Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Hi there

We are thinking of moving to Melbourne from London - all very exciting. My husband has received a job offer so it's looking like a realistic dream. We have two children, aged five and seven so it's a big decision to make and I was wondering if there was a good source of advice for:
- checking employment contracts and packages - what's normal to expect
- advising on education - schools etc

Are there any agencies that offer this sort of advice? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

I think you are going to need to provide a bit more information on the role bring offered to get any comments on what to expect contract wise.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Hello again

Schooling is mainly one of the following:
- State
- Catholic or religious
- Independent (Private)

Each costs money (uniforms, stationery extra activities etc). Within each the same advice applies its down to the individual school which starts with meeting the principal and a school visit. Not all private schools are worth the extra money. State school (dependent on school) should be fine if your middle of the road i.e. no special needs or advanced children.

Once you have established your Gross income you can work out net by researching the tax office website www.ato.gov.au. Depending on income level you may also consider researching centreline (Govt social security type organisation) about family benefit payments. From memory I think this is where you also get your Medicare card (NHS).

You will find the swapping of drivers license easy - it involves making a booking to answer administrative questions and a quick eye test. Vic Roads is the organisation that deals with licensing in Victoria. http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/...NewToVictoria/

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

http://www.paycalculator.com.au/

...is probably much more straightforward than navigating the ATO website and terminology.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Good suggestion:thumbsup:

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Schools, check out better education.com.au it will give you an idea if a school is any good, but real estate.com.au will tell you about areas and housing.
It's a great city and amazing for kids...

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Schools, check out better education.com.au it will give you an idea if a school is any good, but real estate.com.au will tell you about areas and housing.
It's a great city and amazing for kids...

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

If you move in time to start the school year here, your five-year-old will be in prep or grade one (depends when s/he turns 6) and your seven-year-old will probably start in grade 2 or 3 (again depends on DoB).

Schools, like everything else, vary greatly from one to the other.

• State schools are free (although there are uniform costs, activity coasts and various contributions to factor in) and the larger ones are usually better resourced.
• Catholic schools cost around $4,000 a year and sometimes will only accept children who are baptised
• Private schools will take anybody as long as they pay (anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 a year) and they have vacancies.

It would be easier to first work out where you want and can afford to live before choosing a school. Where I live, there are about 6 state and 2 catholic primary schools within a 5 km radius. Plenty to choose from.

Where you live will depend on what you are after (house and land size, rent, coast or inland, commute time, etc...) and of course what you can afford.

Contract-wise, make sure you get a clear idea of the gross salary EXCLUDING superannuation (Superannuation is a compulsory employer's contribution to your retirement fund and it starts at 9.25% of your gross salary). Salary packages sometimes include super and so look better than they really are. Use the pay calculator suggested above to calculate your net monthly or weekly income and go from there.

If you are coming on a 457 temporary visa, be aware that you will have no benefits entitlements from the state (Family Assistance or Centrelink) but will be entitled to some Medicare (public health system) benefits if you are a UK resident.

Hope that helps.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

That's really useful advice Elice, thanks.

It's pretty daunting. Our plan would be to potentially return to the UK for the kids' secondary education (though we might of course fall in love and never return...) I'm trying to get my head around how feasible/practical it is to transfer back. Any thoughts?

Does anyone know if there is anywhere we can go for professional advice on education?

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

The older kids are, the harder the move is for them. I reckon you might find moving them once they have finished primary school very hard on them emotionally and probably with some disruption to their schooling due to the difference between the UK and Aus systems.

Not sure what you mean by "professional" advice? The experiences of the people on this forum would be among the best first-hand advice you could obtain.

BB

BB

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

BB - thanks for replying. I think you're right about the emotional upheaval...
And I agree that people's experiences are the best form of info...and thank anyone who takes the time to reply. It's appreciated.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

If you're looking on rtning to UK, I would look for a school (some State schools offer it) with the IB PYP programme in the Primary Years (designed for children aged 3 to 12 & is an international accreditation) http://www.ibo.org/pyp/

Here's a list of what's available Australia wide:
http://www.ibo.org/school/search/ind...d_schools=Find

Narrow it down to Melbourne, Victoria. I can already see a few State Schools on the first page in Melbourne ie Auburn South Primary, Beaumaris North Primary School, Brighton Primary School, Caulfield South Primary School, Coatesville Primary School, Footscray Primary School, etc

However, as these schools have this accreditation, they maybe zoned so you must live within their catchment area in order to gain access.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Private school fees can go up to $20K+ per school year for Primary School depending if you choose the first tier ones (ie older established ones in the inner suburbs vs the newer ones in the outer suburbs).

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

Somewhat off thread but they have just started a new documentary series in the UK on Harrow school (top drawer I know). Fees start at £30K p.a. for boarders before buying books, computers, uniforms etc and paying for other incidentals. I thought to myself probably around or above UK average salary for one child's education! It would be interesting to know what the Melbourne Grammar, Scotch College type fees are. Say $50K p.a. at Harrow for comparison.

Re: Moving to Melbourne with family? - help please
 

RedDragon - that's really helpful, thanks.

It looks like quite tight catchment zones but we're used to that here in London. I guess that means escalated rentals within catchment areas but that's balanced with no school fees...

Lots to think about. Looks like Bayside would be the best place to be from hubby's work place. He's currently negotiating package so everything's crossed. Thanks for all your help so far...