James Wilkinson

Hello, I am here in Australia on a 482 VISA and would like to have some things sent to me from the UK. It's just a few jumpers, which originally would have been valued at around $1000-1300, but they are all now worn so would be worth much less. I don't really have enough to send via Sevenseas, which is what I did originally, and so I'm just going to arrange for them to be sent via a courier company like DHL. My challenge is that I've been in Australia for coming on for two years. Will I get charged tax on these items when they arrive? Or can I just tell the courier company that the value is less than $1,000 and therefore would they be considered an import of less than $1,000? Cheers, James

Hey, I have a query that I was hoping someone on here might be able to help me with! I've had a good look online, but really can't make sense of it all or find a single source of information that seems to cover my specific circumstances. Seems odd as I'm sure this must be a situation that effects many people working in Australia! I am working in Australia on a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa. This Visa requires me to take out insurance cover and I have bought a policy that is tailored to that requirement. Due to my tax bracket and being British (reciprocal health agreement), I also have to pay the medicare levy surcharge unless I take out appropriate insurance. However, as far as I'm aware, the policy I have for Visa purposes is not sufficient to avoid the medicare levy. I spoke to an insurance company and they said that there isn't one policy that will cover me for both of these things. I just wanted to see if anyone had found a workaround for this? Cheers, James

Fruit and veg is slightly better in Australia, but far more expensive. On the whole supermarkets are miles ahead in the UK and much more reasonably priced. As you guys mention, the convenience phenomenon of M&S and others doesn't seemed to have made it over to Aus.

@Fluffycookie thanks for letting me know about that group, that's really helpful. Good luck with your exemption, it sounds like people are getting these through fairly quickly and easily now. Sounds like flying via Hong Kong is probably the safest bet right now as no requirement for a negative Covid test and no requirement for quarantine on arrival in the UK. Although with things changing so rapidly, it's possible this could change between now and flying!

Hi everyone! I’m planning to return to the UK from Melbourne in the coming months. I was initially planning to leave at the end of September but decided to push it out with the uncertainty around the second lockdown. I’m now trying to get things organised for mid November and was wondering if people had any experiences in returning home during this time? I’m not a permanent resident here, so I won’t need special permission to leave. But just wondering if anyone had any advice on other things to be aware of? In particular, would be good to know if flights advertised are generally flying as predicted. Thanks in advance, James