Made the move
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Banking In Australia
Banking in Australia really isn’t that different to banking anywhere else in the world. It helps however to have an idea of what you are looking for before shopping around for your first Australian Bank Account. There are currently over 20 banks in Australia with the ‘big four’ being the Australian New Zealand Bank (ANZ), […] More
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Cheque Savings or Credit? But what’s the difference?
Cheque Savings or Credit is a question you’ll frequently be presented with when paying for goods or services in Australia, but what is the difference? As a new arrival (or soon to be resident) in Australia, I thought it would be worthwhile providing an overview of the Cheque Savings and Credit options and the key […] More
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Jobs in Australia
Jobs in Australia still exist in their thousands and despite some of the more sombre news printed in the media of late, finding a job in Australia shouldn’t be too hard a task once you get here. One of the questions were frequently asked is ‘are there many opportunities doing job type ‘x’ ‘? Or […] More
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How to avoid the age loading fee on your private medical insurance
We had a really useful entry posted by one of our forum members which I think is really worth sharing on the main pages of getting down under. Following this advice could save you quite a bit of your hard earned money once you finally make it down under so the entry is worth a […] More
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How to Apply for your Australian Driving License
Applying for my Australian Driving License is something I have been meaning to do for some time it’s just that I haven’t had chance to get around to it. The timing thing was starting to worry me though. If you are a just a visitor to Western Australia then your allowed to drive for a […] More
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Australian slang words – a definitive guide to Aussie slang
So you’ve decided to move to Australia. The sun shines, the sky is blue and Aussies speak a Language that we can all understand! Ok, the first two points in that last statement are accurate but the latter may be stretching the truth just a little. Welcome to the amazing world of Australian slang words. […] More
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First time buyers grant – An Overview
Being new residents to Australia we applied for the first time buyers grant as part of our mortgage application. The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme was introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. It is a national scheme funded by the states and territories and administered […] More
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Land for Sale in Australia – but not as we know it
I took this picture last week (click on thumbnail for a larger image) to give you an idea of the size of some of the plots of land that you can pick up here in the Northern Suburbs of Perth. This latest land release is in a place called Burns Beach which is approx a […] More
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How much money can I borrow to buy a house in Australia?
When we were back in the UK, it seems banks and building societies used a similar formula for calculating how much money you could borrow when applying for a mortgage. It went something on the lines of 3.5 times your income if you were the sole person applying for the mortgage or 2 times the […] More
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Australia Car prices compared to the UK
When we bought our first car in Australia we were pleasantly surprised by the cost and as a car is going to be a likely purchase for most folks immigrating to Australia, I thought I’d write a short entry on new car prices in Australia versus those you’d find back in the UK. I decided […] More
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Buying a new car in Australia
Since arriving in Australia we’ve been renting a car. We picked up a large Toyota from the airport at Hertz for the first week as we needed something large to carry out six suitcases around. Then, after the first week we downgraded to a small Toyota Corolla through a company called Bayswater car rental in […] More
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Applying For Your Australian Tax File Number – How To Apply For Your TFN
Since arriving in Australia there are a number of forms and services we’ve had to apply for. To help you easily get on your feet when you finally arrive in Australia we’ll provide details of some of the basics. The first of which is applying for your Tax File Number. OK, to start with what […] More