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Thanks for all your replies. Some very useful information. I will be coming out on a 457 visa and will hope to apply for PR after 2 years, as I am on a five year contract with my future employer. I will contact my insurance companies and see what they say. Thanks Fiona

Hi everyone , I am a 46 year old Mum , married with three dependant children , about to move to Australia in July. I was wondering if anyone can tell me if they have been able to continue contributing to UK life and /or critical illness policies they have in the UK , and therefore if they would pay out if claimed on if living in Australia? I started policies several years ago and I know that to start similar policies in the UK would cost me more now because of my age and health status (I have high blood pressure since taking them out) Does anyone have similar experience? Does the cost of transferring money back to the UK to pay premiums offset any savings made by continuing the older policies? Any advice /tips welcome thanks.

We are about to ship our household to Sydney in July and wonder if we can bring our rocking horse into Australia without having to cut off the real horse hair mane and tail. We were told by the shipping company that this was the only way we would be able to import it. Has anyone had experience of this? It would seem such a shame to have to do this as it was an expensive horse and has become a future heirloom for our three children , the youngest has only just started riding it as he is just a year old today! Thanks for any comments.

Thanks for the advice, I will take it on board and nearer moving time will get some more accurate figures etc, I thought originally I wouldn't bother, but I didn't reckon on mercedes being so expensive in Australia and I do love the car which has been looked after and trouble free from new.Also we have bought the usual "kit" such as roof bars etc and had been thinking of having a towbar fitted until we knew we were moving ,when I thought it wouldn't be worth the expense anymore. Now we might go ahead and do it!

Thanks for all the replies, hugely helpful!

ok looks like I am going to have to do some negotiating here.Thanks for the advice.

I will be 46 almost 47 when I move to Oz next year. I have signed a 5 year contract with the company ,which has a "get out " clause on both sides at the end of the first year.I will ask the recruiting /sponsor the question though, as I would like the added security from day one, plus I would like to buy property in Australia if I am settling.

I will have to bring this up with the company involved. I am older than 45 , but my skills mean I might be excepted on age ,plus there is obviously a shortage of GPs

not according to the company who are sponsoring me, I get a 457 visa and after 2 years am eligible to apply for Permanent Residency apparently.

Thanks for this advice. I will be on a 457 visa as a GP , and sincerely hope to become a permanent resident after two years. If I did return to the UK ,I wouldn't be able to get my old job back or live in the old house . There is no emotional tie to the house for me, it is purely a question of what seems sensible in the current economic climate. I doubt the value of the house is going to rise substantially in the next three years as I don't live in the South East of England/London area.In fact sometimes I think I might want to sell the house so that I make a clean break and IF I had to return to the UK wouldn't have to worry about owning a house in a different part of the UK to which I will have to work. Also in the current climate it could take some time to sell I guess.

Hello everyone, We are moving to the Wollongong area next year. We can live within 30 mins approx. of the city and would like to know what areas/schools are nice for primary and secondary aged children. My daughter is keen on drama and I have read about Wollongong High school for Performing arts in Fairy Meadow. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts? I will be on a 457 visa and have just read that it means I will have to pay for state schools.Thanks for any help or advice

Gosh,I have just got a nasty suprise reading about the state school fees. I have accepted a job near Wollongong for next year and will have two school aged children. My recruiter never told me about this expense! Thankfully it should be affordable. Does this only apply so long as I am not an Australian Citizen?

Thanks for the advice

Yes this story is horrendous! I live in part of the UK which makes my home ideal for Holiday Rentals rather than a Long term let , I have a friend who has just done this while waiting to sell her house, and I don't think she had any problems. I have no idea if a tenant for a holiday let would have any "squatters rights " or not.I sincerely hope not!

That is what I was afraid might be the case. Thanks for the advice.

Hi, I am due to move to Australia to work as a GP in Dapto near Wollongong next year. Married with three chilldren and Wollongong looks like it could be a nice place to live. I don't have any other helpful advice re; your qualifications sorry, as I am not knowledgeable on nursing degrees . Good luck with the move as far as registering with the Australian medical colleges, I am in the process of doing this at the moment.You register first with the medical/nursing college, next with the specialist college ,(in my case the Australian medical council will forward on my application to the RACGP automatically once they have accepted me as a member I believe ) after this I will have to apply for my visa, or so the recruitment consultant has advised .

Thanks, yes best of luck with the move!

Thanks for these replies they are all very helpful. I wouldn't expect the children to fly unaccompanied by ourselves at least the first couple of times, then it might be OK for our sixteen year old to fly with the ten year old alone as they can behave , it is the transfer to the next flight that worries me the most. My 16 year old is very savvy, but can also be nervous about talking to people in authority. For example she was scared to tell the server at McDonalds recently that he had given her the wrong milkshake , she had to get one of her parents to change it for her. At the same time she will happily travel alone on the train into the city to meet up with her pals. I think she would be fine with the flying as long as it was familiar and she had a mobile and written instructions with her. The loyalty schemes sound as if they could be useful. I will have to check them out. Thanks.

Hi, I am moving to Australia in a year. I have been wondering whether I should sell my house in the UK or rent it out ? I know it has lost approx 15% of it's last valuation in 2008. I spent quite a lot of money extending and renovating the house. If I sell now I might get back just the total of what I bought the house for nine years ago plus what I have spent on it since. This would give me approx £30k after the mortgage has been repaid and estate agents costs etc. If I rent out I will not cover the whole mortgage costs each month. I expect though that there would be tax deductable expenses . If I become a permanent resident in Australia after two years would I be liable to pay tax on my earnings from the rental in Australia or in the UK. If I didn't sell the house until I was a permanent resident in Australia would I be liable for any Capital gains tax either in the UK or Australia? (This all assumes that I will rent in Australia until then ) .If anyone has experience of moving to Australia and renting out their UK property I would be interested to hear about their experience and any advice /thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Hi , I am moving to Australia next year. I am a GP myself. I am married with three children, ages 16,11 and 1 . Both myself and husband have hypertension but are otherwise fit and healthy with nil sig Past medical history. The children are fit and healthy . Does anyone have a ballpark figure for monthly private health insurance ? Can anyone advise how much regular prescriptions for a couple of medications each a month will cost? Thanks

Hi everyone, We are moving to Australia next year , by which time our children will be 10 and 16 years old. Does anyone have experience of using "Unaccompanied minors " option on flights back to the UK? What would Qantas for example charge either for the two children travelling together , or the ten year old on her own. They might be able to fly to their grandparents in the UK when we don't have holidays from our jobs. Also any advice on the best time to book flights? ie how soon before the flights, any good price comparison sites/loyalty schemes. Thanks

Hello , I will be moving to Australia in a year's time. I have a 61 plate 2011 Mercedes-Benz E class Estate, 5 dr Sport 125 Blue efficiency Diesel , 7 speed Automatic plus tiptronic transmission. Current Mileage 30,000 miles, estimated mileage in a year 45,000 miles. It has metallic paint, 17" alloys, half leather seats, 2 additional rear facing child seats, panoramic glass sunroof, COMMAND (sat nav,DVD/CD player,internet access), heated front seats, Aircon/climate control pack. Estimated UK value £26,000 Australian redbook value Private sale range $66,400-72,400 Nearest available vehicle I have seen for sale privately for $69,900 Moving to Wollongong Thanks for your thoughts!

I know I will need his permission, hopefully he will give it so I won't need to go to a judge to make the decision. I offered to pay for the flights as I felt it was fair. I just hope he will see this as a golden opportunity for the children. I hope he will play fair and still pay their CSA to continue to support their education. Thanks for the replies. all helpful

I am in the first stages of the negotiations with my ex-husband, our Seperation agreement will need to be changed. He hasn't said no , but I guess his next move will be to try to get as much out of this change in circumstances as he is able. If there is a chance he won't pay me CSA anymore ,because he cannot be forced to ,then maybe I would be foolish to offer to pay for the flights?!

I am due to move to Australia in a year. I have two children and my ex-husband pays me Child maintenance each month in the UK. When they move with me to Australia I intended to pay for each of them to have 2 return flights to the UK to visit their father. This would equate to all he currently pays me to take care of them. I understand he would still be liable to pay me CSA in the UK. I had read though that the non resident parent could apply to CSA for a reduction if he has significant costs if the children move a long way away. I would prefer to pay for their flights rather than him stop paying me CSA and him pay for their flights or expect freebie trips to Oz , as he has already been unreliable paying me full CSA all the time, and if I pay for the flights the children will be able to see grandparents during the same trip. Has anyone else had a similar situation? How was it resolved? I am the higher earning parent. Currently only one of the two children sees their father one weekend a fortnight and approximately four weeks of the school holidays. Thanks