Csully23

Hi, I used a company called sendmybag.com. You can send boxes , however I decided to put various household items in a suitcase. It cost £160 to send 30kg.

Hi, You can't apply hilts in the uk. I tried to do the same! You'll have to go into the centre link office upon arrival and apply for Medicare. It wasn't too much of a headache, just make sure you take a copy of your visa and passports. Make sure you get to the office first thing as you can be waiting for a while to get seen.

Medicare : when we went to our 'new arrival meeting' you should be invited to one once you arrived. They said people on a 489 and not from uk are not entitled to Medicare and will need private health insurance. I'm not sure on the costs. You'll need to check with the school on the fees. You'll pay the price that everyone pays. The prices are on the schools websites. Depending on when your son turned 4, he'll start off at kindy, again there's private and public.

Hi, We stayed with Tamara (homes down under) when we first arrived last October. They're really nice and clean homes with everything you need. We ended up staying in the area too.

This is what I was worried about when we moved over 15 months ago with our 6 month old son. He was on cow & gate in the uk. We used premixed cartons for the flight over, they're fantastic! We had a tin of formula in the main suitcase. I had planned on mixing the uk with Aussie formula. Only problem I had with that is that the milk preparations for the formula is different to uk. i just moved him straight on to the formula here, it's so much easer to prepare and take out with you than the uk stuff. I looked into shipping formula over, you can but honestly the formula here is fantastic, didn't have any problems with his stomach.

Hi, our 489 visa took 12 months to come through. That was including the invitation to apply process.

Hi KPG, We've been in Adelaide on a 489 visa for 15 months now. We moved with a 6 month baby.... having no family here to help was a shock to the system! We started off in a holiday home for the first 2 months in Port Noarlunga. As we had no idea about renting here. We found it easy to get our rental here, all you need ID paperwork and copies of utility bills from the uk. We didn't have references as we're home owners in the uk. We pay $300 per week in rent for 3 bed, 2 min walk to the beach, but we got a good deal there. We put $100 away weekly for gas and electricity. one of the things myself and hubby regret is not getting a container and bringing EVERYTHING thing over, even the tin opener. Starting from scratch is such a head ache and can be expensive. The things we found out once we got here is that on a 489 visa you don't get any help with childcare fees/rebate and will have to pay full fees. You get Medicare if you're from uk as there's a reciprocal agreement between the 2 countries. You will need to get ambulance cover as if you call for one it'll cost you about $900. We've not bothered with private healthcare, and we're with a bulk billing gp in Seaford. Schools - your kids can go either state or private. My sons only 20 months now, I'm looking at getting him on the waiting list for a private school in Christies Beach called St. John the apostle. Depending on how much your annual income is you may be able to apply for a 'school card' for reduced fees. We don't get this as my husband earns over the limit. On the job front, my husbands a mechanic and got a job after 5 days of being here. We just handed his cv out. I've not been so lucky..... I'm a qualified HR Advisor who managed a recruitment team, I thought I'd get snapped up, with all my qualifications and experience. But to be honest, im actually enjoying the time off raising my son, we do so many outdoor activities, there's so much for kids here. Things are tight financially with one wage but we're managing and still having a good life here. I hope if managed to answer some of your questions. I'm no expert, just learning as we go along. Good luck!!