Zman

...and this would, of course, be inexorable.

Hi Sadaf Just FYI - for all intents and purposes, the ACT and Canberra are the same. There are no other settlements in the ACT to speak of apart from a couple of hamlets. With respect to advertising, I would guess (but am not in the industry, so just guessing) that there would be very few of these sort of jobs. Of course, local businesses advertise on local TV, in the Canberra Times and on radio but I wouldn't categorise the market as "sophisticated" or large. My opinion: Australian adverts tend to resort to screaming at the audience to convince them to visit a business, whilst liberally tossing around phrases like "prices sacrificed"! Again, my view and not backed by experience: I would say you're much more likely to get a job in Sydney or Melbourne than in the ACT. I sometimes wonder where the Dept of Immigration and the State and Territory governments get their job vacancies data from. Would be good to hear from others who have experience of the industry. Good luck.

No, there is no need to be ex-military (even DefCredit - now called Defence Bank - is open to all). Their rates are generally lower (for loans, mortgages etc.) and their fees are also lower, however, there may be cases where another financial institution could better their rates for a specific type of loan or mortgage. On the whole you'll find they offer a good range of financial services but may lack the sophistication of some of the larger banks.

No, you don't but then on a hot day when a fire ban may be in effect, you can still use your gas BBQ (I assume fire ban regulations are the same wherever you may be).

I think a car is essential in Canberra. As others have said, it's spread out so even if you're living centrally and close to your work, you'll be stuck come the w/e if you want to go anywhere farther away. As a cyclist you'll find you will be well served by the bike paths here but remember winters are chilly and pretty cold at night so there may be some days when getting on your gear isn't as attractive as it is on a bright sunny day. Where are you likely to end up working?

I paid about £2.30 for a pretty insipid cappuccino in the UK a few months back (well known chain, not founded in Seattle, not called the same as a former Roman emperor). Same drink here in any of the cafe's I frequent costs me $3.80-$3.90. Are you in Perth (famous for being expensive to eat out at) and where are you buying your drinks from?

It's interesting to see how different people view things so here's my response

VPN - Virtual Private Network...There are some free ones but we use UKiVPN. In layman's terms, you set up a connection with a server in the UK (or US - we've opted to subscibe for both UK and US options at an annual cost of AUD$110) and then select the option to route all your browser requests through the server to which you are connected. That way, the BBC website thinks you're in the UK and not elsewhere. We don't watch much Oz TV, only a few shows on ABC and SBS. Hardly ever watch the commercial channels and subscribe to Foxtel but most of our viewing (apart from sports) is from the Beeb. As it's summer in the UK there's not much on but come the winter (summer here) there will be more to watch. BBC stuff is downloadable so you don't get irritating freezes if your connection is not top notch but Channel 4 and ITV you can only stream (i.e. watch as you download) so, sometimes, the signal stops whilst it buffers another segment. Currently we're watching University Challenge, Horizon, Only Connect (an acquired taste, given Victoria Coren's jokes), Who Do You Think You Are and looking forward to new series of The Thick of It (which, I am sure I will have to watch alone as OH can't stand the language). My view is that it's well worth the $110 as we get to watch quality TV and not the rubbish that's offered here. Having said that, there have been a few cases where we've downloaded stuff only to see it broadcast by the ABC or SBS here a day or so after the UK broadcast.

Whilst I would not discount this as fantasy, I find it hard to believe that Apple would choose to incur higher production costs for the relatively very small market in Australia. If there's any hint of truth to it, it may apply only to those with the 3G capability but again I'm not sure why the telecom networks in China and Australia would differ from those in Europe.

We're in Canberra House about 25 squares, a bit old so average insulation 2 gas units installed because of house size and vaulted ceilings in middle of house Windows galore so fair amount of heat loss potential Even pay about $180/month

Hope it all goes well for you but........I'm confused! A few weeks ago you wrote that you had moved to the US, and were rebuilding your life there. What made you come back to Australia only to decide to return to the UK a mere 5 weeks after that post?:confused:

Check out this link --> http://afr.com/p/australia_only_mba_rankings_3hWteRkPQzbCeKZ4D6moRL Curtin doesn't seem to register on the list but, as always, I suspect there's more than a little degree of subjectiveness in these surveys.

Having not used Medicare much, apart from visits to the GP and one hospital admission) might get better advice from a medical professional but here's the intro "blurb" from the Dept of Human Services web site: Medicare gives you access to: free or subsidised treatment by health professionals such as doctors, specialists, optometrists, dentists and other allied health practitioners (in special circumstances only) free treatment and accommodation as a public (Medicare) patient in a public hospital 75 per cent of the Medicare Schedule fee for services and procedures if you are a private patient in a public or private hospital (does not include hospital accommodation and items such as theatre fees and medicines). The URL to check out more is here --> http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/medicare If you opt to go private, obviously, you will need private health insurance (BUPA now operates here having taken over MBF) to cover this. Dental is not free unless you're seriously poor. This is expensive if you have complex work done. Having said that, I've found the standard to be very good. Further example, the ambulance service is not free. I had to go to hospital a few months ago (turned out to be false alarm) but ended up with ambulance bill of about $900. Luckily am insured so all covered. Similarly, the tests I needed to have whilst in hospital and afterwards (as long as authorised by a suitably qualified doctor) were all covered by Medicare (in this instance, I believe, because was an emergency). Now having been given the all clear as far as the ticker was concerned, I needed to see a specialist and to have more tests to see what the issue was. In this case, the consultation, tests and day-stay in hospital were partly covered by Medicare and partly by my health insurance but I still had a "gap" to pay out of my own pocket. Some of this was due to the fact that the specialist I saw operated out of a private hospital - although not sure if a public option was available (frankly, I didn't care, just wanted the issue diagnosed). Advice: get health insurance asap - choose the cover that best suits you. Main providers are BUPA, HCF, NiB and Medibank Private. There's an ad on TV which says you can view the options from a number of providers and choose the one that suits you (www.choosi.com.au) but I don't think they cover all providers. If you're not sure what package to get, go for the basic hospital and ambulance cover as a start and then decide once you've settled in. Also enroll in Medicare asap (as previous posters have said, you can find Medicare shopfronts in most shopping centers). Remember that you will pay 1.5% medicare levy on the taxable part of your income. This rises to 2.5% if you earn over a certain level and you do not have private health insurance.

Hmmmmmm, I trust this is a tongue-in-cheek posting? There are tons of things wrong with this place and there are tons of things wrong with the UK but, as GoldCoastMag has said, this is just stirring for stirring's sake. If your post is meant to be even half-serious, I would seriously counsel you to do whatever you need to do to get your funds together and go back to the UK asap. It would appear that you've become seriously jaded that life down here hasn't turned out as you expected. Sorry to be blunt!

Agreed. Being able to afford roughly the same things as you could in the UK is important. For us, we've enjoyed a much better standard of living - our salaries, even if converted at $2 to £1, are pretty good here but it all depends on which industry you're in. As for chocolate, it would be good if I could just download it onto a USB but sadly, no, I just order stuff from the UK.

One more thing I should add (although this is a much more subjective thing), if you base your decision solely on the relative tax rates, you may not end up making the right decision (whether it's to move here or not). There are good things and bad things about Oz as is the case for the UK. Given some of the disappointments that some posters have written of in these forums, I strongly urge anyone to research everything thoroughly. Moving away from family and friends (even if you know someone here) is hard and shocks (cultural, financial, environmental or others) to the system don't help. Personally, I like it here and the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. As I've said before, with modern technology you can live a hybrid life: enjoying the benefits of the environment here whilst "consuming" those bits of the UK that are better (newspapers, TV, chocolate etc.)!

Rupert, you're correct that the amount you get after tax is dependent on how much you actually earn, i.e. the higher it goes over $180K, the lower the percentage becomes. I meant to say that if your income just gets you into the highest rate (i.e. you earn $180K and no more) then you will end up with about 68%. BTW that 68% also includes the Medicare Levy having been deducted too.

A number of things to think about. Firstly, the ATO brought in a ruling a few years ago that's termed Personal Services Income (or something similar). Essentially it aimed to close a loophole whereby (mainly IT) contractors set up companies to avoid paying the higher rates of income tax. You would be best off consulting a tax accountant but my understanding is that if 80% or more of your income comes from one company then you will be taxed as if you were an employee rather than benefiting from the lower company tax rate. Secondly, as with any service, whether it's in the UK or Aus, you should shop around. You may find someone who will do all the paperwork for you for less than the $1900 you've been quoted. Thirdly, the company tax rate here is 30%. Also, there is no income tax rate that get's anywhere near 60%. The rates for this financial year are as follows (note that the Medicare Levy (sort of equivalent to NI) is 1.5% of your income - higher if you have no private health insurance). [TABLE] [TR] [TD]Taxable income[/TD] [TD]Tax on this income[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 160]0 - $18,200[/TD] [TD=width: 340]Nil[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 160]$18,201 - $37,000[/TD] [TD=width: 340]19c for each $1 over $18,200[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 160]$37,001 - $80,000[/TD] [TD=width: 340]$3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 160]$80,001 - $180,000[/TD] [TD=width: 340]$17,547 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 160]$180,001 and over[/TD] [TD=width: 340]$54,547 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000 [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] So if your income means your marginal rate is the highest you'll be getting about 68% of your income after tax - that's before you make any claims for tax refunds, something which a good (but honest) tax accountant will help you maximise. Hope this helps.

Saad You should be able to find work in any state as a CPA (or CA) so it pretty much depends on what sort of lifestyle you'd prefer. Given population size usually determines size of job market (apart from mining) your best options are going to be Sydney and Melbourne. With respect to recognition of qualifications and experience, your best bet is to start by contacting the relevant industry body, here is the link: http://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/ Good luck.