Kookaburra2016

Hi

We are a family of 5 currently living in Perth and have decided we would love to move to New Zealand probably around Tauranga. We are hopefully looking at moving over to a job though this might be too hard to achieve. I was wondering as we are australian citizens are we entitled to any family benefits and are they means tested. Have most peolple moved over to a job or made the move and then applied. Would love to hear how they got on please. Thanks

escapedtonz

Can definitely vouch for Tauranga. Its awesome!

Unlikely that you'd be entitled to any benefits.
For one you must be a permanent resident or a kiwi citizen to even qualify then they look if NZ is your home, if you are a legal resident, if you usually live here and of course if you intend to stay permanently. I'm sure you need to have the visa status and have lived or live here for a minimum of 2 years before you would qualify for any benefits.....but there's nothing stopping you applying as they can only say NO.
You may well be able to come in to NZ using your AUS citizenship but you don't become a resident visa holder until you cross the border and Immigration NZ hand you that visa which allows you to live work and study here.

We had the Resident Visas beforehand and had booked flights and shipping etc and heading over (from the UK) without a job offer initially but I agreed a contract a few months before flying out so it all worked out well for us time wise.

Kookaburra2016

Thanks for your reply. Are you living in Tauranga? Ideally we would love to have a job lined up to - my partner is in the diesel mechanic/fitter/welder category and I would be government admin so we are just starting to look now. What sites did you use for job hunting?

Was also wondering if cars are cheap to buy over there or is it worthwhile shipping them over. Also rentals and accommodation is it easy or hard with dogs.

escapedtonz

Yes we are. Been living in Bethlehem for 2 years and are building out on the border of Te Puna and Whakamarama at the moment. The awesome beach and resort of Mt. Maunganui is a mere 15 mins drive at the moment. Tauranga city centre 10 mins.

Huge port at Tauranga which uses lots of heavy machinery which I would assume runs on diesel so may be a good idea to have a look see if they have any vacancies Careers and Vacancies - Port of Tauranga They may not have nothing being employed directly by them but may be able to put you in touch with a port approved contractor ?
Other than this there's many garages spread out all over the bay where I'm sure a diesel mechanic would be required.
Have a look at www.seek.co.nz or Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me for jobs.

Government wise you'll be out of luck. All that stuff will be in Welly.
You could take another path and look at city councils ?
You could try Tauranga City Council or Western Bay Of Plenty Council to see what vacancies they have ?

Cars....price all depends what you are used to. Yes in general, we've found cars are more expensive to buy here, but they last many years longer and the costs involved to keep them on the road are a lot less which means you can spend more initially. Whether you ship your car is all dependent on the car, how old it is, wwhat it's worth, how long you've owned it, how much it is to ship/ if you can be arsed with all the red tape/proving compliance/cleaning it to satisfy MPI/getting it inspected/getting it WOF'd and registered before you can even drive it on the road. It may or may not be worthwhile. Have a look on Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me at car prices to see if it's worth it.

Harder to find a place that allows dogs for sure. Again, they're all on Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me

Kookaburra2016

Great thank you so much for all the useful links. Will have a look around and see what is out there.

Snap Shot

Most NZ Government jobs are advertised here:

https://jobs.govt.nz/layout/images/bg-logo.gif

Most are in Wellington but you can also scan region by region.