Hello all


I am due to take a job up in NSW on the 457 visa and plan to land in October and we have children that need schooling, I understand it costs around $4,500 per year, is that right?

Thankd

Jerry

Yes, paid up front too.

You may be able to source a cheaper option by enrolling them in Catholic schools if you can - they are generally around the $3k mark

You also need to budget for extra things. Our daughter is in public school, and we have paid for books, various dance and gymnastics things at school, there was a voluntary donation, uniform (summer, winter and sports), school trips and so on. It adds up very quickly.

You will also not get any help from goverment as you are on 457, im afraid they class you as temp visitor and dont help you much, you will need to factor in extra costs for health insurance for the family as the state will charge you more than a permeant resident for a visit to the doctors/ dentist / hospital etc, just to visit the docs here can cost approx $50/60 a visit, dentist (dont ask) because you will need a loan.Braces will cost between $6/10k depending on what you need to have done

Remember that money goes to the government, not the school, so you will still be expected to pay whatever fee the school sets for the year for "extras" (some of which you would consider to be basics, not extras!). It's not like the UK where "no child will suffer disadvantage if they can't pay" etc. - basically if you don't pay for things your kids won't do them/get them - unlike the UK they are not too worried about the long term damage to little Johnny's self esteem by being the only kid left sitting there while the rest of his classmates do something fun

A lot will probably depend on your long term plans but if you are only here for a couple of years and have fairly young kids it may not cost you much more to go private (in theory you are still supposed to pay the government fee as the government funds all schools to a certain extent here, but I have never heard of it being enforced), or as quoll says it would actually be cheaper to send them Catholic if you can.

Have your company discussed LAFHA and helping with the cost of school fees? You need to do this upfront in the negotiations now as it is easier to look at the total cost of income and LAFHA package etc as well as tie in with Government requirements..

LAFHA?

Yes, I tried to cover it in the salary but it's still going to be expensive.

LAFHA = Living away from home allowance - look it up here on the site and also the ATO website

Tax Free portion of your based on standard levels of rent and food allowance and could have components for schooling and travel. There are specific rules and it needs to be set up through your company (though it does not cost them anything)

My LAFHA included school fees whilst on 457 which was a boost

Good luck