Guest tim_hump3s Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Hello I am planning to move down under to Sydney in January/February and I have a few questions which I would welcome advice on I should be getting a job with a sister company of the one I currently work with. To get in I'm getting a working holiday visa and then the company will sponsor me for the business visa as the position is available now and I'd like to get there asap. I have been told I would get a Living Away from Home Allowance. Can anyone tell me what this means? I have a Nationwide Flex Account and Credit card which I will be using as there are no transactions fees and the credit card has a commission free purchases abroad bonus plus protect purchases and you get extended warranties although I'm not sure if thats applicable to purchases abroad. Anyone know this? I want to open an Oz account before I get there which I will use to get my salary paid into and use moving forward. It looks like most people have Westpac or Bankwest accounts but could someone let me know which account is the best one to open? Are there a couple I need to open? On Westpac site there are quite a few accounts and I have no idea which is the correct one (eg Westpac Choice, Westpac Choice eAccount, Westpac Reward Saver, Westpac Cash Manager, Westpac eSaver, Max-i Direct, Classic Plus, Westpac Youth Package, Westpac Student Package, Westpac Plus and Term Deposit) I have a deposit for a house and would like to buy/build one asap (once I settle down and find the best location). Is it better to leave it in accounts in the UK or to transfer it to a savings account in Oz now or once I have settled and am ready to get on the property ladder? What are the interest rates like down under and how much would it cost to transfer and what exchange rates could I expect Any advice would be welcome Thanks Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Broughtons Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 On Westpac site there are quite a few accounts and I have no idea which is the correct one (eg Westpac Choice, Westpac Choice eAccount, Westpac Reward Saver, Westpac Cash Manager, Westpac eSaver, Max-i Direct, Classic Plus, Westpac Youth Package, Westpac Student Package, Westpac Plus and Term Deposit) Thanks Tim Hi there, We have a Westpac Choice account which is an everyday account. There are no limits as to how many transactions you make and we also have a cheque book which is unlimited and has no cost. Some accounts / banks do have a limit as to how many transactions you can have each month for free. Attached to this we have a max-i direct - this is only accessible via online or telephone banking and earns good interest each month. The Choice account does not earn interest and in order to waive the monthly charge you need to keep the balance above $3000 each month.. We have just set up a Westpac Reward Saver too - this earns about 6.5% interest a month and will prove to Mr Mortgage Lender that we can save regularly - we have set up a direct debit from our account to pay into it each month. We have also moved a lump sum into a term deposit account too. This means depending on how much you put in it and how long you leave it for, you can earn a decent amount of interest. We have tied ours up for 11 months. We can't pay money in and can't take it out before that time is up - we then get the interest at the end of the term and means we won't be spending money that we want to use to buy a house. If we do need the money before the term ends we forfeit the interest. With regard buying a house you need to look into this in more detail - people on a temporary visa are restricted as to whether they can purchase property, there are more people on here who would be able to advise on this. Hope this helps a bit, Felicity:wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The McT's Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 do you get a proper debit card with your westpac choice a/c I can't decide between that & similar commonwealth one, only cwealth has inernet banking, does yr westpac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liam Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Tim You should have a look at this link for more information on the LAFHA and speak to Alan Collet at Go Matilda if you have any queries. Better to pay him for good advice than pay the tax man later: http://www.gomatilda.com/news/documents/The_Living_Away_From_Home_Allowance.pdf As far as transferring funds over here you might think about drip feeding them over here over the next 12 month period as exchange rates are fluctuating wildly. You can put the funds in an ING Direct or Bank West (Halifax Bank of Scotland subsidiary) online Savings account and get rates in the high 6% with some offerring over 7% with no fees and charges. Look a Foreign Exchange Specialists | HiFX plc servcices for money transfers. Each decsion depends on your personal circumstances so get professional advice but it is a good time to be a buyer over here as some good deals around. best of luck, Hope this helps Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Broughtons Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 do you get a proper debit card with your westpac choice a/c I can't decide between that & similar commonwealth one' date=' only cwealth has inernet banking, does yr westpac?[/quote'] We started out with a Westpac Handycard and then recently asked for a debit card. We will keep the handycard because that means free transactions when we go out of the country. I've got internet banking and telephone banking on my Westpac accounts. I use the internet facilities loads and get paperless statements now. A friend of ours uses the telephone banking on his account. Felicity:wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BullcreekBob Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 G'day Tim Welcome to Poms in Oz. You raise some good general questions in your first post to this group. They have all been asked many times before, and they have all been answered many times before. I suggest you do a little browsing through the forums, perhaps even get adventurous and use the search facility, you will soon find answers to many (most, or even all) of your questions. You will also find answers to lots of other questions you haven't even thought about yet. Once you've read through some of those posts, I will gladly answer some of your follow up questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tim_hump3s Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Well I've got the transfer to Sydney so got lots to organise and investigate. Scary but very exciting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.