Stacy053

Hi, We got married in the UK (fife) having lived in Sydney in the lead up. I can't remember all of the ins and out of giving notice however it was no problem for us. Either my parents picked up the form or we requested it to be sent to them. They filled it out and sent it back (or they send it to us to do and then send back) with birth certificates. As long as this was back to allow for the correct amount of notice time then thats fine. About 4 days before our ceremony we went to pick up the actual marriage certificate - this was the part we had to do in person. After the ceremony we dropped the signed certificate back at the registry. Our marriage certificate (and extra copies) was sent to us in Sydney a few weeks later. Sorry some of the details are not super clear, I just wanted to reassure you that you it can be done and you won't need to be back in the UK for weeks before the wedding. I'd recommend contacting the registry direct. Good luck

We easily fitted a king sized diven bed in the Large movecube plus lots of extras. Regarding the extra costs for Door-to-door. Are these custom fees? Or additional extras? Our cube has landed in the uk and we have paid the £360 for custom fees (as expected from quote and telephone conversations). I will be mad if there try to charge us more now!

Sorry to hear about your situation. I don't have any advice as such but I wonder if this other post could be from your son? http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/welcome/244644-i-have-fallen-love-want-move-australia-my-girlfriend-2.html

I'd recommend Erskineville and near by areas. There are lots of different types of properties - old terraces (maybe outside of budget) and units. Erskineville sits near two train lines so quick and easy access to CBD and beyond,also there is a direct bus to Coogee. I see people cycling to work (I presume the CBD) on bike lanes along Wilson Street or other streets. Sydney Park is really close by and we have cycled to Centennial Park a few times. There are a lot of new developments in Erskinveille but for now at least it has retained its 'village' charm. The new developments have kept rent prices competitive so you may score a 2bed for you budget or easily a big 1 bed in a complex with good facilities if that is what you want.

Not directly related to this post, however I have recently come across a font designed especially to help dyslexic people. I hope I am allowed to post a link (I have no affiliation) http://www.dyslexiefont.com/en/. I am am not, google 'dyslexic font'

I may be wrong but I don't think the 6 months have to be in 1 tax year. As long as it is 6 continuous months. There is a tool on ATO website to help work it out. EDITED: There is a calculation for the tax fee threshold to take into account exactly this situation. Unlike the UK you do not received the whole threshold amount, nor is it pro-rata. Is it something like $7K + x/month of stay. Up to maximum of $18200. Again, the ATO website can work this out for you.

Is it a 457 visa you will be sponsored on? Then is you can prove de facto relationship then yes you would be eligible to be sponsored. However, with this visa your OH would not be able to start his own business. He can only work for the company which has sponsored him in the role for which he was employed.

Well a unexpected but positive update. This morning it appears his tax rebate was paid straight into our account. It is approx $1 over what was expected which I think must be the interest the discussed in letter!! I guess we will need to wait til next week for a letter confirmation but it made for a very pleasant start to the weekend. I hope you have a similar outcome Suzi.

We are in the same position. Neither or our tax returns could be verified online. So we printed and sent them off (24th July). Around 15th August OH got a letter which sounds similar to what you describe. Then last week (23rd Aug) my tax return was deposited in the bank. OH return was very straightforward so I was surprised by the letter. Unsure whether it is random, or potentially as he is employed and paid by recruitment agent, working for a firm which is contracted to another. Not that this should complicate it too much. 1 job in tax year. I guess we wait til October. Sorry I have no advice. I would interested to hear of other in similar position or those who have been through similar in previous years.

Another consideration which should be outlined in your contract is whether you are liable to pay back any relocation expense that they may have paid for you. In my contract this is outlined as a % of costs vs time left on contract. Good luck

My company use Smart Salary as well. In general they have been good. Their website explains the concept of Salary packing and the rules very well. Once you get here and get a log in this will be personalised to your circumstances - show your limits etc. They process claims very fast even if for some, but not all, you have to send things my mail. Others can be sent by fax. They have always paid prompt. Frequently before my company pays my remaining salary!! You can access reports which clearly outlines on a monthly basis your package income. They have been great whether I have contacted them via email or phone. It makes sense to at least package the minimum you are allowed against rent or living expenses. Whether you opt in to Car schemes or entertainment card etc can be done at any time. Good luck.

Have you signed a contract? It would be strange to have a visa granted them do contract negotiations would it not?

I have seen https://www.ozforex.com.au recommend before. I used it once and it seemed similar to moneycorp. I was happy with the service. I think you get a few (3 maybe??) no fee transfer. This may suit your needs.

You are correct in that I missed the associate part of the job title. I did not mean to comment directly on any figures but was merely suggesting the the OP could, in all likelihood, get access to a open-access payscale. Having a PhD is one thing but number of years post-doc (research or teaching) generally governs the entry point on the academic payscale and this is not something the OP has shared. ​I wonder how the interview went?

Hello, I know your main priority is housing and morgage but I have small comment on the salary. Sydney university pay a someone with a phd a minimum of $78252 (with 17% super). This would be anew graduate level. I would therefore think a lecturer there would be paid more than your being quoted.i know universities differ and obviously don't know your cv but thought its helpful to know nonetheless. If you google university of sydney salary scale you can easily get access to it. I assume the same would be available for Macquarie and other. Good luck with interview

Hello, Hollister just opened this week at Westfield Bondi Junction. Not been brave enough to check prices yet though. There they also have Zara. There is a Top shop in Sydney CBD. Also a lot of british high designer street designer shops: Ted Baker, Karen Millen, French Connection. You'll be fine.

Hi everyone, I too would be interested in meeting up and meeting some new friends. My finance and I arrived in Sydney in November. He is happy to meet people through work and gym etc. Whereas my work colleagues seem a little quiet so I'd love to meet some people in a similar situation. Unfortunately I can't make this Sunday as we are going to the Zoo, which I am very excited about. I hope you all have fun at the loft. And if you arrange any other meet up I would most definitely be interested. Looking forward to meeting you soon. Stace

Just another small update. Our cube arrived last week and nothing was broken well except the cube itself! A few things had obviously moved around in transit, so a few pieces of furniture got scratched but that was down to our packing or lack of protecting! As above, our cube was scanned and not opened by customs. And whilst it arrived in good time first to Melbourne and then Sydney. It sat in Sydney for over 2 weeks after we paid custom invoice (standard charges as above). This was slightly frustrating, as was the fact we only got 18 hours notice as to when they'd deliver. Not a problem as my work is flexible and OH is still looking for work but worth baring in mind. And I guess we were unlucky because unlike a lot of other post on here, we received no help unloading the cube. Which to be fair is not the service you pay for. However our driver did not even have a trolley to aid us, which you are told you would get. Despite the sore biceps I am really happy with the service of Sevenseas and the Movecube. And delighted to sleep in a bed again Stacy

Hi, we recently moved to sydney on 457 and went to see about car finance for the first time yesterday. Finance guy at Toyota said 30% deposits puts you in strongest position but it is possible to to go lower tp around 10%. Which is good for us has we dont have much free cash. He had no problem with 457 and was talking about us getting 3 year term (in our case visa is 4 yr, but contract is only 2!). He asked my job (scintist) and said that'd go in our favour. We would need payslip ( so you may need to wait til you have your first, but maybe Contract of employment would suffice), passport,visa, driving licence. I got the impression it is on a case by case basis but the fact the loan is relatively small then risk is lower and chance of approval are higher. one thing the car sales man told us was we would need to go to RTA to get a custom number (think thats what he called it). this is because as a 457 holder you don't need to get oz licence but they need something to register vehicle against. He didn't mention a cost just needed your 100point ID. We hadn't heard of this before, but it is something you could get done whilst car shopping etc. Hope this is of some help and good luck with your move

Do you say this because of the depreciation being greater than the sale price? Would buying new be better in the long run? We are currently looking into getting a car. We don't have any capital so will be going down the finance root of some sort. We are here on 457 so only temp staying and need to take into account resale value. Any other car buying (or leasing) advise would be really appreciated :-D

Hi, In expedia if you go to the flights tab there is an option of 'Multiple Destinations'. If you select this you can input your flight requirements a section at a time. We used this last year and it worked very well.

Hello everyone, This is my first post despite being a avid reader since my unexpected (and successful) interview for a job in Sydney. It has been a whirlwind 8 weeks and I think (hope) we have everything organised as we fly on Saturday. Some of the posts I have found of particular interest were those regarding the movecube by seven seas. Indeed we have now used the LARGE movecube today to ship our belongings. I have been very impressed by seven seas and the whole process. After I first contacted them for a quote, you then reply with a list and dimensions of your intended shipment to which they work out the size of cube you need. Booking was done about 2 weeks in advance (I had a slight panic that it was TOO late, but I needn't of worried) I opted to buy boxes and packing material from the. This was delivered approx 2 days later by courier at a specific time (1hr times slot given). I found the bubble wrap especially good value for money. Custom forms were also given at this time. Then today was move cube time. The driver arrived earlier than the 8-9am timeslot. Quickly unloaded the trailer and left us to it. It took the whole time (4.5hours) to load so I'd advise having everything packed and ready to go. We managed to fit everything we wanted in - phew. As a guide we fitted: kingsize divan bed/matress and padded head board. large tv unit 2 bedside drawer unit 1 tall drawers unit 4 kitchen chair 1 large coffee table 1 side table 2 adult bbikes 1 tall thin bookcase ~8 boxes 1 racket bag cant believe even writing it now it all fitted in (I thank my dad for that) we filled drawers etc in unit we have been quoted 80 days from glasgow to Sydney. Only time will tell now how that goes. hopefully those has been helpful for those with a movecube booked or considering using one. if anyone has questions I'm happy to answer if I can. stacy