Francesca, you are not alone who feels "ripped off" here. I am afraid this is a common feeling amongst recently arrived ex-pats. We have been in Brisbane for 2 years and feel increasingly ripped off. Despite getting the PR we are forced to return for economical reasons. How it works: Australia and more so Brisbane is in recession. Yet more and more immigrants are welcomed into the country because immigration in OZ is a great money spinner and generates a lot of revenue for the government and businesses. They know very well that a lot of newcomers will go back for various reasons: either get homesick, lost a job, can't find a job, can't pay enormous healthcare and dentist bills, find living here too expensive or simply can't stand the heat!
So in the meantime these immigrants get fleeced for every penny they got - visa fees, doctors, property market, rentals, consumer goods, various state charges for buying a car and a house - the list can go on and the scale of it is enormous. The more immigrants - the bigger revenue and more work for the locals who provide services for these immigrants. The Australians don't like immigrants yet the country can't sustain without them.
Now that the unemployment is high you have to be a local to get a job - Brisbane is so clicky! Us and many of our friends have faced this already. It is all about whom you know, not how good you are. This is just the beginning of recession here - it will get worse and the recovery will take a long time - check economic forecasts.
We love the climate and the relaxing lifestyle of Brisbane but going back.