Cots

We can’t be certain at this point if we’re going to be billed for one room or 2 which makes a difference of around $1500. And to get here and be served around $80 worth of food a day and be charged $235 per day is making me question the charges. Emigrating generally means that you arrive with no jobs, no home, no cars and a commitment to the country to work in a career based on the points that got you in. We have 3 children and for us to leave here owing $7k seems quite harsh with so many costs ahead of us, just saying

Gotcha

Can I ask how you know this?

the point is not that we won’t pay, we knew the costs but $7000 for 14 nights feels like rather a lot now we’re living it, on top of the £10k we spent on flights. It’s a huge dent in our funds before we have been able to walk the streets freely and gain employment.

We’re transferring 100k at a time so it’s a decent figure.

The rate with Wise is higher but then they charge you for the transfer whereas someone like XE doesn’t charge but has a slightly lower rate. It seems to balance out around same - if my calculations are correct

Just a question, not a dig but if there are flights available, albeit pricey, why do DFAT need to put flights on? A number of people have said we were lucky to get flights but luck had nothing to do with it. Do people not look hard enough? Or do they not want to pay the prices?

I totally understand, we did have some epic fail moments, like walking through security checks at the airport with bags full of liquids we had to down a bottle of water from a flask with the threat of a full body search at the end. All because I was too stressed to think about what we’d packed and where! We sold our home on the 23rd April, the movers packed our stuff that day but we rented the house back for another week before staying at a premier inn for 4 nights. We then flew to London and stayed in the Ibis the night before our flight. By this time I didn’t know what was where: We were 7 kilos over our baggage allowance at a cost of £43 per kilo but at that point I was so delighted we’d passed the check in process I’d have paid it twice! Due to all the space on the flight it was stress free.

You’ll pay regardless of whether you eat it or not.

The trip was long, particularly as we started our journey in the Channel Islands, and included lots of form filling in and waiting around but there was loads of room on the flights for us all to spread out. The flight did not change at any point and left as scheduled. I met people who did have their flights changed and had to fly into a different Australian airport to the one they had booked but either way got here. There were a few families on the flight just like us. Quarantine is pants, particularly for my youngest who is soon to be 7, but we’re managing! We got an exercise bike delivered to pass the time!

Yes we are.

I’d agree with the above; the borders are open for those who have the right visa. We’ve just made the j journey ourselves along with other families that I got chatting to on the flight.

But I have a feeling that they’ll be billing us for 2 rooms ie. 135 x 2 per night as per their guidance so add that on top of the food costs, that 7000 for the 14 days.

Queensland Health are going to be billing us 65 per adult per day and 35 per child per day for food. For us that’s 235 dollars per day for food. Yet daily we only receive around 85 dollars worth of food including 10 ready meals or 5 ready meals (these will be purchased in bulk for the hotel and cost would be minimal) and 5 sandwiches or sausage rolls, 5 pieces of fruit, 5 small bags of cereals and sweet snacks. It really doesn’t seem justified. I know that we knew the cost before we travelled but when you see the food in a brown bag and realize you’re paying 235 a day for it I have to question it....

This was economy! If I’d booked the flights back in February then we’d have spent half the price but we wanted to leave as soon as possiible. I definitely think that Qatar as recommended, have been very reliable. Doha was a very busy airport.

We booked at the end of March for a flight on May 7th. We were told by the nurse taking temperatures that she had heard we were all going to the Broadbeach Sofitel which we were quite excited about but when we got out of the airport to the next ‘holding area’ my family and only 1 other family of 4 were separated and told we were going to the Mantra on Edwards. We thought we we were missing out until we got here. We cheered when the door was shut behind us because we really felt like we’d won the lottery. The hotel made note of the twins birthdays and brought them gifts, cake and cards which was so thoughtful. Another family of 4 we had been speaking to were told they were also coming here but they asked to go to the Sofitel and their request was approved. Bad move in my opinion!

I can definitely vouch for Qatar

Initially when I stated looking they were 4500 and yes, later in the year they are a similar price but for us it wasn’t worth selling the house and finding alternative accommodation for a few months to get cheaper flights. How come you need an exemption? What are your circumstances?

We’re using Xe.com, the rate offered today is 1.809

The flights cost £10150 for 5 of us

I booked the cheapest seats available at the time which were comfort class which is basically economy but with 35kgs of luggage each. I have 3 children, boy/girl twins who turned 13 on day 2 of quarantine and a 6 year old turning 7 on exit quarantine day. We have TVs and brought with us in luggage a PS4, amazon fire sticks, laptops, monopoly, scrabble, iPad and the twins have iphones. We nearly kill each other a minimum of 4 times a day but it’s to be expected

I posted earlier in the year asking if we were mad to consider moving back to Oz after 7 years back home. Well we must be. I write this on day 6 of quarantine in a Brisbane hotel! It’s been 3 months and 10 days since we decided we’d put the house on the market and go for it and here we are! We flew Qatar as recommended by people here and it was a good move. The flight had 50 passengers to Doha and 165 to Brisbane so we had a row each. The most relaxing flights I’ve ever taken! Check in for just my family took an hour and 15 minutes with a number of forms and calls to Australia to check the validity of our visas. At the other side the flight landed at 4pm and we arrived in to our hotel at 9:30pm with plenty of waiting around in between. The nurse taking temperatures said it had been their busiest night for some time. We’re in a 2 bed apartment in Brisbane with balconies and a view of the city and it is far better than we could have hoped for with more food arriving at the door than we can eat. All in all not the worst experience in the world

We’re going to Queensland if that helps?

Is there anyway of getting an Australian SIM card before we get to quarantine? Or can we get one whilst in quarantine?

I’m expressing my thanks at your concern I had already found the information on quarantine but it’s not specific as to where and how they place you somewhere. We’re not pleased at the cost of quarantine but factored it in as part of our moving costs.