InnerVoice

In this hypothetical scenario you've sold your primary residence in the UK and transferred the proceeds into Australian dollars. Is that correct? If, as you say, the property meets CGT exemptions in both countries then I'm failing to see where the taxable income is here. You've sold a tax-exempt asset in one country and transferred the proceeds to another, and that's it. Just my observation as a well-meaning amateur, but given the sums of money involved and the complexity of your enquiry I'd be inclined to seek professional advice from someone who knows their onions.

Mackay has come on a lot in recent years. It doesn't have quite the infrastructure the GC or SC has but it's a lot more developed than it used to be. There are also some lovely beaches and nice countryside in that region, as well as it being two hours' drive to Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands. If you don't mind it hot then Cairns is also worth considering. That's true, but it's pretty hard to find rentals just about anywhere in QLD at the moment. Even with the mining boom, rental prices in Mackay are about two thirds of what they are in SEQ so that's a good incentive for moving there.

Good to know for future reference - thanks.

I don't know if this helps, but the ATO have a tool for determining your tax residency status when leaving Australia. https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Work-out-your-tax-residency/#Gotothetool It sounds like you'd still be an Australian resident for tax purposes because you'll be leaving Australia temporarily, and do not intend to set up a permanent home in another country.

@shiner the third paragraph is clearer, stating pensions are only taxable in the country which provides the pension unless the individual is a resident and national of the other country. Assuming you're a resident and national of Australia, the first part of the sentence wouldn't apply to you.

Not as difficult as it seems if have a good property management agent. I know a number of expats who rent out UK properties without any issues - one has for decades. Once you become familiar with the Australian system the tax side won't be any more complicated than what you're already dealing with as a UK landlord. Again, just a case of finding a decent accountant. These additional costs will eat into your returns of course, but it will still work out far more cost-effective than selling up in the UK and buying in Australia, only to have to do it all in reverse if you decide you can't settle in Australia.

I don't know whether city centre shopping has ever been such a big deal in Australia like it is in the UK. Sure, you can go to the CBD and find some fancy shops, but the vast majority of Aussies shop in the mall or shopping strip closest to their suburb. I have to admit that I fell in love with Launceston when I went to Tasmania earlier this year because it's one of the few places I've visited in Australia that has something which resembles an English town centre. Hobart and Devonport had a similar vibe in that respect. I think you're in Brisbane, aren't you? When I lived there I used to park at the Spring Hill Woolworths if I ever wanted to do something in the city. They have free customer parking for 2 hours, so I used to leave my Woolworths shopping bags on the passenger seat in an act of subterfuge. I often stretched it to 3 hours and I never got a ticket. The car par is underground and goes down two levels, and there's usually plenty of parking. The entrance is on Perry Lane.

It might be worth you trying to get a job offer before you apply because that could really help with you proving you have substantial ties to Australia. ADHD is recognised as a disability under the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act but it isn't included on the list of conditions supported by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), so I doubt you would be considered a burden on the Australian healthcare system if you did ended up having to reapply from scratch.

You might be on to something given that China won't have enough people to look after all the oldies thanks to decades of their one-child-per-family policy.

Not to mention his penchant for photographing manhole covers! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jeremy-corbyn-admirers-of-drains-and-manhole-covers-find-a-hero-in-the-labour-leader-a6668401.html

To be fair, I recall plenty of 'twonks' at the opposite end of the political spectrum who've played their part in ruining the country over the years. In an ideal world we'd vote for MPs based on them representing our interests and their party's policies, but UK elections have become more like America in recent years - a popularity contest between the leaders. The Conservatives won the last election by default. I think people became frustrated by how the opposition parties had continually blocked the Brexit bill, and how much time that was wasting in the Commons. Hardly anything else had been discussed for 3 years. No one trusted Corbyn either because he represented Old Labour in most people's eyes, and a resurgence of the looney left - not to mention his former connections with various terrorist organisations.

Honestly, I don't think most Brits give a hoot how the state pension is calculated or funded, just as long as they receive it when they're entitled to it. I don't think anyone with even the most rudimentary grasp of finances believes that the modest amount they'll receive from a full UK state pension will fund their retirement. I think for a while you might just about have been able to exist on it, but I doubt you'd even manage that these days given the current cost of utilities etc. However, the state pension is a guaranteed income that factors into most people's retirement plans, and it makes a significant difference as to when a person can afford to stop working. During the course of my lifetime the age at which I can claim the UK state pension has risen from 65 to 67, but given that the average life expectancy has increased by at least 5 years since I was born I still think I'm on a winner.

I was aware of that, but I thought it might be helpful advice for anyone who hadn't

Just my opinion, but if you fall into the category of people who've been granted a visa but have never previously visited Australia then I think an initial trip is a wise idea, whether you could move out here within 12 months of the grant date or not. I know it's unlikely that anyone will come here on holiday and hate the place, but it does happen. There are also those who visit and have a great time, but don't see Australia as somewhere that will ever feel like home. After going to all the effort and expense of getting the visa no one wants to find themselves in that situation, but if you do then it's better to find out before you've sold up and shipped your whole life out here.

I wouldn't dispute that many will receive far more from the UK system in terms of benefits, healthcare and the state pension during the course of their lives than they will ever pay in, but conversely there are those who will never receive anything. One in five men (19%) die before they reach 65, so there's a fifth of the male population who will never draw a state pension for a start. And whilst you can pay up your missing years for a meagre £800, if you're working in the UK you'll pay a lot more than that in NI contributions - £4,200 based on the current average salary of £35,000/year. And bear in mind that most people pay these contributions for up to 50 years, so what you contributed in 1973 should be worth a lot more in real terms in 2023 if successive governments has managed their finances properly. If they haven't, then you can't really throw it back at the populace for having unrealistic expectations.

Sorry to hear that when your wife got sick she had a bad experience in the Australian healthcare system. On the contrary, my wife needed an urgent operation last year and had a great experience. She saw her GP on the Friday, who gave her a referral letter, then I took her to A&E and she was admitted straight away. They did the operation on the Saturday and she was home on Sunday afternoon. It's the first time I've been inside an Australian hospital for many years and the facilities were superb - very clean and modern, and everything ran like clockwork. In my mind it looked more like a private hospital than a government one. One gripe we have in common is that they didn't prescribe her any painkillers, and as soon as my wife started moving around she was clearly in a lot of discomfort. The nurse on duty said they weren't able to prescribe any and to take a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen, which certainly raised my eyebrows given that my poor wife had just had a lump the size of a golf ball removed from her nether regions. I wasn't having any of that and told her that "pain is what the patient says it is", according to one of my closest friends who is a consultant. With it being Sunday we had to wait a while to see a doctor, who prescribed oxycodone, which got her through the first few days. I'm guessing there's some reluctance when it comes to prescribing controlled drugs these days, with so many people overdosing and becoming dependent. I think most people judge health care systems based on their own personal experience, or the experiences of family and friends. It doesn't create a very clear picture because facilities and services vary so widely, even within regions of the same country. My mother needed to rely on the NHS in the months before the end of her life, and it didn't let her down. She received excellent treatment and care on a number of occasions. However, I recall at the time (about five years ago) that the system seemed under a lot more pressure than I'd ever seen it previously. On your other point, I've lived here over 25 years on and off and I've never paid to see a doctor. I've always found it bizarre that you had to pay at one doctors, but if you crossed the street the one on the other side is 100% bulk-billed. You'd think everyone would just go to the free ones, wouldn't you - but they don't. I appreciate that some people have complex medical histories so they would want to stay with the same doctor, but then I'm happy to see any old quack. I don't care what colour their skin is either, which still seems to be a problem for some Australians.

Oh, you mean the entire British electorate? How could they be so ignorant to think that the government would actually spend their NICs on what they are supposed to.

Have you forgotten about National Insurance? People contribute all their working lives. I recall the current government increased it by 1% fairly recently too.

You're welcome, although hopefully someone in the job will be able to paint a clearer picture of what it's really like over here. I'm a high school teacher and I imagine that there are parallels between teaching and policing in that while the job over here is far from a bed of roses, working conditions and pay are better than they are in the UK. My impression is that you're treated with a bit more respect over here too. I don't recall hearing people 'police bashing', complaining about 'police brutality' or banging on about their rights every 5 minutes like they do in the UK. You also get to carry a gun, which is a bit like having a nuclear weapon - you're probably never going to use it, but everyone knows it's there!

Hi, my colleague's husband has recently qualified as a police officer and his first posting is in Charters Towers, which is in northern Queensland. In the same way that teachers are usually expected to complete country service when they first qualify, it seems that the same applies in the police force and your first posting is likely to be somewhere quite remote. He's living away from home at the moment, which isn't ideal because like yourself they have a young family. My understanding is that his accommodation is provided, so at least that isn't an additional financial burden they need to worry about. From what I can gather he isn't really enjoying it very much. Lots of cases of assault and domestic violence to deal with, mostly alcohol-fuelled and within the indigenous community. I can imagine that being a bobby in the UK isn't a walk in the park these days, so maybe this is the type of thing you're already used to dealing with on a regular basis. I'd just be mindful that if you end up living in a remote location, there may not be much for you and your family to do during your free time. Sorry I can't provide a more insightful perspective, but hopefully someone who is actually a police officer will read your post and comment. Here are some crime statistics for Charters Towers, so you can see what I'm referring to. https://safesuburbs.com.au/qld-is-charters-towers-safe/

That looks pretty good, and a better option than using a VPN if the only thing you want to do is stream media from various locations - thanks for sharing.

What @BendigoBoy has stated below is correct. I'd buy a new one as they are only $59 (not $50 as I said before) and will have the latest version on the software already installed. True, although it's also worth noting that not all VPNs have an app that you can download to your firestick (or directly to your smart TV), so ensure you subscribe to a reputable VPN. I use NordVPN because it always works (sometimes a little slowly) and their interface is seamless, but I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones out there too.

Can't you download an app on your Smart TV for the VPN you use, then connect to a UK IP address using that so you wouldn't need to connect your PC? I appreciate that some older Smart TVs don't support certain apps, but then a easy fix is to buy an Amazon Firestick for $50 because they have all the apps (including the VPN ones) preloaded, and then just run everything off the Firestick.

Thanks - so that's well and truly off the list of prospect retirement destinations then

Your daughter would be past compulsory school age but not past the compulsory participation phase, meaning she'd need to be either earning or learning. If she's 17 next May she'd start school about halfway through Year 11. She would be able to complete three semesters by the end of Year 12 and should be able to obtain her QCE (Queensland Certificate of Education), which will stand her in good stead for the future. She will also have the opportunity to establish new friendships which will help with her transition to Australian life, attend the formal and graduate from high school, which most Australian schools make quite an event of. However, if she's one of those kids who can't wait to leave school then starting TAFE earlier would make sense. As others have said, it's possible for students to attend TAFE whilst still at school, and certificate courses count towards students obtaining their QCE so that's a good option. Here's some information about the different pathways available... https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/other-education/home-education/senior-secondary