are looking to study full-time in Australia. More often than not, these are university students. Generally, student visas allow you to stay in Australia for up to 5 years in line with your enrolment.
Work visa options give you the ability to work and live in Australia. They can be on a short or long-term basis and applicable to many industries. They can apply to seasonal or working holiday applicants or highly skilled and specialised workers.
Partner or family visas allow close relatives to be reconnected and able to live and work in Australia. Circumstances can vary from a partner to a child, caring for a sick relative, or joining other close family members.
Visit and tourism visas are for people looking to come to Australia for a holiday, an event, or visiting someone. Tourist visas can be granted for a stay of 3, 6, or 12 months.
Refugee and humanitarian visas are for people who are subject to persecution in their home country or face substantial discrimination.
There are other visas offered by the Australian government in addition to the ones listed above. Importantly, each visa has specific requirements that you must meet in order to be considered for and approved. Speaking to an immigration advisor may be the best option to navigate and expedite the visa application process.
The information in this article is to be used only as a guide. For the most accurate and up-to-date information on visa options you must visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
Content Relocation & Travel
You must organise your flights if you haven’t done so already. Generally speaking, the earlier you purchase your ticket ahead of moving date, the cheaper you can get them for.
Depending on your circumstances, you may decide to move some household items and vehicles too. Whether you are a family, a business relocation, or own a prized vehicle, organising shipping ahead of schedule is crucial. Shipping is often much cheaper than transporting your household goods and vehicles by air. However, it does take much longer as you would expect. Shipping and logistics from New Zealand can take up to a month and from UK can take around two months. Thus, it’s important to consider and fit around your schedule and plan before moving to Australia.
PeachT is a freight forwarder specialising in international relocations. We offer both car shipping and home relocation services. Australia has strict eligibility and documentation regulation, thus it’s important you have a specialist in your corner.
In regards to international home relocation, PeachT offers all-inclusive container shipping services. This means that we can arrange pick-up, packing, shipping space, and delivery through to you in Australia. If the dates don’t quite align, we can also arrange storage for you. Essentially, work with you at every step of the way to make it as hassle and stress-free as possible.
Importing cars to Australia is a slightly different process. You may have an option to ship within a container along with some household items or via the RoRo method. These options vary depending on the loading and unloading ports and space availability. Here’s a list of some of the most common routes we ship to and from:
Accommodation
Online marketplaces such as realestate.com.au are a great place to start looking and planning for long-term accommodation. There you have to the opportunity to look at thousands of listings to buy or rent depending on your circumstances. Moreover, you can browse listings across Australia from the major cities to more remote areas.
Housing affordability is poor and prices are high when measuring up with comparable countries. According to a 2021 breakdown by AMP Capital, house prices in major cities are 7.7 times the median yearly household income. That is comparatively higher than 4.8 in the UK and 4.2 in the US.
Buying a house in any of the 8 capital cities, you’re looking at an average price tag over $1 million. Regional property prices are lower at an average price of under $700,000. In 2021, property prices rose around 20% in a year on average.
Source: AMP Capital
Therefore, to purchase a property in Australia you must have significant capital and/or a stable and high paying job. Calculating your affordability can be done online through most of the major lenders like ANZ, AMP, and Westpac. Typically, your serviceability for a loan is calculated on two main factors. One, you should have a cash deposit (or equity) of 20% of the property purchase price. Secondly, your income is calculated against your expenses and repayment amounts to ensure serviceability at multiple interest rate stress levels.
Alternatively, you can look to rent a property in the short or long term. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, renting is seen as affordable in most regions. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, are seen as having acceptable rent affordability. While Adelaide is seen as having moderately unaffordable rents, and Hobard is classed with unaffordable rents.
Employment
If your immigration status allows you to work in Australia, you may consider finding a part-time or full-time job. For example, some working visas require an Australian employer to act as a sponsor by offering you a full-time job as part of your visa application.
Employment opportunities across Australia are relatively good. There is high demand particularly for high skilled labour in industries such as technology. On the official skilled occupation list, jobs in the engineering, accounting, and science industries also feature. For the full up-to-date list you can check out the official Department of Home Affairs website. As of June 2022, the unemployment rate is at it’s lowest level since May 2012 at 3.9%. Moreover, job vacancies in Australia as of February 2022 are estimated at 423,500.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure your CV is up to date and begin your job search. Seek is a great place to start your search and apply for jobs that align with your skill set. There you will find thousands of positions advertised in a broad range of sectors from mining, corporate jobs, and farming. You should check the immigration status criteria before you apply for a job. Your best chance of getting an offer will be through listings that match your current immigration status.
Alternatively, you may look to start your own business here in Australia. You can check the official government guide to starting a business on their website. Amongst many things on the checklist, you will need to register an Australian business number (ABN) unique to your business. The ABN essentially works as an identification number for your business.
Studying in Australia
Oftentimes, your student visa application will go hand in hand with an application to an approved education provider. Although Covid-19 and border closures impacted the number of approvals, student visas are a significant pathway to live in Australia.
Source: Department of Home Affairs – Student visa and Temporary Graduate visa program report December 2011
The majority of applications and approvals are within the tertiary education sector. Thus, here are the top 5 universities in Australia based on the QS Top Universities 2023 rankings:
AU Rank: 1 / Global Rank: 30 – The Australian National University (ANU)
ANU is Australia’s top-ranked university established in 1946 and is located in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. ANU offers degrees in engineering and computer science, business, law, sciences, health studies, and arts, society and culture.
AU Rank: 2 / Global Rank: 33 – The University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne was established in 1853 and is located in the world-renowned city of Melbourne. Some of the undergraduate degrees available here are in the fields of commerce, arts, music, agriculture, languages, science and medicine.
AU Rank: 3 / Global Rank: 41 – The University of Sydney
Founded in 1850, the University of Sydney is ranked 1st in Australia for graduate employability. It offers 95 undergraduate programs and 228 postgraduate programs.
AU Rank: 4 / Global Rank: 45 – The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)
USNW Sydney was established in 1949 and boasts over 64,000 students from over 130 countries. It offers 116 undergraduate programs and 127 postgraduate programs.
AU Rank: 5 / Global Rank: =50 – The University of Queensland (UQ)
UQ was founded in 1910 and places a strong focus on teaching and learning excellence. It is one of Australia’s leading research universities and offers 116 undergraduate programs and 209 postgraduate programs.
Driving & Public Transport in Australia
The vast majority of cars in Australia are right-hand drive, although you are able to register a left-hand drive vehicle. If you are moving to Australia from the UK, New Zealand, or Japan, adjusting will be relatively easy. Moreover, we can arrange car shipping UK to Australia or from anywhere else if you want to import your vehicle.
Eligibility to drive in Australia with an overseas licence will vary state by state. Generally speaking, you may be able to drive on an overseas licence for up to 3 months (6 in Victoria). Thereafter, you will need to get a local driver’s licence. If your licence is not written in English, you will either need to carry an international driver’s licence. Alternatively, you can get your overseas licence formally translated by an approved translator such as NAATI. You must check with the local state authority for the most up-to-date and correct information on driving eligibility.
Public transport options available in Australia range from buses, ferries, trains, and trams. Depending on where you live, you will encounter a combination of the aforementioned options as well as taxis and Uber.
Gone are the days when you needed to carry paper tickets everywhere you went. Here is a list of public transport options available in each capital city in Australia and prevalent card systems:
- Brisbane: Translink Go Card for use on buses, ferries, and trains.
- Sydney: Opal Card for use on buses, ferries, trams, and trains.
- Melbourne: myki for use on buses, trams, and trains.
- Hobart: Metro Greencard for use on buses.
- Canberra: MyWay for use on buses.
- Adelaide: Metro Card for use on buses, trams, and trains.
- Perth: SmartRider for use on buses, trams, and trains.
- Darwin: Tap & Ride Card for use on buses.
