Melbpom

You could donate it to kids under cover. 

7 minutes ago, Quoll said:

That won't work because of the mind boggling costs of international fees, hence my suggestion for her to board until the end of education and keeping options open. 

But it might not come to that. By the time she's gone through the Australian system she might have formed more bonds and chose to study here. As to the cost, what would 4/5 years of board cost, never mind the flights of family to and fro?

I'm not even sure international fees are cut and dried anyway. I think (could be wrong here) that they're set by individual universities, so it might just be a case of doing some research and shopping around. I've been looking for my son to do a masters and the fees seem to vary.

14 or 15 seems very young to stay behind in the UK. She's still a child and she will cope with whatever move you need to make. Perhaps you can give her the option of university studies in the UK.

Is it always possible to replicate the options given by skyscanner? I've seen a trip I'd like to book with Emirates which would be Mel to London Heathrow and then the reverse trip from Gatwick to Melbourne. If I go the the Emirates website, the options are limited to arrive and depart at the same airport and this comes out more expensive.

I know someone moving back to Australia from the UK. They have dual citizenship.

They are planning to sell their house prior to the move. The query is, is it better to wait for the completion of the sale before boarding the plane? Or wait for the money?

Is there a change in tax status as soon as they arrive back in Australia and would that trigger capital gains in the UK?

9 hours ago, Chris Gordon said:

We are 3 weeks away from going back to the UK for our 6 month trip and most things are falling into place. Globally and financially I think it's the worse possible time to be doing this but we're committed now. 

 

My only concern left now if renting our house out in Coffs Harbour for 6 months. I feel for the $20k it would net us it is not worth the potential down side for vandalism and Tennant's not leaving at the end of the say. Bad Tennant's could quickly rack up $20k worth of damage.  I'd rather receive the 20k in rent but because it's out family home and we plan to return to it we may just be best biting the bullet and getting a house sitter in. 

Anyone done anything similar or has any advice for us? Thanks 

I'd be cautious about the tax implications of renting your house out e.g. capital gains.

My youngest is in his mid 20's, born in Australia, went to uni locally and now has a good job in engineering. He has a large group of friends that he's known from school. All of them have professional jobs and are living at home while saving madly for house deposits. It seems to be the norm here and something you might have to plan for.

20 hours ago, calNgary said:

We came with 8 suitcases and shipped 8 boxes in a shared container, mainly hubbys tools, kids favorite toys, toiletries, kitchen ware and any sentimental items we couldnt part with. In hindsight i wish we had brought the tumble dryer too as it was quite new, but that is about it.

     Cal x

Second vote for the tumble dryer, I brought my condenser dryer back because they're expensive here.

I moved back to the UK and lasted less than a year before moving back again. I thought I'd enjoy the colder climate but froze even in summer. When we landed back in Melbourne the waft of heat on a warm summer evening was such a relief.

There were other factors in my moving back, mostly my sons, but like Marisa I felt unfamiliar with the UK. I didn't belong there anymore, too Australian.

If you go, just be sure to research your entitlement to an Australian Centrelink pension. I think there are a few threads on the subject on this forum.

On 02/11/2022 at 00:33, Ceebs-x said:

Hello,

Has anyone had any difficulty getting referees for a rental application, when they have just moved from another country and don’t yet have a job? 
 

I have been living in bought accommodation for a long time now, I think I’ll have difficulty getting any referees initially. Obviously I’ll need to sort accommodation ASAP when I arrive though. 
 

Has anyone found a way around it? Could you give like six months up front instead? 
 

Cheers! 

A lot of rental properties require you to fill in an application form online and this makes it very difficult to skip questions you can't answer (e.g. referees, salary, rental history).

Instead get a hard copy of the application form, fill in what you can and add some background info.

3 hours ago, Obvious said:

Hello, this is my first post to this site so forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section or such.

I will attempt to keep it short, as this is a mere inquiry for feedback from anyone who may be knowledgeable on the topic.  I moved from the United Kingdom in 2013, to Western Australia. The move was stressful and I never really felt like it was home. That is, until around 2020/2021. Towards the end of 2021 we moved back from WA to the UK, due to cost of living, stress, missing family etc, the usual.
However I really found myself enjoying Perth towards the last two years and felt it became my real home. It also shaped me into who I am today as I grew up there during the most crucial years of character building, if that makes sense. So I plan on moving back for 2023, on my own (Which is new to me since I have always been a home bird, not to mention living away from parents on the other side of the planet). To make things worse, or better, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders in 2019. To put a long story short,  this diagnosis followed by seeing many therapists led to me being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the more common term is Aspergers but I believe they are trying to move away from calling it that. Which I believe falls under the NDIS list of benefits eligibility. 

Now that you have some backstory, I wish to ask if anyone is well versed on the NDIS and its features, or who it benefits and what to expect. I can read their site all day but I feel as if asking people with experience may help. What do they offer? What can I expect them to fund for me? Would housing be apart of the package? As in, would they pay for my rent or something similar? I don't want it to seem as if I am just trying to leech off them with benefits, more that I want support and a foundation since I am quite terrible socially.  I also want to know how NDIS works for employment, or rather lack thereof since I am scared to go into employment with my lack of social skills. 

I hope I have made sense, and I apologise in advance if I did something wrong like post in the wrong section or such. 

Any feedback appreciated.

NDIS broadly covers therapy (such as Speech, OT, Physio, BSP), support workers and aids & equipment.

There are very few participants that qualify for housing known as SDA (Specialist disability accommodation). To be eligible you would need to have multiple profound disabilities. It's a long process requiring heaps of reports from therapists. I've been through the process with my son and he was deemed eligible.

Living expenses for someone with a disability who's unable to work would be covered by Centrelink payments e.g. DSP (Disability Support Payment) and rent assistance.

I would bring all the reports you have with you when you return from the UK and if you are interested then make an application to the NDIA to participate in the NDIS. 

I've bought some nice gifts from Aboriginal artists and businesses lately, such as a necklace from Roots and Mirrigal, tea towels from Girrigun and balms from https://bushmedijina.com.au/

57 minutes ago, john tredrea said:

im not an Australian citizen i dont know how to delete the phone number

Maybe try clicking the "report post" in top right hand corner of the relevant comment you want amended. I've done this for a post of my own that I wanted removed.

I can't help with your problem but suggest you contact by private message some of the migration agents from this site.

I know someone planning to return to the UK and planning to buy quickly if not before leaving Australia. They are British Citizens.

I've been looking at the new rates of stamp duty for non UK residents https://www.stampdutycalculator.org.uk/stamp-duty-non-resident-uk.htm and the 183 day rule for new residents.

Is this time requirement new and is it strictly enforced?

4 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

Just to say, you can change addresses for most Australian government departments on the my.gov.au site and it’s helpful as they can contact you on there but the only one you can’t change online from overseas is medicare and if there is an Australian address they will send your new card there when it’s due. You have to phone them to put a uk address in and that’s a pain at the best of times much less with a large time difference so if possible try and change that medicare address whilst you are in Australia, could you use a relatives address? Or if you speak to them they might suspend your account or something maybe.

I gave up and just put my sons Australian address in the end.

The ato and Centrelink etc all accepted an overseas address on the online portal.

 

Keep your Australian mobile sim active on a spare phone because if you need login to MyGov you will need the code that is sent to your phone.

If you are close to retirement age consider you eligibility for an Australian pension. If you claim a pension while resident in Australian you can still receive it in the UK but if you become eligible after leaving the country you can't lodge a claim in the UK. This is my understanding so double check.

English breakfast music:

https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/english-breakfast-music.html

3 minutes ago, Ken said:

If you didn't have another primary residence at the same time (which depending on when in December you moved in to your new home seems to be the case) then it wouldn't have mattered if you had rented out your UK home, you'd still be entitled to the primary residence exemption.

I was only resident in the UK flat for 2.5 months out of the 12 months prior to the sale of the property. The sale took a long time due to time wasters. Therefore I don't think I'm eligible for the 6 month rule. I think it is safer for me to rely on the primary residence rule and that is more luck than judgement.

Thank you Ken, this is the answer I was hoping for. I had read about the 6 month rule on the ATO website and one of the examples mentioned a property being rented out and therefore not considered a primary residence during that period, so I was hopeful that that applied to me.

It didn't occur to me at the time of purchase (of new Australian house) about CGT. It will probably cost me more than the rent received and the proportion of land tax paid, but I will deal with that when it happens.

Again, thank you.

On 11/04/2021 at 17:24, Ken said:

As an Australian citizen (or PR) living in Australia you are liable to pay tax in Australia on your Capital Gains Worldwide. However you probably won't need to pay any tax in this instance, and even if you do it won't be much.

Was this the only property you owned at the time you sold it? There's a principal private residence exemption in Australia just as there is in the UK and in Australia you can keep a property as your principal private residence for up to 6 years after you ceased living there.

Unfortunately you can only have one principal private residence at a time (other than for a six month bridging while you are buying and selling). But if you are out of luck there, then you are still only liable for the gain made in the period you were resident in Australia - i.e. the base for the gain is not what you paid for the property but how much it was worth when you moved to Australia. This can be based on a valuation or upon averaging the gain across the periods. Because you owned the property for more than 12 months you are also eligible for the 50% discount, so you only have to pay tax on half the gain in this period.

A lot of people ask about the double taxation agreement. Had you had to pay any tax in the UK you would be able to deduct the amount paid from the Australian tax due under the double taxation agreement - but as in your instance when you haven't paid anything in the UK you can't claim that you are being double taxed.

Feel free to PM me if you need more detailed assistance.

I have a similar but slightly different query.

I sold a flat in the UK early December 2019 that I'd been using as a primary residence. It was never rented out.

In the meantime I bought a house in Australia in August 2019. However the house was tenanted at the time and I didn't move in until the tenants moved out in mid December 2019.

Would this UK flat still be covered by the CGT exemption in this case?

Australian, I felt like a tourist when I went back recently. I find the accent gives me away, it's Australian in the UK and British in Australia.

Try reporting your own posts by clicking on the "report post" in the top right hand corner of the relevant post. It might work and worth a try.

Is it possible that your friend had other skills and qualifications which allowed her to get employment and sponsorship in another work area, and that waitressing was only a temp job?

1 hour ago, Parley said:

My mum had the electric heating in the floor in her unit. I didn't like it.

It took 24 hours to kick in and any adjustments take hours or a day to be noticeable. She had her place so hot in winter i didn't like it.

Gas is instant and can be adjusted quickly, and it can be switched off when you are out..

Now that you mention it, my gran had underfloor heating and for some reason she never used it. That was years ago so I don't know why, maybe cost or as you say, too difficult to control.

6 minutes ago, Parley said:

It might need a service. I don't have those issues. Mind you my system is only 3 or 4 years old.

The heating unit is only 12 to 18 months old. I've recently bought the house and couldn't get the heating working so replaced the unit. Doesn't help that the house is on a slope so there's a large gap under the wooden floors and of course there's no insulation. I think the issue is more that I just don't like gas ducted heating.