Marisawright

Bear in mind that you'll be spending your first month in a holiday home or AirBnB, and the best suburb for your famliy might actually be miles away from where you thought it would be. Unless you've lived there before, it's almost impossible to choose the right area before you arrive! If you rush your daughter into school, then find you can't afford the suburb you've chosen, or you realise you'd be much happier somewhere else, that's going to be more disruptive than letting her stay off school while you do your research. Everything will be new and exciting so I doubt very much she'll be bored. No one is going to come chasing you if she's not in school for the first month or two As Quoll says, arriving in the Australian school holidays might seem to offer a solution, but I wouldn't arrive until mid-January because so many real estate agents close down over Christmas/early January so you can't house-hunt, and employers aren't looking for staff. The British school holidays might be better because she'll be ready for a break.

I wonder if the constant UTI's are on of the reasons for her bed wetting? I used to be very susceptible and every time I had a UTI, I had problems with bladder control. In fact, I'd often have a slight infection which had no symptoms - and I'd know because I would leak. The thing that was a lifesaver for me was D-Mannose. I'm not one to use alternative therapies so I was very dubious about it, but it changed my life. Antibiotics can set up a cycle so you're never quite clear of it - I bet she hasn't had 3 UTI's in 8 weeks, it's the same infection that's not being killed off properly. Been there! Apart from spending a bit of money, there's no risk to using D-Mannose as it's an inert powder with no side effects. So it's worth a try. https://www.sweet-cures.com/

Yes, people do let their cats out. Like I said, there are risks which don't exist in the UK, but people just accept that. Also, a great many people are either ignorant of the risk to wildlife or refuse to believe their cat would ever kill anything. Studies following cats at night have shown that they do kill (and the owners of the cats in the studies are usually horrified). Having grown up with smaller animals your cat may be different, but I can never understand why people are surprised their carnivorous cat might be a natural hunter. http://www.safecat.org.au/ The biggest consideration when bringing a cat is probably the cost. The cat's air fare will be more than yours. On a side note, I'm curious how you can plan for migration in 2021 with such confidence. Do you already have a visa but are just delaying your arrival?

It wouldn't be in any way dishonest to say you are going as a tourist. You are a tourist, which means a temporary visitor. You are visiting Australia temporarily, on holiday, while awaiting the grant of your 309. If the tourist visa expires and the 309 hasn't been granted yet, your holiday is over and you have to go home. To say you're not a tourist is saying that you plan to stay permanently. You can't make any such plans yet, because you don't know if your 309 will be granted. So you can't be anything else but a tourist.

Two possibilities. You have a depressed immune system, or you have allergies. A couple of simple things to try. Buy a Ventolin inhaler at the chemist. Next time you have a cough, take two puffs (wait a minute or two between puffs). If that stops the cough, you've developed mild asthma and need to see your doctor. Buy some Zyrtec or other anti-histamine and try taking that. If it helps clear your head/nose, that suggests it's allergies not a cold.

Tax records would be better evidence than bank account, do those go back any further? Jsmull is probably right. To qualify, you normally need qualifications AND experience. If you've got no qualifications, then you need extra experience to compensate for that.

Another thought to consider is that Allied Pickfords is quoting to put your stuff in a shared container with other people, which means there's more risk of stuff going missing. Interesting that the Movecube driver helped you, Amber - I wonder if that's always the case? We had a Taxibox once (a local equivalent). The driver didn't help at all and we found it a very stressful process. The box arrived in the morning and we had only a few hours to get it filled. Although we had done a test pack it was still really hard to work out how best to pack stuff in. We realised too late that we should have bought more packing blankets and other padding for the furniture. We also realised that we are getting too old to handle such heavy work!

Yes it is the same. Comparethemarket.com.au Canstarblue.com.au iselect.com.au There are government sites - energymadeeasy.gov.au and compare.energy.vic.gov.au

I’ve never experienced that, again it may depend which state you’re in

If you know the address then I don't see why you can't ring them now.

The shipping company will require the person who books the job to make the declaration for the whole consignment. Which means you have to find someone willing to declare on your behalf. I can imagine a friend doing that for you, but I can't imagine any stranger being willing to do so.

If he's mainly an indoor cat , then he'll probably be fine. You may find he becomes even more of an indoor cat because of the heat in summertime. The risk of snakes, ticks and spiders is higher in Australia, of course, but it's only a risk not a certainty! You might feel more comfortable putting a cat run in the garden, preferably in a shady spot, so he can move around and play in the fresh air without worrying about snakes. Personally I'm always more worried about what the cat might do to our vulnerable wildlife, but if you keep him in from before dusk until dawn, (when the wildlife is most active) he won't do much harm. It looks like Royal Canin is available in Australia http://www.royalcanin.com.au/

They don't make a private arrangement with each other. The shipping company arranges each one separately and gets separate declarations from each customer. Seven Seas sends boxes. https://www.sevenseasworldwide.com

Of course your 13 year old was thinking that way, he hadn't been in England long enough to form any friendships that were equal to his Australian ones. If you had stayed longer, that would have changed, and then his thinking would've been less clear-cut. It seems to me you've got a short window, while they're young enough not to have a choice, to bring them back to England. If your eldest could have three years in a British school, he'll have made friends he'd like to go to uni with in England, too. Australia might still win but it's not guaranteed - which it will be, if you stay.

You say "second hand is fine", as if there might be a new alternative. You do realise that in Australia, even a small car costs around $20,000 brand new?

Vritually every property that's for rent in Australia is listed on domain.com.au and realestate.com.au. No one advertises in the newspapers any more. Spend the week before your visit hunting through those websites for suitable properties, and make a shortlist. You'll find they are all "open for inspection" on a Saturday. They'll be open for 15 to 30 minutes. If you are lucky, some may have a second inspection time on a weekday, again for 15 to 30 minutes. It's hard to persuade agents to give you personal inspections at other times. The result is that although you might visit for a week, in reality that gives you only one day (Saturday) to look for a rental place, and you will have to plan your day like a military operation, to get from one inspection to another. It's such a tall order, most people don't even attempt it. The normal process for new arrivals is to book into an AirBnB, holiday let or even a caravan park for a month when they first arrive, and look for a rental from there.

realestate.com.au and domain.com.au are the best places to find a rental property. Most real estate agents don't even bother to advertise in the newspapers or magazines any more. Homely.com.au is a good place to get reviews of suburbs.

You can access your super from the UK. The only downside is tax. 1. If you stay in Australia until you retire, you can take your lump sum tax-free and put it in the bank. Then it's just regarded as "savings", and you can do what you like with it when you subsequently move to the UK - no tax payable either end. 2. If you leave Australia before you retire, taking a lump sum becomes unfeasible because you'd lose so much to the British taxman, so you'll need to convert it to a pension. If you stayed in Australia, that would be tax-free, but in the UK you'll have to declare it and it will be taxed as income. TBH if you feel England is your home, I wouldn't be planning on option 1, even if it does save tax. So much can change, especially health-wise. We've seen far too many retirees on these forums who stayed in Australia too long and now feel stuck, for one reason or another. The Australian govt pension is better than the British one, but it's means-tested. It's not a scheme you pay into, like the British one - it's a benefit, like unemployment benefit, and only intended for those who can't support themselves. If you've got a decent superannuation balance and savings, you may not be eligible for it anyway. Personally, I like to know that it's there as a safety net, in case I live a long time and run out of super, though! If you have paid into the British system, you are entitled to the British pension regardless of your other income - but you need to have paid into the system. You need 35 years' worth of contributions to get the full amount. If, like me, you feel a safety net is a good idea, then it would be wise to start paying Class 2 NI contributions now, and backpay six years' worth, so you can build up an entitlement to the British pension for your old age.

There is no visa designed for people waiting for another visa, because you're supposed to wait offshore till it's granted. If you want to go over for a visit while you're waiting, then you just get an ordinary tourist visa. If the 309 hasn't come through by the end of the tourist visa, then you have to go home again.

I don't know the legalities, but if you are hired by the SA company and recorded as employed at the SA office, then it would seem unreasonable to object if you were sent to other offices/locations to work from time to time. Lots of people have to travel interstate as part of their duties. I suppose if you were officially employed in SA and then spent the next nine months working in WA, Immigration might have something to say. But provided your official base is in SA and you're being sent out from there,

NSW for one.

Of course the capital gains are an important part of it, but I wonder how many people are making a real loss on the rent, and relying entirely on capital gains? I can see how that would have worked well in recent years while the market's been going crazy, but it wouldn't be wise for anyone to invest on that basis now, for instance. I had investment properties for many years. I made a profit from the rent on every single one of them. When it came time to submit my tax return, I was able to claim a loss on every single one of them - to the point where I got all my PAYE tax (on my salary) refunded some years. Purely because of the way the depreciation laws work here.

In that case, it looks like it's the landlord's choice whether to pass on the cost: https://www.watercorporation.com.au/home/business/property-and-settlement-agents/billing In some other states, the landlord doesn't get to choose.

It varies depending on the state you live in.

It would be great to know which part of Australia you're in. It's great to hear how well your move turned out, but in many parts of Australia, that house by the sea wouldn't be an option because of the price1