The Hippo

I'm starting to look into this myself and thought I would come here for some explanations in laymans terms which I could understand. I came across the following link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_10014027 with the part I was most interested in being that it states "interest on property loans". Now if I was to include this allowance from my mortgage this would near enough offset all of the rental income I have received in the past 9 months. So for a simpleton on tax matters I'm slightly confused :unsure:

Wonder if anyone could pass on some advice. We had a family get-together last Saturday prior to us flying out on 6th June and it was the last opportunity for the OH to see her brother. Removals are coming next Wednesday and the OH's brother brought along the daughters birthday & christmas presents all wrapped up (well organised eh). The OH is concerned that if we put these in the container with them all being wrapped up and obviously bought in the past 12-months, what will the customs think of this? Thanks The Hippo

There are a lot of us in a similar position that are making the move to Melbourne with the work, who have agreed to cover the costs of the first 5 weeks accommodation (Quest Sanctuary Lakes), then after that it's everyone for themselves. Been looking at short-term furnished rentals in the city, but they're not cheap and at the moment trying to look at what we'll need whilst waiting for our container and the associated cost and then whether it is cost effective to just buy cheap and cheerfull and get our long-term rental sorted or go with furnished rental for a month or so. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The Hippo

Pasonjayne, I'd also be very interested in this information as we're coming out to Melbourne on 8th June and we've got a company organised hire car for 4-weeks and in that time we'll have to get a car and insurance sorted out. How easy is insurance to get sorted out? What other stuff do we have to put in place prior to driving, heard about rego.? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, The Hippo

With respect to a tax allowance for a dependable i.e. the OH, can you provide any more detail on this as it's not something we have considered and we're unsure at the moment whether the OH will work or not. Thanks The Hippo

Ye we'll have to buy some furniture and definitely a fridge. Company will put us up in serviced apartments for 5 weeksbut there willbe a possible 6/7 week wait for our furniture to arrive.

Thanks to all those that have replied so far. Getting a monthly £1500 LAFHA and will be in the country for 2 years minimum. Had thought that we would be entitled to the same tax banding as a permanent resident but from reading replies so far that may or may not be the case. Due a tax briefing from the companies tax experts so hopefully they will be able to put us right and help us with filling out a tax return, which for someone new in the country and never having filled one out in the UK is a scary prospect. The Hippo

Thought that if any team deserved a result it was the Rangers with us having the better if the first hour or so and when we started opening up & chasing the game a but more celtc created a few more chances. Once again lennon shows a complete lack of class and the sooner his tenure and involvement in Scottish football comes to an end the better. Season ticket holder at Ibrox for the past 20 years and coming over to Melbourne in June for a couple of years couldn't have come at a better time in terms of a football sense. Scottish football has been taken to new levels this year and it seems the football is secondary to the bile that gets spouted by those in the stands & not just the big bad Rangers supporters by the way. The morale high ground taken by the celtc supporting fans has been quite despicable with the victim card being played at all opportunities and it all being played out in the weasel Scottish media who are lapping it up. Rant over. The hippo

Complete the NRL1 form which will allow your letting agent to pay you your full rental income without them having to deduct tax. This does not mean you're exempt from paying tax on your income and means you'll have to fill in a tax return each year, but you and your OH will be entitled to your tax free allowance each year; think it is now about £7,500 each now since the budget. That is my understanding if things anyway and I'm just going through the process just now. Letting agents are a bug let down and I've now got 2 letting agents trying to rent the house out for me. Only 6 weeks until we head off to Melbourne for a couple of years so it's starting to stress the OH out a bit. The Hippo

Just applied for NAB account today and in the process of setting up an account with Moneycorp for regular transfers back to the UK, to cover costs here. If you're transferring money from an NAB account to the UK with Moneycorp it is fee free and seemingly (don't know if anyone that has a history of transferring money) will be a better exchange rate than the banks. The Hippo

Kate, There are quite a few of us moving across to work in Williamstown and Point Cook seems to be the preferred area for many of us. Word is though that public transport is not the best in this area for getting to Williamstown. Can you confirm if this is the case? Thanks The Hippo

Funny you say that. Whilst I'm running about trying to get the house rented out and all the various bits of paperwork in place and all the rest of the stuff on our 'Things to Do' List, the OH is snowed under organsining our calendar, to ensure we meet up with everyone before we leave. Her head is spinning :wacko:

Thanks loubeany! I'm just waiting for the ecstatic feeling to subside and be overcome with worry about how quickly everything has happened and how soon we'll be heading off! Soooooo much to do, soooooo little time to do it in. The Hippo

Visa lodged 31st March. Just got the email from immigration agent saying visa's have been approved. SUPERB! Immigration agent was surprised as well as we had been advised that the OH would require a chest x-ray as if she works she'll be working with children. Been told to now cancel her appointment for tomorrow as the CO has used her discretion and approved the visa. It's all starting to get rather real now. Got a start date in Melbourne of 14th June and Australian HR are across today to brief the team that are going across, then there's a family get-together to ensure the OH's are involved at all stages. Life is good!

As part of the OH job as a manager of a childrens nursery she has to have Disclosure Scotland certification. As part of this process police checks are carried out. If she was to seek employment in Australia (still undecided), would the Discolsure Scotland certification be seen as proof of police checks or would the ACPO/ACRO Police Clearance Certificate still be required. Meant to say, we're going out on a 457 visa so I've been informed that I would not require to have police checks completed. Thanks The Hippo