Marisawright

Even if you hadn't surrendered your SA licence, it wouldn't be possible to renew it because it's been more than 5 years. I tihnk your only choice will be to transfer your UK licence, unfortunately.

What questions do you have?

I should add that you can also set up a Self-managed Super Fund (SMSF) which is a private superannuation fund that you run just for you (or you and your partner). It's not something I'd recommend until you're 200% sure you're going to retire in Australia, because they're an absolute bear to wind up if you decide to leave (you can't be a trustee of a SMSF if you're living overseas).

I can't help with the UK end but yes, you can set up an Aus super fund before you have a job. In fact it's a good idea to do so, because you don't want to be stuck with your employer's choice of fund. You want to do your own research and choose the fund you want, then you tell your employer which one to pay your super into. Note that there are 'retail funds' (set up by banks and investment companies) and there are "industry funds" (set up by trade unions for each industry, but open to anyone). Generally, the retail funds have higher fees but they'll claim they have more expertise than the industry funds and therefore should perform better (which isn't necessarily true). The industry funds claim their performance is just as good and they make a feature of keeping their fees low. https://www.ratecity.com.au/superannuation/articles/industry-vs-retail-super-funds https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/yoursuper-comparison-tool https://www.barefootinvestor.com/hostplus

Hard to say as (a) it changes all the time and (b) it depends where you're applying from. The timeframes quoted on the Immi website include people from high-risk countries which take forever due to the security checks needed. Applications from the UK are usually at the shortest end. Not that long ago, they were taking only three months or so -- but that could have changed. Once you get the visa, you have about a year to activate it.

It's confusing because holding the 870 visa doesn't give you the right to claim Medicare. However as a UK resident visiting Australia, you are entitled to claim Medicare while you're here, under the reciprocal agreement. Strictly speaking, you're only supposed to get essential/urgent medical care, and you should go back to the UK for anything that isn't urgent. However in practice, the definition of what's essential seems very broad, and people have even had hip replacements etc.

I assume you've got your citizenship organised? So you can always come back again. As you say, you need to be with your dad while you still have him. Who knows how long that will be -- I'm sure you don't want to think about that at the moment, but there will come a time when your dad's not there any more, and you'll be able to come back to Australia. Maybe it won't be till your retirement, but since you've lived in Australia for more than 20 years, you'll have your superannuation and your Australian pension waiting for you. Plan your stay in the UK with that in mind. Keep in touch with your Aussie friends on social media. You have to be where you have to be.

This is my problem. I've tried several VPNs and they all slow the signal down so much, we can't watch it.

Ausvisitor just said that she could be earning thousands more if she went back to the UK. AFAIK, corporate jobs are frequently lower-paid in Oz.

We've been using an old Chromecast on our not-very-smart smart TV and it's time to replace it. I'm looking at an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and something occurred to me. I seem to recall that someone (was it you, @Lavers?) brought their Firestick from the UK and just used it on their Aussie TV without changing the region settings, and that meant they were able to continue watching all the British TV channels (which are usually blocked in Oz). Am I right? If so, what model was it? I don't care if it blocks Australian channels as I can always watch the free-to-air channels on the TV channels instead of through the Stick. Most of the shows I watch on there are British anyway!

Bear in mind that the population of the entire state of WA is only 2.5 million people, most of whom live in Perth. That's the market you'll be working in. That's why all the big corporates (except the mining companies) have their offices in the Eastern states, where most Australians live. Housing is hard to find, however being "far out" probably isn't that big a deal in Perth. Of course people complain about traffic jams, but with such a low population density compared to British cities, they're probably not anywhere near as bad as you're imagining!

The sad thing is that so many people stay on in Australia for years, focussing on the financial benefits of staying and thinking, "I'll go home when the time is right" or "I'll go home when I retire", only to find they can't afford to make the move in older age -- and then they're trapped in Australia for the rest of their born days. For that reason, I encourage anyone who's decided Australia isn't for them, to get on a plane home as soon as they can manage it, even if it does mean losing money. Staying only damages your mental health. The sooner you get back, the sooner you can start building your life again. I'm very lucky that I felt at home in Australia from the moment I landed, but then I was never very attached to my home country in the first place.

I managed by using my old UK address, too. I just needed my UK passport and the address. However I just had a peek at the instructions and it looks like you need more proofs of identity now.

True, but when a professional migration agent posts to confirm the advice, as Paul Hand has on this thread and Westly Russell did on another post recently, I'd be inclined to take it seriously. Rules change all the time and just because some people managed it in the recent past, doesn't mean it's still possible.

Have you tried logging on to the HMRC website? You can see a lot for yourself there.