Roberta2

On health matters generally, there is always a debate here about the "need" for private health insurance. As previously mentioned, if you don't take out private insurance, you still have to pay the Medicare levy. When you do take out private insurance, you have options as to what coverage and premiums you want. All rather complicated. I changed mine recently, with the help of various comparison websites, but still found it hard to compare apples with apples. Some people just take a punt and rely on the public system. Others simply can't afford private insurance. It is currently a subject of debate between me and my 90 year old mother, who is now in a high care nursing home. She is self funded retiree, not a pensioner. She gets frequent visits from her doctor, as required, and he bulk bills. This is the case with all patients in nursing homes. There is a free dental service, in that patients get a free checkup every six months. But only a checkup. The podiatrist comes, but she has to pay for that. My mother pays $188 a month for top level private health insurance. Medibank, which has just been privatised. Her premiums are "reduced" because she has been paying for decades. So does she still need it? Probably. She was recently in serious danger of osteonecrosis of the jaw (literally dead jaw) because she had been on Fosamax for a long time for osteoarthritis. (Her then G.P was clueless.) This was pretty serious, and she had to go to a specialist doctor who did manage to fix it, to our great relief. I can't remember the bill - about $1,500 I think - and she did get about half of that back. Had this specialist been on an "approved" list for her particular health fund, she would have got more back. But we didn't care - we were just relieved to get attention in timely fashion from one of the best specialists in town. She's now off Fosamax, and we hope this problem won't recur. But she still needs specialist eye and hearing treatment. She may need new hearing aids soonish -about $7,000. Not sure how much of that she will get back. Pensioners do get free hearing aids, but I am told they are far from the best available. Since Mum has scrimped and saved all her life, I naturally want the best available because her hearing is a big problem for her. Deaf as a beetle, actually.... Best Robyn

Am not sure, but I would think you would need to be in Australia for ten years, when you become eligible for the pension. You can't get both the Seniors Health Card and the pension. The Seniors Health card is meant for self funded retirees whose taxable incomes are fairly low. (As an anomaly, the incomes of those retired on public service pensions - both state and federal - are not taxed, so you can be on quite a high income and still get the Health card. Am not sure how much longer this one can last....) The way I read it for those on Contributing Parent or Aged Parent visas, the only social security you can access for ten years is Medicare, which you get on arrival. Others will be more expert on this than I...

whoops- not sure if I am posting twice. But in relation to dual living arrangements, you need to seek legal advice. If you put your money into a granny flat or other dual living arrangement, the title to the land will not be in your name, and you could be collateral damage in case of a divorce. I have seen this happen. There may be ways to protect your interests, which is why you need to see a lawyer. You also need to consider what might happen if you need in future to go into residential aged care. You won't have a house to sell to fund your accommodation costs.

Indeed. Job security isn't what it used to be, including in the public service, and often people have to move to find jobs, even if they would prefer not to. My son in law took his family off to Singapore not because he wanted to, but because he thought he might be out of a job if he did not. Western Australia's mining boom having ended, a lot of people there are having to move to the East coast to find work. NSW seems to be where jobs are easiest to find, but housing prices are among the world's least affordable. But it also depends on the alternative. My son's in laws naturally don't want to be stranded on the other side of the world when their grandchildren come here. And who would look after them in their old age? They don't have extended family in their home town. Their only other child also wants to come out, in time. They have visited Australia as tourists, albeit a long time ago, and liked what they saw. So the rest of us will just have to help them. My son knows that he will have to stay put in Brisbane. He simply won't be able to house this extended family in Sydney, whatever fancy salary he is offered. The sale of his partner's parents' house will not fund the most modest dwelling even in Brisbane if a large chunk has to go to funding their visa fee, as presumably it will. If they can sell it at all, that is....The property market in the West Midlands does not seem to be exactly booming. I have had this conversation with him already!!!

It will have an impact on the family budget, though, because although Kindy is relatively cheap it is not full time. Full time child care is expensive. Which is why a lot of grandparents here are doing more childminding than they really want to do. So I was very pleased to learn of the recent changes here. My son and his partner might now have a full year's child care fees they don't have to pay, providing that their daughter is mature enough to cope with Prep when she is less than four and a half. Indications so far are that she will be roaring to go.... Incidentally, no 1 granddaughter is in Singapore, and will enter Primary One there at the same time that no 2 here in Oz does, presumably, despite the fact that no 1 is slightly more than two years older than no 2. They need to turn 7 there in the year they go to school. That is all going to be interesting to watch. Unlike the Scandinavians, Singaporeans have NO publicly funded kindy etc and their school system is arguably the toughest in the world. It creates a racket in the tuition industry.

To Steve: I meet a lot of Brits these days, especially around Northlakes/Mango Hill, north of Brisbane. Ditto South Africans. I am told there is a type of visa that requires people to live for some years 30ks outside the CBD, and Northlakes is that distance. Don't know anything about that. The ones I meet seem pretty happy to be here. Especially in what passes for our winter! Re the Australian health system, I have seen reports on this site and elsewhere that I think are too negative. Admittedly, dentistry is a black hole (pun intended.) Lots of people now go off to Thailand for things such as root canal, implants and seem to do OK. My SIL's brother is about to do this. My recent experiences with my aged parents have been very positive, re the hospitals in Queensland, especially Prince Charles, which is public. My daughter had her first baby in Royal Women's. All went very well, and the only charge was for the car park. fee. Some doctors will bulk bill. My neighbour gets bulk billed, for example, though he has a very decent income and no concession cards. The doctor just seems to like him! The doctors at Northlakes, where there are a lot of retirement villages, all seem to bulk bill. It's very hit and miss. I stick with my doctor out of habit, I guess, and because she's a very good doctor and misses nothing. It costs me about $37 out of pocket for a short visit. Luckily, I don't have to go very often, just do routine grease and maintenance. But you can shop around. Some things are free to those over 65 - annual flu shots for example. If you have something seriously wrong with you, you will be put on the A list and waiting times here for surgery etc are not too bad, even in public hospitals. If you have something which is a problem but not life-threatening -e.g. hernia, need for knee replacement - waiting times can be fairly long. As for food shopping, my mother always shopped at Aldis, and bought shares in Coles and Woolworths. (Now she's a bit worried that Aldi's success is putting downward pressure on her Woolies' shares...) There are plenty of ways to save money on groceries. Aldis is about 20% cheaper than the Big Two, but of course has a limited range. On aged care, I should add that the vast majority of people in residential aged care are pensioners. They pay 85% of their pension for their care. Just about everything is provided for them, so they should be able to manage, even without help from relatives. Nursing homes have to reserve a percentage of their places for pensioners - about 12% I think. Standards of aged care have been improved greatly in recent years, after some much-publicized horror stories. The biggest problem for pensioners is that they don't have as much choice about where they go, compared with those who can pay their way. Again, this varies a lot from place to place, and whether you get lucky or not. I got my mother into a very good facility near here a few months ago. She, having scrimped and saved for decades on modest incomes - no superannuation etc- can afford to pay the top rate. (Currently over $6,000 per month!!) After being told there was no chance at this home, suddenly I was informed that a place had just come up. Later, I tried to quiz the accountant about how we had got in. She told me it was purely on the basis of need, and Mum's latest ACAT. yeah, right.... Best, Robyn

My son is an Australian citizen and will be moving back to Brisbane in October 2015, with his British partner. Having had one baby recently and pregnant with another, she is now determined to change careers and become a midwife. She is doing premidwifery qualifications in the UK (biology etc) and is hoping to be accepted by a Brisbane university next year. We hope she is a Permanent Resident by then, otherwise the fee for an international student is $26,500. As you may know, the tertiary sector is in some turmoil and fees in 2016 for local students are still unknown, depending on what happens in the Senate, although local students can defer their repayments via HECS etc until after they graduate. Question: in Queensland, would she be better off doing a combined Midwifery/RN degree? She is not keen on nursing as such, but I worry that Midwifery alone might not have good job prospects. I also wonder if she can expect to stay in Brisbane, or be required to do a stint in regional hospital. (Queensland is a very decentralised state.)

The rules on this changed last week, to bring Queensland into line with NSW. The cut off date used to be 30 June, now it's 31 July. That is, the child must turn 5 by 31 July to enter Prep. Of interest to me because my no 2 granddaughter was born on 30 July. We will decide at the time whether to send her then or not. Looks like you just miss out. He will have to go into Kindergarten. I can't imagine, however, that it is going to have a "massive" effect on him and his education!

Yes, my daughter in law's parents will presumably be trying to sell a house in the West Midlands. Taking out a mortgage on the house is a thought...obviously, you have to have the money on standby. Anyway, thanks for the info. My son is coming back here permanently in October, with his English partner and two babies. My DIL's only sibling also wants to come out, though of course he will have to make it under his own steam. My instinct is that her parents should apply as soon as they possibly can. Presumably this will be once my DIL has been here for two years and has permanent residency. Her father had a triple bypass recently. He has gone back to work, but.... I think he is 60. Her mother is 57, retired but in good health. They are coming here for a look-see this Christmas. The lure of the two grandchildren should be sufficient, but I do hope it's not too hot. Need more aircon! Cheers Robyn

Re advice on coming out on the Contributory Parents' Visa. I have just caught up with this. Sound advice. Obviously, selling the house is the most important decision many people have to make. But if you put it on the market as soon as you apply for your visa, what if you don't pass the medical and you have sold the house? Best Robyn Regards Robyn

Advice to future retirees in Australia is that it takes around $40,000 for a single person to retire comfortably here. That assumes you own your own home. Of course, a lot depends on your lifestyle. We have the highest labour costs in the world now. My electrician (in Brisbane) charges $88.00 per hour and that is pretty standard. I have a handyman who charges $50 an hour and that's about the best you can hope for. The Commonwealth Seniors Health card is means tested. Currently, it is not available to a single person if he/she earns more than about $50,000 a year. I know this because my father recently died, and my mother's income is probably now going to be too high for her to be eligible for the Senior's Health card any more. Not that it matters - she is now in residential aged care and is bulk billed. Some doctors will bulk bill Medicare to those holding the Senior's health card. But many will not. They are not obliged to do so. And yes, your UK state pension will be frozen forever, and you have to wait ten years before becoming eligible for the Australian pension. (This is a federal, not state, matter.) The pension is also means tested, and I think the means testing is going to be tightened further, especially for those on part pensions who currently get a lot of benefits, while being allowed to hold property worth millions of dollars. You also have to think about aged care, which has just become a lot more expensive for most people. See the My Aged Care website. Dentistry is certainly expensive. You can shop around for the best deals on private health insurance, which will pay for some of it, depending on your level of "extras" coverage. Queensland does NOT offer any concessions on dental coverage that I am aware of. My mother, 90, recently had a serious dental problem and the "gap" on her top level private insurance was several hundred dollars. Residents of aged care homes do get free checkups, but have to pay themselves for any dental work. It is certainly a big hole in our health system which no government is now likely to be able or willing to fix. Vet bills are also high. Routine annual shots for one of my dogs just cost over $200. You can get pet insurance, but it won't cover routine stuff. Some things are about to get considerably cheaper as the result of recent free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea. Cars, electronics etc. As to the exchange rate, that's obviously difficult to predict. I have decided to wait until the result of the Greek elections this weekend before buying pounds for my trip to the UK this year - it will probably send all the European currencies into a tailspin, at least for a while. But in general, the Australian dollar (which floats, of course) is closely tied to commodity prices, especially iron ore and coal. Those seem likely to be subdued for some time, so a much lower Australian dollar seems on the cards. Best, Robyn

Any idea of what they mean by not having "full" Medicare coverage? Best Robyn

Re insurance: the landlord pays to insure the building and is well advised to have landlord's insurance as well, which covers lots of other things such as nonpayment of rent. But you as the tenant have to cover your contents, which usually will mean not only your personal effects, but your furniture, white goods etc. (Washing machines, dryers and fridges are NOT supplied in an unfurnished house because most renters have their own.) And yes, in a high crime area you will pay a lot more for contents insurance- although this will also depend on what the house is like. e.g. if it has security grills, Crimsafe etc security door, deadlocks etc etc, you will pay less. You can also expect to pay more for car insurance in a high crime area such as Logan. Again, the insurers will ask if the car is kept in a locked garage, in a carport with a locked door or with no door, in the front yard or on the street.

Domain.com.au and realestate.com.au etc are not agencies, just websites. The real estate agent will charge the landlord, not the tenant, for costs associated with getting a new tenant. Lots of agencies - biggest ones in Brisbane are probably L.J. Hooker and Ray White, which are franchises. Nearly all rentals these days will be on these websites, for which they charge the real estate agency. If you approach a real estate agency, they will have a list of places currently available. Most viewings are on Saturday mornings, when they like to have a bunch of prospective tenants viewing a property at the same time. If so, don't be late or the caravan will have moved on. However, sitting tenants no longer have to agree to allow Open House on Saturdays. They do have to agree to inspections when 24 hours' notice is given. So you might have to wait a bit to do your inspection. I am talking here only about the law in Queensland. Other states may be different. If pets are an issue, you will note that some places say "pets considered". Then obviously you have to tell the landlord what you have and it is up to him/her to decide. There will be an inspection of the property every three months. Adequate notice must be given to the tenant. The landlord may or may not be present, but certainly has the right to be present. Yes, a pain if you are a tenant, but also an opportunity to clean up, and to raise minor maintenance issues in person with the property manager. Best Robyn

Tenants don't pay the body corporate fees. Landlords pay those along with rates, property insurance, landlord's insurance etc. etc. I am about to rent out a newly built inner city unit, and would be delighted to hear that the tenants would pay the BC fees! Yes, rents will be higher if there is a pool. But a pool that you don't have to maintain is a nice thing to have in this climate. Landlords are also required to pay for maintenance, not tenants. The fact that a Queenslander needs to be repainted every decade or so, at a current cost of $20,000 at least, is interesting but irrelevant if you are a tenant. I agree with the notion that families are likely to be too emotional about renting the family home out for the first time. Inexperienced landlords can be a pain both for tenants and property managers. Landlords simply have to accept that unless you are very lucky, no tenant is going to look after your house as well as you would. Yes, pay close attention to the entry report, noting all defects. Keep photographs. The bond should NOT be lost if tenants have done the right thing. The laws were changed about five years ago to make it fairer for both tenants and landlords. I rented in Japan for years. It was understood that a large part of the "key" money - about five months rent - would never be returned, despite what the law might say. On the other hand, there was a general understanding that you would not be kicked out either. Here in Brisbane , you can be kicked out at the end of your lease, but you should get the bond back unless you have caused damage. Of course, there will always be disputes about what is "damage" and what is "normal wear and tear". And yes, the agent is working for the landlord, but there are also tenant advocacy groups etc and landlords can't just do as they please. My family has also had some very bad experiences with tenants, where the bond money did not begin to cover damage. At least they were not setting up a drug lab, which seems to be happening more and more...

Brisbane is semi tropical. Civilized life is impossible without insect screens, especially in summer. Even with perfectly fitted and maintained screens, flies get in somehow, especially when you are cooking. Flyswat gets a lot of use since you can't spray around food, utensils etc. Ditto the occasional mozzie. Cockroaches fly, too! And moths etc etc. Sydney? Lived there for years, in the eastern suburbs, and I suppose we had flyscreens. Can't really remember now. Presume we did, because hubby always believed mozzies made him a special target. In recent years, I often stayed with a friend in Double Bay. Multimillion dollar house but no flyscreens. Cockroaches flew in all the time from the surrounding shrubbery. I had to keep the windows shut in order to sleep, and sweltered. Best Robyn

Poms are especially likely to wilt in the heat here without air con. It's been very hot and humid lately, and a lot of us have had to keep the aircon on all night, which is not the usual practice for most of us. You will definitely need aircon in your bedroom. Look to see how many aircons there are. Turn them on to see if they rattle! Ceiling fans are obviously helpful, including to keep circulating the air when the aircon is on, but I would have a good look at them, and turn them on. Some can be too noisy and will drive you crazy if you are trying to sleep. (I just had to replace mine.) If there is no aircon, or not enough aircon, the landlord is not obliged to put them in. They cost about $2,000, including labour, per room to install. Some places will have ducted air con but that is not so common. Look for insect screens, and see if they are intact. In some areas of Brisbane, mosquitoes are in plague proportions after recent rains. They are not just a nuisance either - can carry diseases such as Ross River fever. Flies are a perennial problem. I couldn't live here without fly screens, although my neighbours seem to! Look for builtins. Tenants love them! Look for security too. Bars on windows, security doors etc. There is plenty of crime here. Some suburbs are obviously worse than others. Crime rates, like elsewhere, track inversely with median house prices. Have a good look to see what the general condition of the place is. Are the ceiling fans (if any) clean, for example? What does the place tell you about the willingness of the landlord to spend money on maintenance when required? Agents do what they can, but unfortunately many landlords are focused only on the rent money coming in and are reluctant to spend anything on maintenance. Property managers are also busy, often with more than seventy places to look after. You don't want to be chasing them for maintenance problems if you can avoid it. Landlords are now required to have wired-in smoke alarms. You will have to allow access once a year for them to be inspected. Even the wired in ones have back up batteries that must be changed annually. Water pressure - turn the taps on and off in the kitchen, bathroom etc. Once you decide on a place, take pictures of everything. The real estate agent should also do so. That helps resolve disputes when you move out. If you decide that you simply must put pictures or posters on the walls, do so very carefully. If there is any damage when they are removed, and the wall needs to be repaired/repainted, that will come out of your bond money. The older houses will have picture rails that solves this problem. The bond is four weeks rent and MUST be paid in advance. You don't want any disputes when you move out. You could be put on TICKER if things get ugly, which is a list of problem renters that only real estate agents have access to. Get on that, and you will have real trouble renting again. Rents have been pretty static in recent years. Cheers Robyn

You can also look at the Brisbane City Council Translink websites for the various bus, train and ferry routes. Don't forget the river - river transport is much better than it used to be. The campuses of both University of Queensland (St Lucia) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) can be reached by CityCat, for example. For rental accommodation, you are probably already looking at realestate.com. You can also find an example of a standard real estate contract on the internet. You might want to ask about how the water bill is paid. There are some townhouse complexes, for example, where the water bill is paid by the whole complex. So if you have an apartment next door occupied by lots of people who use lots of water, you will be helping to paying their bill. It's not cheap anymore either. The landlord pays the fixed charges, but the tenant pays for usage. When you go for a viewing, ask the agent what the house policy is on shoes. Some will want you to remove your shoes, others won't bother. But it's always good to ask and to wear slip-ons. I presume you won't have a pet. If you do contemplate getting one during the term of your lease, you need to ask the agent first. The majority of landlords will not allow them. Cheers R

Which university in Brisbane is your wife attending? All of them these days have good public transport. Parking is a pain, and expensive. I would stay away from Logan. Low income areas are obviously cheaper, but they come with lots of problems too, including in the schools. In general, I would move as close to the CBD (Central Business District) as you can afford, even if only initially it's an apartment. (Called units here.) Close to a train station and/or busway. An initial six month lease is the norm. Most accommodation here is rented out unfurnished, by the way. However, there are lots of op shops (Lifeline, Endos, Salvos etc) where you can get very cheap furniture and all kinds of household goods. When your own stuff arrives you can just call them and donate whatever you want to get rid of. Regards, Robyn

PS As it happens, I have been thinking for a while about this very issue. My daughter in law, from the UK, is intending to migrate this year on a partner visa, and to bring out her parents as soon as possible. (They meet the balance-of-family test.) Her mother is in good health but her father, while still relatively young (60) has had a triple bypass. If they were to apply for an onshore Contributory Aged Parent visa when he turns 65, what would happen if either of them became so sick that he/she needed to go into residential aged care here before permanent residency was granted? As you say, it's hard to imagine that your predicament has not happened before. While Medicare will give you the 63 days respite care, if your father is not a PR, he won't be eligible for residential aged care, which is all supported by federal funding. The only thing I can think of is to approach your federal MP, especially if there is no one left in the UK to care for your father. Go in person to the local electoral office. If he's medically unfit to fly anyway, which seems highly likely, what then? Hospitals of course don't want old people clogging up their very expensive beds - can't blame them- and will kick these patients out to respite/palliative care places in designated hospitals, and then the relatives HAVE to put them into residential care. All these medicos and others do have a duty of care. Once he's finished his 63 days in respite care, someone will have to stop passing the buck. Cheers Robyn

Dear Tim, Unfortunately, ACAT does not necessarily lead to residential aged care. It depends on how your father is assessed. The new aged care system came into effect 1 July 2014. Now both income and assets are assessed by Centrelink. The distinction between high and low care has been abolished. Most care facilities will not even put you on the waiting list until you have your Centrelink and ACAT assessments. You also have to find a place yourself. See the My Aged Care website. I am fairly familiar with all of this, but decided to engage a broker to get my 90 year old mother into care recently. Sorry, but I still don't understand how you hope to get him assessed as eligible for residential care AND hope he can pass the medical for his visa. Cheers Robyn