KC24 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Hi there - I'm new to this site so apologies if there is another more appropriate thread for this. My husband and I are looking to move to Brisbane. We're both qualified solicitors in Scotland and have quite a comfortable lifestyle here, but we know we won't be able to get the same kind of salary in Australia as we need to re-qualify and gain some Australian legal experience first. The plan is to get a paralegal/legal secretary type job and work on getting admitted in QLD part-time. We're not particularly fussed on the type of work we do while we work towards re-qualifying (although a legal job would help us get some experience), but in order to know if this is feasible at all it would be great if anyone had any advice on the minimum salary we'd need for a relatively comfortable lifestyle in Brisbane. Is $120k total household income reasonable to sustain the two of us (or realistic to expect to get)? There are so many variables I know but even a completely ballpark idea would be a huge help! Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy P Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Can't help with how realistic $120k is for your line of work, but that sounds like more than enough to support 2 people comfortably in Brisbane. Obviously depending on how lavish your lifestyle is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC24 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Can't help with how realistic $120k is for your line of work, but that sounds like more than enough to support 2 people comfortably in Brisbane. Obviously depending on how lavish your lifestyle is!Haha no not lavish at all, just enough to live in a nice suburb not too far out, have the odd dinner out and have enough to put away towards buying a place. That’s comforting to hear, everything I read talks about the high cost of living in Australia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 It’s safe to say the cost of living is much the same in both countries, except for the cost of housing which is much more expensive in Australia than in Scotland. So do your research on rental and purchase prices for homes and that will give you an idea. Realestate.com.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy P Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 We have found in our nearly 5 years here we pay less for rates, electricity, and transport than in U.K. Food about the same. The big mistake to make when you are planning is to convert AUD to GBP as a comparison. Look at what a gross annual salary converts into net fortnightly (ATO does one) and build an AUD budget from there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 The difference in house prices depends on where you are moving from and to. My son in a nice suburb north of Brisbane Eaton’s Hill, approx 40 mins to city centre? has a 4 bed 2 bathroom house, large rumpus room, block is over 1000 sq meters, is valued under $600,000. That equates to approximately 326,000 Uk pds. I don’t think that’s over expensive? I assume the closer to the city centre properties will cost more but that is the same every where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopylu Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I don't know what area of law you currently specialise in but you might be able to find a job in a law firm if your skills are in demand. I practised as an overseas qualified lawyer until I got admitte. However, I worked in Energy and Resources where there was a shortage of experienced lawyers in Brisbane in 2008. The firm I worked for sponsored me and paid relocation. You may be able to pick up work in the government sector (eg applying regulations, enforcement action etc) while requalifying. I know another UK lawyer who has done this and she is in no hurry to requalify as she really enjoys the work and can't countenance going back to private practice. I am currently working in house for a government owned corporation (electricity distribution, retail and new technologies) which is a great, relatively stress free environment but less pay than the private sector. It certainly beats the top tier law firms in Brisbane which are not very diverse, are run almost exclusively by middle aged white privately educated men and where mental health issues are rife due to overwork and a bullying culture etc. Coming from Worcestershire, the cost of housing was eye-watering around Brisbane even in early 2009 when we bought and we live out in the area recommended by Ramot. We tripled our mortgage and only gained a fifth bedroom.... If we'd stayed put we would have been mortgage free by now. Just make sure that you do your research before taking the plunge if you currently enjoy life in Scotland, your legal jobs are bearable and you are comfortable financially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC24 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 On 27/01/2019 at 22:27, Marisawright said: It’s safe to say the cost of living is much the same in both countries, except for the cost of housing which is much more expensive in Australia than in Scotland. So do your research on rental and purchase prices for homes and that will give you an idea. Realestate.com.au Thanks Marisa - we've been looking at these websites and you're right, the biggest differential looks like it's going to be monthly rent! At this stage we've got no idea what kind of areas we want to live but budgeting for $700pw seems to be sensible (appreciate there are cheaper places) - does this match with your experience in practice? I've pulled together a very rough and ready budget from various websites and advice from my brother in law (who lives in Wellington Point), but it would be a great help to get some advice on what is a kind of minimum liveable salary in Brisbane from people who have actually lived out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC24 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 I don't know what area of law you currently specialise in but you might be able to find a job in a law firm if your skills are in demand. I practised as an overseas qualified lawyer until I got admitte. However, I worked in Energy and Resources where there was a shortage of experienced lawyers in Brisbane in 2008. The firm I worked for sponsored me and paid relocation. You may be able to pick up work in the government sector (eg applying regulations, enforcement action etc) while requalifying. I know another UK lawyer who has done this and she is in no hurry to requalify as she really enjoys the work and can't countenance going back to private practice. I am currently working in house for a government owned corporation (electricity distribution, retail and new technologies) which is a great, relatively stress free environment but less pay than the private sector. It certainly beats the top tier law firms in Brisbane which are not very diverse, are run almost exclusively by middle aged white privately educated men and where mental health issues are rife due to overwork and a bullying culture etc. Coming from Worcestershire, the cost of housing was eye-watering around Brisbane even in early 2009 when we bought and we live out in the area recommended by Ramot. We tripled our mortgage and only gained a fifth bedroom.... If we'd stayed put we would have been mortgage free by now. Just make sure that you do your research before taking the plunge if you currently enjoy life in Scotland, your legal jobs are bearable and you are comfortable financially. Thanks Loopylu, that’s hugely helpful. We’ve been trying to look into the job market in Brisbane but struggling to find information - the few recruitment agencies who have been in touch have painted a rather bleak picture of our chances of finding qualified legal work as an overseas lawyer (particularly in house roles) but recruitment websites such as Seek seem to indicate that there are a lot of both qualified and paralegal roles going. I’m not really sure how else to research into this to be honest, any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated! I’d be going out there on a 461 visa so the easiest path to PR seems to be a 189 visa which would require requalifying in QLD. I like law but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if I couldn’t do it out there, I’m fairly flexible on what I ultimately do - which is why now is a good time to be thinking about this from my perspective at least! My background is corporate law but I’ve been working in house at an investment management firm for a couple of years now. My husband’s background is litigation doing a lot of work with public sector clients - he’s probably a bit more set on staying in law than I am, but is also keeping an open mind. We’ve spoken a lot about lifestyle and our expectations as we know we wouldn’t be able to command the same salaries as we currently do and we’re aware that it won’t be a matter of copy pasting our current life in Australia. This is part of the attraction to be honest! However, I just wanted a steer from the Forum on what is a liveable salary in Brisbane because we don’t want to uproot to the other side of the world to be struggling to make ends meet. (I’d picked $60k because my brother in law (who lives in Australia) advised 60-70k might be a realistic salary to achieve). (I’ve also just realised I could have responded to all the posts in one post, sorry to spam everyone!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC24 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 On 28/01/2019 at 01:32, ramot said: The difference in house prices depends on where you are moving from and to. My son in a nice suburb north of Brisbane Eaton’s Hill, approx 40 mins to city centre? has a 4 bed 2 bathroom house, large rumpus room, block is over 1000 sq meters, is valued under $600,000. That equates to approximately 326,000 Uk pds. I don’t think that’s over expensive? I assume the closer to the city centre properties will cost more but that is the same every where. Thanks Ramot, you're right that's pretty reasonable particularly given house prices in Edinburgh right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopylu Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 As a lawyer, I would guess that you have done your research on the 461 Visa and the conditions and the timeframes for grant of the visa (minimum 18 months). In case you have not, one of the key things to be aware of with the NZ special visa arrangement that your husband will be on is that you are effectively on your own and, if you are out of work, there is no entitlement to any benefits. On the 461 Visa you are required to have full medical insurance in place as you cannot access Medicare on this visa. However, there is a question about whether, as a UK citizen, you can access Medicare under the reciprocal healthcare arrangements. These reciprocal arrangements allow UK citizens to access Medicare for acute conditions but not for elective surgery/ongoing chronic health conditions. Just make sure you have plenty of money in the bank before coming to Australia in case it takes you some time to pick up employment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC24 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 As a lawyer, I would guess that you have done your research on the 461 Visa and the conditions and the timeframes for grant of the visa (minimum 18 months). In case you have not, one of the key things to be aware of with the NZ special visa arrangement that your husband will be on is that you are effectively on your own and, if you are out of work, there is no entitlement to any benefits. On the 461 Visa you are required to have full medical insurance in place as you cannot access Medicare on this visa. However, there is a question about whether, as a UK citizen, you can access Medicare under the reciprocal healthcare arrangements. These reciprocal arrangements allow UK citizens to access Medicare for acute conditions but not for elective surgery/ongoing chronic health conditions. Just make sure you have plenty of money in the bank before coming to Australia in case it takes you some time to pick up employment.Hi Loopylu - you’re right, it’s a long wait and we’re using that time to save to cover exactly that situation. I’m trying to get as much information as possible on cost of living to try estimate (i) how much to save to sustain us until we find work (then add some!) and (ii) how much of a salary we need at least initially to make this whole thing feasible. This is obviously subject to change in the intervening period but we’re looking at ballpark numbers at the moment. Thanks for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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