Is there something I'm missing?........
 

;) For those that have made the move....

Is there anything during the preparations of making the move to Oz that you wished you did/didn't do?
Any paperwork or plans you wished you had considered or regretted doing?

I am trying to do as much homework as poss to gain as much info to help us in our plans to move to oz and realise there is a lot to consider,making it easy to miss something.
We hope to go next year to WA and wondered if those that have made the big move to Oz ,have any 'pearls' about anything at all that may be easy to overlook or overdo in the run-up to moving.
My timeline is up to date if you want to know where we are at........
Cheers,
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

i'm bumping this so our ozzie expats will catch this 2nite/2moro a.m.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn,
We came to Wa in March 2005, the only things I would have done differently was maybe send our furniture sooner, it only left 2 days before we did and 6 weeks here without any was hard, it would have been easier having no furniture in the uk.
The thing we did right was have a great leaving do and quality time with good friends and family before we left, we found geting bank accounts and driving licences easy here, so far we are loving it here, although really looking foward to summer
Cheers Louise xx :)

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Thanx for the reply,i was starting to get paranoid about my question,seeing all the people reading and not replying.
I wondered about sending our furniture out when we sell and move out our house,and go into holiday acc here for a few weeks.
I take it that furniture can be held at the docks untill people arrive.
Did you organise your house rental before you arrived in oz?
How easy was it to get a rental?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn

You will find its quieter here at the weekend - you will get more replies tomorrow I'm sure - anyway though I'd through my 2 pounds worth in!

We moved out of our house on the 24th June - Crown came and packed up our house on the 23 rd June and have stored our belongings free of charge for 6 weeks - you can negotiate something like this when the estimator comes round - or negotiate free storage at their facilities in Australia if that suits you better - storage is all climate controlled anyway. We have been living at my mums since we moved out of our own house - only 9 weeks till we fly now - we are coping fine with just the stuff going in our suitcases - will probably have to leave a lot of toiletries and stuff but we can buy all that out there. Our shared container is now at sea as we speak - left Rotterdam on the 25th August and its estimated to arrive in Brisbane on 7th October - will still need to clear customs and after that it will go into storage in Brisbane until we phone to arrange a suitable delivery date - we arrive in Brisbane on 5th November and we have booked a fully furnished apartment for the 1st 3 weeks till we find an unfurnished rental property - only then will we get container delivered so we are looking at end of November - at least this way we should be able to get our stuff almost straight away.

In answer to your other question I wouldn't book a rental house before you arrive - IMO would be better to check areas out when you get there - you could end up in a rough part of town or with awful neighbours.

Anyway hope this helps and good luck!

Lynn x :)

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Cheers for that Lynn.
Is there anything else you can think of during your planning a year leading up to your departure,that you wished you had considered or done differently?
Is there anything that is important for us to remember that someone had to tell you about?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

It might sound silly but one thing I regret is not taking more photos. I wish I'd taken them of familiar places back home, favourite walks, the town, the house etc. as well as more of people too.

One good thing was giving my F-I-L power of attorney so he was able to tie up any loose ends for us.

Loopy

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Pay off all your credit cards and stop all store cards. For 6 months it will be hard to get a credit card from AUS. Make all accounts on internet enable.

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Paperwork wise...bring the docs from the sale of your house in the UK inc how much you got for it and how your money was transfered to Aus (copy of the wiring instructions from the bank). Luckily, I am a human squirrel and keep that sort of stuff anyway but I was asked to provide proof of funds and how I got them when we applied for our first mortgage.

Hope this helps.

MC

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn
There are a few things I wish we had done in the last few weeks.

Made the time to see my Mum and Sister more, always TOO busy, regret that now!!
If you are able to CLEAR and CANCEL any credit cards you may have before leaving do so - pain in the ... waiting for the statements to come thru (if no on-line a/c)!!! We got done $60 for 'late' payments cause of the post! So, set up those on-line facilities if poss so you can pay it direct from your bank account or whatever!!

Keep a UK bank account open - cld come in handy till you get sorted in OZ, we have found it so anyway.

I agree, better to wait till you get here re renting a house - unless you are lucky enough to have someone check them out for you! You really need to be aware of the area surrounding the house - varies just like in the UK.
If your 'stuff' is not going to arrive for a while - try and stay in a 'fully furnished' apartment or something. After just emigrating, it is VERY hard to do without all those 'home comforts' as we found out! :eek: Expecially if you have kids! Need to keep them occupied to help them settle into their new life.


Good luck
Take care
Gill

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi
My regret is not putting the house on the market sooner. We came out still having to pay the mortgage back in the UK and rent over here. (ouch!)
We sent our belongings a good 4 weeks before we left and just borrowed from friends and family. We thought it would be better to struggle in the UK rather than struggling in a country where we knew no one. It worked well for us.
We stayed with Destination Brisbane when we got here that offer a meet and greet service and fully furnished house. If you are aiming to be in the south side of Brissie there house is located in the Birkdale area which we found to be in a good location for looking around.
Hope this helps
Joe

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Loopy,thanx for the info but could you tell me more about the power of attorney stuff please?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

""


I wondered about this.
We opened an account with the HSBC for the sole purpose of the money transfers etc. and wondered if it was worth applying for the credit card with thr offer of first 6mths free interest,about 1-2 months before we go,so we access to a card when we get there,would this work or not?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"

Glad you told me that because I'm the opposite to you,I chuck and keep chucking things,cheers
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn,

You may want to consider the Inland Revenue. It seems to be policy that when you leave the country and have been paying at a high tax bracket that they want you to a Self Assessment (if you have not done so before) for each year you have been paying tax at that level. It's a bit of a nightmare doing this from Australia (if they can contact you) and going back several years of your accounts. It may be best to deal with this before you leave and anyway you may entitled to a tax refund.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

'


Do you think it would work if when we sell and move out of our house and have the journey of the furniture start then,holiday rent from here for a few weeks and then holiday rent out there during which time we hopefully will find a rental during our first couple of weeks?
If we did that,can the furniture be stored if necessary,in Perth untill rental found?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

How long prior to moving,did you put your house up for sale?
It will be simpler for us because we will have to pay for our flights etc.when house money is in the bank...so will have to sell before we come...getting a bit skint :( Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Good point.
I'm self-employed as a stylist,so they have had self-assessment forms off me for the past 5 years,my worry would be to find that i haven't paid enough,although i do have an accountant who does my books for me,(bit bamboozling for me)so hopefully she should wind it all up for me before we go.
Can I ask though,how long before we plan to leave,should i ask her to wind it all up?How long does it takes to tie up the ends approx?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Taken from the bbc website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/...attorney.shtml



A Power of Attorney is a relatively simple document by which you give another person authority to act on your behalf and to sign documents, such as cheques, in exactly the same way as if you were doing it yourself. It is used in situations where someone will not be available or is unable to undertake their own affairs and wants someone else to do it for them. Going aboard for a time and wanting your parents to look after your affairs is a classic example.

The 'grantor' - the person making the appointment - has the right to give the attorney as much or as little power as he or she thinks necessary. So you can grant someone a general power of attorney giving them the right in effect to do everything that you can do in law or a limited power which authorises them to do only certain things on your behalf.

You can appoint any competent adult to be your attorney. The most important thing to remember is that they must be someone you trust such as a family member who is willing to do the job for you. There is no restriction on the number of people you can appoint and it can be sensible to appoint two on an either/or basis. This way, if the first named attorney is not available - perhaps they are ill or away - the second can act for you.

Granting someone power of attorney takes nothing away from your own right to deal with your own money. It merely gives similar rights to another person. Your attorney will bind you by his or her actions, and must give you full details of all he or she does for you. And you can withdraw the power at any time in writing.

Making a power of attorney is a simple and inexpensive process, which can be completed very quickly. I would contact two or three solicitors in your area, ask them what they would charge and compare costs. It is likely to be in the region of £50-£150 depending on how straightforward your wishes are.




For us it meant my F-I-L could tie up the ends of the house sale, have dealings with our banks for us etc. You've just got to pick someone you trust absolutley!

Loopy

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"


thanx for that,I'll bear this in mind.
We were considering doing a will also,in the freak event that bot of us are killed etc.which isn't impossible when you consider a car crash etc., wouldn't want nothing in place to take care of the kids...
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn,

I would check asap that your will not be liable for self-assessment for years previous to the current one. The current one can probably be tied-up before you depart.

I was salaried and had never had any dealing with tax and self-assessment before (my employer handled that). I told them a week before I left I was emigrating. Everything seemed fine and I left them with a relative's address. Some months later, they received a Self-Assessment for me. I presumed it was for the previous year (as I had been travelling in Australia for 10 months and didn't work). I did it online and thought that was the end of the story.

I then received a penalty notice for late Self Assessment submission for the year previous to the one I had dealt with. I phoned them and they told me that I had to do Self-Assessment for the previous 4 years as I had been paying the higher tax rate.

I guess they want to net any interest on savings that your bank would be paying tax at standard rate and such like. Seems strange that it only concerns them when you decide to leave the country! Anyway, it isn't always bad news; they in fact owed me quite a bit of money as I had been paying too much tax.

However, it was a bit of a hassle dealing with this from Australia - contacting my old employer etc.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Lynn,
We've been out here 5 months now. Personally I'm glad that we kept our UK credit card, although, even though we told the bank that we were going to Oz, when we tried to use the card, they stopped the transaction until we contacted them from here.
We had a few problems with winding up utility bills. We informed all companies 6 weeks prior to going of a temp Aus address. Unfortunately only 2 companies took note of this (well done Direct Line and Anglian Water!!) and the rest carried on sending bills to our old address, even though we had given them final meter readings. The new people at our address did not forward any post (despite leaving them prepaid envelopes and their assurances that they would) and we have had a few very late bills and collection agency notifications that have now arrived in Oz. The main problem with this is that every utility company uses 0845 numbers and these (usually) do not work from Oz.
If you do have someone in the UK who can have power of attorney, this would seem like a good idea. Otherwise make sure that you have an overseas contact number for all utilities, bank account and tax office.
We kept a bank account open in the UK so that we could either write cheques or transfer money for the final accounts.
Also if you are going to rent in Oz, ask your estate agent in the UK to provide you with a letter outlining the state of the house and garden and the selling price. This may be needed as a reference for renting in Oz (we also paid 6 months rent in advance as we had no previous rental history here).

Hope this helps,
Rachel.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Definitely agree with that. We looked at loads of rentals on the net that when we saw in real life, looked nothing like. We've got a nice place now that's not too expensive :)

We sold our house when the market was at it's peak (as far as we know) and lived with the in-laws for a while. It wasn't great but at least we weren't panicking about selling at the last minute.

If you can send your stuff on ahead, do so! Our stuff left the UK a couple of weeks before us and I wish we'd done it sooner. We've been here 5 weeks now in an almost empty house! We've bought so second hand stuff to make do (including a bar :beer: :D) but really can't wait for our stuff now. It should be about 3 weeks away, hopefully no more.

Make sure you thoroughly research the job market using something like Seek. Have a look at the career resources and make sure your CV and cover letter template are up to Aussie standard. And don't forget to re-write it to match every job you go far, rather than sending out the same one each time.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hello Lynn :)

My opinion - do not worry about having to live somewhere else for a few weeks/months before emigrating, it is FAR better to have SOLD your house before leaving than still having that worry when you reach OZ like we have!!

Yes, rent a fully furnished apartment for a few weeks on arriving, look for a rental home in the areas you are interested in. it is important to look properly as with most rentals you have to sign up for 6 months and thats a long time to live somewhere you dont like! If the hse has a pool and garden, find out who is responsible for the maintenance of both, as it all add to the weekly outgoings.

I am almost sure if your stuff arrives before you are 'sorted', then you would be able to store it - probably at a cost though. Hardly anyone is furtunate enough to have their belongings arrive the same time as them, so there must be facilities out there for storage. Actually, one of our friends in Cairns had to have their stuff stored because they were waiting for their house to be finished, the used Allied Pickfords as did we. Some removal companies do charge extra and some dont, you will have to find this out when booking, it is usually covered in the 'small print' - but ask.

Hope this answers your questions Lynn :)

Take care
Gill :)

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Or alternatively, you can rent one of those storage units that look like lock up garages for your stuff. There's one here in Perth called Koala, don't know if they are national though. (Their latest advertising slogan is "Want a bigger chest?" - gotta love aussie humour!)

MC

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"



Thanx for the info.
We are hoping to sell,move out,send furniture off to oz,then plan and book flights etc. for possibly 5-6 weeks later,I'm hoping that during this time of being in the u.k., we can tie up all the utility bills.
A lot of ours are direct debit,so i guess these would be just a case for cancelling or am i being too optimistic?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

The more you prepare the easier it will be when you move ... honest.

one thing to be aware of, moving your pension. Wish I had started as soon as I moved here and not waited.. Its taken over 6 months now to move.. meaning I am going to get taxed on bringing money into the country.. very annoying

best wishes and good luck

Shane

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"

thanx for that,I'm becoming increasingly how much there is to think about,it would be very easy for it all to overwhelm me,...one of my stresses is all the tieying-up of peperwork at this end.Bills,taxes,all legal stuff,because i'm not good with this stuff.Give me booking flights,organising shipping anyday, anything practical but paperwork...urg!
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"


Is this your state retirement pension that your N.I. contributions have paid into?
If so,please tell me about it as I have had trouble finding any info on it so far...Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

not sure about the state pension (i hadnt even thought about that) but your work pension,

I would see a Financial Advisor as soon as you get here, to see what you can do.

Shane

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

"


Good point about advisor,i'd like to know how you take advantage of the N.I. contributions in retirement when your in a different country.I get mixed opinion on this stuff and i wonder if i'm not going to get any when i eventually hit retirement(it'll be a while)then why bother paying it now?
Lynn

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Sloake,
Do you mind me asking which agent you used to sort out your pension transfer? Feel free to PM me if you like.

Thanks
Netta

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Sorry but new to this board tonight. Am I led to believe that some people put their house on the market for sale and move into temporary accommodation in the UK before they have had the decision as to whether their visa has been granted?

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

No worries,

I used Commonwealth Bank, as I was banking with them at the time, but to be honest wish I hadnt.

The process was started in March, and still hasnt completed at the beginning of September. I have constantly chased them, and to be honest have found their service quite low. (This is a personal opinion, and other commonwealth branches maybe a bit better...)

Due to the delay I will now have to pay tax on the money if and when it finally arrives here,

My advice is to find an independant adviser who you can trust, sorry I dont have any recommendations (at the moment)

Shane

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Hi Shane,

Yes I know exactly what you mean. We have had a CBA account for quite a while now. We did write to them and ask about pension transfers and they took a week to email us a contact point, so we thought, no way!

On our last visit to Oz we found that the CBA branch in Bulimba is superb. But we find the one in Brisbane CBD rather slow to respond to any requests we have. If anyone out there has a good recommendation for a financial adviser in Brisbane, please let me know........

Thanks
Netta

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

I thought you avoided tax on your pension by making sure the ball was rolling on the transfer before 6 months was up, not necesserily that the transfer should be complete before 6 months?

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Yes, we did.

Re: Is there something I'm missing?........
 

Are you sure?

If you could let me know where you found this out, I would be grateful, as I dont fancy paying tax on it.

Cheers

Shane