Jon the Hat

16 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Think we will take the beds, mattresses and suite then. The suite was about £4.5k but over 10 years ago. It’s Natuzzi Italian leather and a classy bit of furniture which now has a few miles on the clock lol. So it is probably worth taking. It’s always good to have something to start you off as well I think - replacing everything all at once gets really expensive really fast. Haven’t got to looking at the shipping yet - we are still over a year away from moving and there are other things in front of it in the to-do queue. 

You might well end up with a home with 2 lounge areas so having a retiring main lounge suite is no bad thing.

5 hours ago, Marisawright said:

If you're taking those big items, then that's one decision you don't have to make -- they won't fit in a Movecube, so  a shared container is your only choice. 

Even so, I think you're probably right to consider bringing the beds and the suite. People used to say it's not worth shipping furniture because it's going to take six to eight weeks to arrive.  The thing is, most furniture retailers in Australia don't keep stock any more.  They have display stock, and then they order the furniture (usually from China) when you place the order.  Lo and behold, that's going to take six to eight weeks. So you'll actually be waiting longer for your new furniture (because you have to trek round the shops to find it first), than if you'd shipped your own.

  I'd suggest doing a trial shop on some Australian retailer websites, to see what it would cost you to replace them -- and whether you can even find an equivalent, because the range is more limited here.  I can't remember which state you're heading to, if you remind us we can tell you which retailers to look at.

I can tell you from recent experience that the first $25k of buying stuff can happen very very quickly.  And we brought a full container load as well.

Your tax return assesses the number of days in which you had an appropriate level of hospital cover (your insurer sends this to you, and most I believe also to the ATO for you) and adjusts your medicare levy surcharge accordingly.  As Paul points out the 12 months is the period of time you have to start hospital cover from arrival if you want to avoid the LHC which is a separate and additional levy which you definitely do want to avoid.

Voted best City to visit by readers of a travel mag, many of whom live in Sydney or Melbourne, and who want to get away from the big city they live in when they travel.  Makes sense.

17 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

It is not that the UK is doing a better job, I mean there are serious issues there, but are being addressed more than in Australia. The recent 0.5% indicative of this. (taking UK rates to 5%) Another 0.5% is on the cards and interest rates in UK expected to rise to 6% or more. That is not indicative of much besides being aware they have a serious inflation problem, that needs to be tackled. 

Australia on the other hand , as usual in denial of the situation , has kept rates on hold. This is partly due to the Govenor of the RBA role up for re election in a couple of months , as well as massive pressure from the housing industry, which holds undue influence over policy in Australia , where any rise, is a rise too much. All it does is prolong the situation. 

But what is true is property is very over inflated in both countries, as well as others, and a correction of magnitude would be healthy all round. As for UK things will become more apparent later this year, with many hundreds of thousands finishing their present low mortgage payments and looking at payment interest rates of 6 or 7% . A hefty call for many, already struggling with cost of living increases. 

The UK government have rightly in my opinion, said they will not use tax payers money to shore up defaulters. Still interest only loans along with increased duration in years will help some. But whatever people are in for a tough time in UK. AS mentioned, I am watching the UK market closely , as find seeking an alternative Australian location to buy extremely hard work. 

 

Increasing interest rates is not going to help inflation, it is the reason inflation is staying so high.  The sooner the banks forget their 1970s models and realise this the sooner we can get back to normal levels of inflation and growth.  They will cause recession in the UK and slowdown in Australia before that though I am sure.

One of my team built up a substantial sick/carers leave balance over 16 years, which has meant he could be a great support to his wife who has been having cancer treatment for the past year.  In that context, wasting it for a day off here and there seems pretty silly.

I second that Iron Lady made it all very easy.  Definitely bring it if you love it - vehicles are expensive over here!

On 09/06/2023 at 10:03, bneshrimper said:

Thanks again everyone who replied. I sort of assumed that was the case but it’s been really helpful to have it clarified.

If they don't grant PR, it is I think worth asking for it, as there has been the occasional case where they appear to have forgotten.

Just move to the lovely City of Melville, which has no number restrictions.

3 hours ago, Nemesis said:

Before any fellow non-drivers out there panic, its still possible to do the 100 points without a driving licence

Non driving in FNQ would be interesting I suspect!

On 13/05/2023 at 11:51, InnerVoice said:

 

And the rest of us benefit too. Personally I'd rather pay more tax and live in a world not surrounded by poor, sick, uneducated people who are more likely to resort to crime because there's no chance of escaping poverty. Scandinavian countries are often cited as having the best quality of life in the world (despite their winters), with free healthcare, education and excellent public services, but it all comes at a cost in the form of higher taxes. If you want to see a country in social decline look no further than the UK, where tax rates have been continually reduced since the 1980s.

If they're going to cut taxes then surely increasing the tax-free threshold would be fairer than reducing tax rates by a percentage, which always benefits higher earners the most. The threshold hasn't changed since it was raised to $18,200, 11 years ago. By comparison the UK personal allowance before tax is the equivalent of $23,500, and the cost of living and wages are generally lower over there.

Tax rates in the UK have not been continually reduced since the 80s.  Admittedly the stupid high tax rates of the 70s are fortunately no more, but there was the introduction of the higher rate, the removal of the tax free allowance over 100k and the never ending creep of threshold reductions.

5 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I don't see any problem with the tax cut.

But then I'm in the group that everyone seems to be treating like lepers (you know that group so good at what they do they get paid over $250k for doing it - and in the process also pay for everyone else to get tax cuts and benefits).

This might be the first time in my 40 years on the planet when I actually benefit from something in the budget and you all want to take that away from me

I will also benefit, but I am also smart enough to recognize that in addition to lots of hard work over many years, I also benefitted from being born white, in an prosperous part of a developed western country with high education standards,  went to a school that encouraged us to believe we could go to university, to parents who believe in hard work and making the most of your opportunities.  I also had a great group of friends at school who helped me stay on the right side of doing too many stupid things, and have been fortunate in being in the right place at the right time career wise.  Lots of people don't get these starts in life, and it is no bad thing to pay a bit more tax to help boost them up.

1 hour ago, Ken said:

The problem is they made an election pledge that they would go ahead with the stage 3 tax cuts despite voting against the legislation when it was passed. They're very worried about being accused of breaking that pledge. Can't see why they don't scrap the tax cut and just blame it on Putin though.

They don't need to scrap it, but it would be better to lower the threshold of the higher rate to ensure the lower paid do better without handing $10,000 tax cut to those earning over $200k.

3 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

Well  glad to have been able to shed further light on the matter. Of course turbo migration plays a part. Just  not the entire picture. I will keep an eye out on a rental across from me in regards to if more of the same or indeed once referred to as living a more conventual 'lifestyle'.  

Have the baddies gone?

19 hours ago, FirstWorldProblems said:

Is this because there is a workforce shortage and so they want to encourage the stay at home parent back to the workplace?

 

Yes I think so.

34 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

There is a huge amount going untaxed by means of illegal activities. Highly disruptive to the economy not to say ethics. This comes at an equally high price to our hospitals, crime, road accidents and house explosions. (much unreported) 

Taxing the illegal activities would make one complicit no?  Hard to justify.  Also illegally earned money is often laundered, which does tend to attract tax.

7 hours ago, BendigoBoy said:

Not sure couples earning between $250,000 and $530,000 a year need help with childcare costs when we've got a national debt to bring down.

If one of the couple is earning in that range and the point is to encourage their partner to work it makes sense.  It also likely pays for itself in tax revenues from the worker and the childcare employees.

1 hour ago, Blue Flu said:

It wasn't always like that. (I recall when it was still a working class city)  London (these days) still offers very high salaries if in the right area of employment. It most certainly is not well rounded though or inclusive. But commuting? Those living in the Home Counties maybe. But London has probably the best public transport system in the world . It's just a shame it is expensive to use. 

It is quicker in a lot of cases to commute from the home counties then across London though.  At least it was until the Elizabeth line, might be better now.   Same in Sydney I guess, all road/trains/trams lead to the CBD.

21 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Australia is (to the world)

Kangaroo

Koala

Hot

Opera House

Bridge

 

All easily got within 3 km of Sydney CBD, nowhere else can claim that

Hot?  It always sodding rains when I visit Sydney!

On 02/04/2023 at 07:50, rammygirl said:

Do remember that prices for fruit and veg is much more seasonal here than in UK. Out of season or shortages equal higher prices but in season it will be much cheaper, markets almost give away stuff in a glut.  Embrace the seasons and enjoy fresh local produce. 

Yes that does take some getting used to, especially if you have a child who will only eat a tub of fruit if it has strawberries in it...

There is a document category showing a medical check booking (I forget what it is called).  If you really cannot make it happen in 28 days (which I would recommend even if you have to do it at lunch or something) then make a booking for the medical when you can attend, upload that and attach a note explaining your situation. Perhaps an email from work saying you are not permitted time off in your first month.

20 hours ago, Squirlies said:

We have a 5 hour stop over at Singapore. We are planning on going into an airport lounge for a shower 

There are hotels you can book for a couple of hours, much nicer than the lounge.

2 hours ago, palmtrees said:

Thank you, I’ve had a read through and it looks like a really interesting role but I think I’d need to have done some further cyber security study / gain some IT knowledge to get to a role like this one unfortunately.

I have worried/ noticed a lot of the jobs in DP in Aus atm look to be quite broad with it incorporating IT, data management etc., potentially as DP isn’t ‘currently’ such a huge task for businesses as it is here with our legal response timeframes, responsibilities to keep records and conduct assessments etc. For reference the type of role I do is something like this: https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/data-protection-manager/49770531 which I was thinking might not have a huge calling for in Aus at the moment as a lot of these responsibilities are due to GDPR laws and guidance we have to comply with or risk legal action/ huge penalties. Without this to worry about I think my current team could be a one/two man band/ or mixed into IT or Legal’s remit.
 

Anyway I digress! I’m aware I’m going way too far into my work side of things and don’t want to bore everyone with my worries on it, I’ll have to do some more research Thank you again for the link, it’s really helpful as it’s definitely where I’d like to be going long term!  

I would say it is worth being ambitious when you arrive, as there is a shortage of talent at the moment. I was prepared to take a step backwards, but in the end with a little patience I got a role at a higher level in a new industry which ticked all the boxes for my next career step.

Congratulations!  PSS were fine for us, and the company they used this end, the Key Moving Solutions were helpful with storage etc and splitting the delivery.  It is usually recommended to use letton Percival for insurance.

34 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

Of course the selling of $1.6 Billion worth of Australian property to Chinese has further aggravated the matter. In a time of housing stress, overseas buyers should be barred from buying housing .  

On this we can absolutely agree, and once it has been bought they should be taxed so much for leaving it empty they are all but obliged to rent it out.