Migrating to act

Hi! guys,

me and my husband are planning to move in ACT, and we're still in our application process and it needs the initial settlement and monthly cost of living, with this are you able to help me a rough guide for monthly expenses for couple such as : food, trasnportation, accommodation, and other necessary expences and if possible can give me the sources?

and how much is the cost for medicare in ACT? i tried to find but i can't get any answers online.

you're help is very much appreciated

looking forward

thanks

Medicare is a percentage of your salary and is deducted with tax. Most ACT doctors won't bulk bill so you're probably going to be paying around $40 a visit.

Google is your friend - http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Australia&city=Canberra looks about right but there are other sites that give you data as well. http://www.allhomes.com.au is the site for real estate

Ditto what Quoll says; the only other thoughts are that there's not much in the way of public transport in Canberra so most people drive everywhere but petrol's only about 60p per litre. However expect to pay about $9/day parking anywhere near the city centre or satellite centres.

If there are just the two of you then you won't have to worry about school fees which can be a shocker for those new to the ACT education system.

All the usual rules apply on housing; the bigger the house and the closer to the centre the more you can expect to pay. Also expect to pay more for new prestige developments such as those around the Kingston Foreshore. If you're looking for somewhere cheap to rent then the new suburbs in the north (around Gungahlin) and the west (Western Creek) are probably the first places to look but as Quoll says, everything in Canberra is on Allhomes.com.au. Most rental figures are quoted weekly and are inclusive of rates - you normally just pay water and other utilities.

There's been numerous discussions on this site on places to live around Canberra so do a little searching.

Medibank is paid for out of your salary but many (most?) people have some sort of private medical insurance (if you earn more than about $80,000 p.a. you get penalised if you don't through the medical surcharge levy) so have a look at the costs for BUPA or Medibank.

Other than that it just depends on what you want to spend your money on

....just another thought; if you wanted to do some research yourself then the following might help:

- groceries/shopping: The two main stores are Woolworths and Coles - just google. Aldi are also becoming a significant presence

- household: Main department stores are Myers and David Jones. Harvey Norman does furniture amongst many other things

- electrical: Bing Lee (or Harvey Norman) for white goods, JB Hi-Fi for entertainments etc.

- DIY: Bunnings is the equivalent of say B&Q

- Costco and IKEA - both present in Canberra

- Cars - try carsales.com.au

Hi Quoll,

thank you so much for the information especially regarding the medicare since im really a bit confuse, so if we need to submit the breakdown of our cost of living, do you advice that we will put certain amount under medicare? because we are still looking for a job when we reach there so not sure about this :ssign16:

hi ABL275,

thank you so much for being so detailed :ssign19: i really really appreciate it and it gave me more information and tips.

thank you :smile:

we need to submit the breakdown of our cost of living, do you advice that we will put certain amount under medicare? because we are still looking for a job when we reach there so not sure about this :ssign16:

You only start paying Medicare contributions when you start paying tax. It will form part of the money retained by your employer as taxation - so you don't have to do anything special such as putting aside money for Medicare.

However, as part of your budget, you should allow a certain amount for medical expenses which the Medicare scheme doesn't pay for.

you won't start paying for Medicare until you are working, it comes out of your pay, like a tax.

You only start paying Medicare contributions when you start paying tax. It will form part of the money retained by your employer as taxation - so you don't have to do anything special such as putting aside money for Medicare.

 

However, as part of your budget, you should allow a certain amount for medical expenses which the Medicare scheme doesn't pay for.

What Skani said! You can go to Iselect.com.au and price out private health insurance, also cost of dental work, prescriptions etc, they all mount up

You only start paying Medicare contributions when you start paying tax. It will form part of the money retained by your employer as taxation - so you don't have to do anything special such as putting aside money for Medicare.

 

However, as part of your budget, you should allow a certain amount for medical expenses which the Medicare scheme doesn't pay for.

hi Skani,

thank you so much for this information. now i have a clear idea

thank you

you won't start paying for Medicare until you are working, it comes out of your pay, like a tax.

thank you for this information amibovered

hi Quoll,

thank you for this tip

appreciated a lot

Whoops yes, apologies I wrote Medibank where I should have written Medicare.

Just for the avoidance of confusion, Medicare is the publicly funded healthcare system (similar but not the same as the NHS - see https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/dhs/medicare) and Medibank is the private medical insurance organisation (https://www.medibank.com.au)

Sorry to jump on someone elses post. Just regarding your comment on school fees. We are arriving in about 6 weeks - its a very quick move so we haven't had a chance to investigate everything. If you are on a Permanent Residence Visa do you still have to pay for full school fees? ive got 3 school age children and I haven't factored in this at all!!! please advise if you can!

If you are PR you don't have to pay school fees- apart from the usual "voluntary fees" that most people pay - $100 per term, ball park

If you are PR you don't have to pay school fees- apart from the usual "voluntary fees" that most people pay - $100 per term, ball park

Quoll, stop spreading misinformation - the fees are very voluntary in ACT and don't amount to more than $120 per year. I speak as a parent with two kids at school. Examples:

http://www.goldcreek.act.edu.au/payment/voluntary_contributions

http://www.blch.act.edu.au/our_school/voluntary_contributions

No fee's for public schools in QLD and voluntary fees are around $100 for primary school and $200 for high school per Year. It says voluntary but your child can miss on some things if you don't pay(at High school).

Cal x