EmPalmer Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Hi All, I am new to this site My husband and I moved to the Sunshine Coast from the UK in January 2009 and love our new life over here. We have had a little Ozzie baby this year and I am now a stay at home mum. I have been thinking recently about businesses I could run from home and I was wondering if I could use the skills that I gained moving over here in helping others do the same, ie help with relocation and settling on the coast including car hire and accommodation options for when they first arrive, helping with getting driving licenses, medicare paperwork sorted, advice on areas and schools etc etc. I am just wondering what your thoughts are, if moving to Australia is this a service you would consider using? Thanks in advance for any feedback Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Would never have thought of using one tbh. Did all my research, much of the stuff like Miedicare, drivers licence, TFN is so easy to find out about online these days and then either apply online or pitch up at the local Centrelink or wherever. This was not in your state btw. Same for schools, areas to live and just about everything else. Of course, some people don't prepare as well as others and may find such a service handy but not sure you'd get lots of business from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Sorry but I wouldnt either, its so easy to do that stuff online now, I wouldnt pay anyone to do it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Cal and Kate used to do this, I agree that I think it's probably become so much easier. I think the best business is to get a house and rent it out to new migrants. I wouldn't pay someone to help with those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I wouldn't either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maruska Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 The only thing that I MIGHT use a relocation agent for would be house rental, nothing else. Could be nice to arrive to the house from the airport and not have to worry about going to inspections and competing with others for the same property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I think your primary customers are businesses rather than individuals but then you need the contacts really and I'm not sure how much overseas recruitment there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 We used a relocation agent to secure a rental from the uk, but only because there wasn't any holiday/ short term accommodation available, and I was panicking a bit because we had two very small children. We moved really quickly once our 457 had been granted (applied for on the Friday, granted on the Monday, shippers in Thursday and Friday, flew out on Monday, one week after grant), and having someone to find a rental, do the inspections and negotiate contracts etc was a help. Having said that, everything else including car hire, Medicare, tax number etc was easy to do, so we wouldn't have needed help with those things, and had we had more time to play with in terms of finding a short term let, I probably would have done that myself too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmPalmer Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Thanks everyone for your comments, valuable feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 I did this for a few years, i also provided furnished accommodation, airport pick up etc etc and at its peak i had 3 rental houses on the go. However the internet got better with time ,people could research themselves rather than paying someone and IMO the bottom fell out of it- for me anyway. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmPalmer Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks Cal, sounded like you had a good thing for a while there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingtoaussieland Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I used a relocation company for my relocation but mostly because the company were paying for it and had I not used them I wouldn't have had access to a relocation budget which has covered things like my first 6 weeks' accommodation (which they found, booked and paid directly for) and shipping (which they arranged and paid directly for). I also had a property agent to arrange private viewings for lots of properties (we scheduled 12 in one day) and drive me around to the viewings which I would have had to hire a car to do otherwise. Given that I took no time off work during this whole process other than the day before I flew and a day to go house hunting, I can certainly see that the relocation company provided a lot of value to the company, but I am pretty certain I could have done everything by myself with a few days off work and a bit of internet research. I am also pretty sure I could have done it all for a lot less money because using the relocation company generally means you're tied to their preferred suppliers (my temp accommodation is extortionate!) I sorted out medicare, bank account etc. by myself without any trouble. On balance, it has probably been more efficient to use them, but it's definitely not necessary and I probably wouldn't use the services offered if I'd had to cover the cost myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks Cal, sounded like you had a good thing for a while there If you do go ahead with it, think outside the box, some of my 'better' (for want of a better word) clients were from places like Kazakhstan and South Africa, so dont just target the UK. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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