millers

We arrived in OZ in Feb and wondering how to go about doing a tax return....we have come on a 457 visa...where to begin ??????

we used John Masons in January and they were very good ( the packers) but they failed to tell us we needed an import permit for our sons battery operated quad bike and also we have had our stuff now for a week in Australia and 1 box is missing somewhere between the UK and Australia !!!! and it has got my lovely china dinner service in it... so not too happy !!! glad we took out insurance!!! and up to now no communications from John Mason about our missing box...

We used Go Walkabout and they were great...google them ( they are in the south of the UK) and they were very helpful and we got 21 days travel insurance from the day we set off on our one way ticket and it was sufficient enough for our 457 visa application aswell!!! then that way you dont have to rush to get medicare sorted when you get to OZ as you will be still covered. I think it cost us approx £125 for 3 of us ! happy days....good luck with everything.

Been looking at a car with no road worthy and the owner is not at all interested in getting one before he sells it......if i do buy it without one, is this legal? and what does a road worthy entail ? i understand its like a MOT but a bit different???

Diversified mining services or solutions ( cant remember the last word)...based in Gladstone- my friand works for them and is from the UK on a 457 with them,

kettles and toasters are really not worth taking.. unless you can wait 12 weeks for a cuppa!!! and a piece of toast!!! lol. TVs are reasonably priced here but do bring your washing machine and hoover as they are very expensive( we bought a new washer to bring with us)...we got our stuff delivered today from the UK and it all works fine( including tv and washer) so happy days...

Have you thought about Gladstone for work??? thyey are crying out for people with your skills and you can earn mega bucks here.....look in to it.

GALAXY chocolate & Razor blades ( really expensive here) !!!

you need to speak to BIGLIB on here- her hubby works for diversified mining solutions here in Gladstone.They are on a 457 visa with them

shame your not in Queensland

what job do you do???

I miss Galaxy chocolate, M&S walnut whips and dine in for 2 for £10 and Morrisons CHEAP home baked bread from the bakery !!!!!mmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnn...........dribble dribble !!!!

I totally can understand you on that as we were experiencing the same in the UK, It used to P**S me off walking my son to school and we used to play dodge the poo game !!! it was revolting !!! and i can honestly say here in OZ i aint seen any !!!!! love the nice clean pavements here.The UK should learn a lesson from the Aussies!!!and pick up the ****!!!!

We have been in Queensland for 9 weeks now and our stuff is due to be delivered next week.....but we are now thinking did we bring too much ??? do we really need all the stuff we packed up ???? we have moved from a large 4 bed detached house to a 3 bed apartment ( thankfully with a double garage)!!!....think most of the 83 boxes we have got coming will be going straight in to the garage !!!!!! we seem to have managed fine for 14 weeks with the basics.....and tbh we arent allowed to out up pictures on the walls in our apartment ( as its a rental) so that counts for a few boxes !!!

Just wondering if you have to always have your driving licence on you when driving in Queensland?

Theres no dog poo all over the pavements here in Oz like in the UK !!!! really dont miss that nasty stuff.!!!

We used John mason and am patiently waiting for our stuff to arrive in oz......2 more weeks !!!!! Only one problem with them so far......not once throughout the whole process did they tell us we may need an import permit for our sons 500w children's ride on battery operated quad bike...and they had plenty of chances to tell us........written on inventory, the man who came out to price our move, the actual removal men??????? But nothing was said !!!! And now we have a dilemma, customs have said we need an import permit which will cost us and also an entry fee and all this takes time !!! But on a good note.....we had to call jm in the uk and they sent us an email to say they hold their hands up and they should have told us about permit etc and they will pay for any costs we incurr....as it could hold up the rest of the shipment coming to us in 2 weeks time !!!! So we will wait and see what the next 2 weeks bring !!!!!!

Whereabouts in Queensland are you? millers

Hi there From experience of coming to oz with our 6yr old son I would say it is better to come before the new school year starts mid ish jan. my son started end of feb this yr and struggled a lot at first as they put him in yr 2 but he was the youngest in the class (end of may birthday) and th teachers assessed him and decided after me buying all the books he needed for grade 2 ( he was in grade 2 for 2 weeks) that he should be in grade 1 !!!!! And he was much better in grade 1 although upset he had already made friends . He was in yr 2 in the uk and was doing well, so it is very different here in oz but my son has settled now. Just be prepared that they move down a year when they get here !!!! good luck to your relatives millers

Hi there Do you have kids??? Food roughly for us for a family of 3 in Gladstone costs us approx $160pw mobile phone contract on Telstra costs $50 per month internet per month $80 that includes phone line !! petrol is $1.50 per litre and I have a small auto Mazda and it costs $65 to fill up medicare is free to register but you will have to pay for scans and other services you would get free in the uk, do you have private medical cover??? Some people do take this out but we don't feel the need for it. Try and find a doctors that do bulk billing and then you won't be charged to see the doctor, if they advertise partial billing you will have to pay something towards seeing the gp.!!!!! no council tax (to my knowledge) only been here for 9weeks!!!! house insurance, cheaper than the uk, but we have a 3bed apartment here but 4 bed detached house in the uk!!! And car insurance cheaper than uk but car rego( equivalent to uk rd tax) can be costly!!!!! And the transfer of ownership when you buy a car can be a shock if you don't know about it !!!! I think it's 2% of the sale price of the car. So be prepared !!!!! Lol Hope this helps, Millers

so i take it a year was enough for you in Australia???? lol

we stopped over in Singapore for 2 nights / 3 days and it was great, went to Singapore zoo and sentosa island and loved every minute...and we left 4 of our 5 cases in the airport luggage lock up and just took the 1 case for the 3 of us for 3 days to save lugging it all around !!!

My husband is on half that salary here and we live in Tannum sands!!!! and we have been here for 8 weeks and so far so good !!!!! Tannum is a lovely place to live and the schools are very good. My oh works in Gladstone and finds the commute fine.... good luck with the move Millers

Hi Andi we got 23kg's each with Quantas on a 457 temp long stay business visa for 4 yrs !!! i would call the airline and check.... we had a lot of excess baggage and the airline did us a bit of a deal at checkin but i would put as much as you can in the container !!! $50(£35) per kilo extra for excess baggage !!!!

we went with John mason and they were fine ( we shipped our stuff over in Jan) and the packers were really good and thorough but when packing our sons 500w battery operated quad bike they NEVER mentioned anything about " it may need an import permit" and never did the guy who came out to estimate our belongings at the start !!! so last week we got a email from the shipping agent in Brisbane to say " have we got a permit for it"? and we were never told !!! so was a bit cross with JM for not mentioning it to us ! and they have since said they will cover any costs that we incurr for a permit etc......so all in all ok !!! ps- dont send anything flammable in the container !!! lol