Walkabout

Thanks for the update Andy. Can you remind me please once you have transferred your pension does it have to remain in an eligible scheme for a certain time period, and if it does does that scheme need to still appear on this new list? (we transferred ours in 2014 if that makes any difference!)

We did this just over a year ago... and for us technically yes there was some tax liability to pay in Aus if you have already bought a property here (although I have no idea if the rules have changed since we did it or how the inheritance part affects it!). But it is very complicated and all to do with the increase in value and exchange rates from the time you bought property in Australia. Talk to a tax expert, we used GM Tax (Jane Cooper) (they are the tax branch of GM visas that Allan Collett runs I believe) They have offices in both Southampton and Perth and have been very helpful for us so I would suggest giving them a call.

Hi, I am in Kingsley and have 3 kids in Primary, mine are at Dalmain and we couldnt be happier with it as a school. I have also heard positive things about the other schools in the area too and we love the suburb . Whilst I agree to some extent that it is worth keeping an eye on secondary schools , I also think you have a long way to go before you get there and a lot can change in that time as Rossy says principles changing can have a huge impact on how schools are so I would take note of secondary and perhaps let that be a factor but not put too much emphasis on it at this point in time! As you say, go have a look and see how you feel about the schools, that will help with your decision making. Good luck :-)

Welcome to Perth! Dont stress too much about getting everything done, take some time to enjoy your new city, the weather should be OK for a couple of days so make the most of it! Get your bank account sorted and the rest can follow. Have fun!

3 years ago we spent about £14000 on costs before we moved (visa, flights and shipping - but remember the actual visa cost was different then). We then spent about $27500 when we got here on set up costs, buying cars, holiday rentals, rental costs, insurance, driving licences etc etc and then a further $4000 on additional items (washing machine, sofa, beds etc, some of which we bought second hand and sold again once our container arrived (Matressess mostly) others we kept). I kept a spreadsheet so know that these costs are pretty accurate for us (family of 5) but everyone cuts their cloth differently and you may decide you dont need a car when you arrive which will save you that cost and the cost of insurance etc or you may decide you need 2 in which case your costs would be more. Hope that helps!

Hi, yes you do need to disclose this information with your Aus tax return. My understanding is that you can only claim the interest on the mortgage payment and not the whole payment, BUT you can also offset your agents fees, council tax, and any repairs / maintenance etc that you have undertaken during the Australian Tax year. But I'm not a Tax advisor or accountant and we have always had one prepare our statements for us to ensure that it was right. Whilst I have no doubt that it is absolutely possible to do it yourselves, it may be worth getting advice from a professional to ensure that you have claimed/ not claimed all the right bits especially if this is your first return. Good luck!

Hi, we are in Kingsley and really like it. Kids are at Dalmain and have settled and are very happy there, I have heard positive things about Halidon too, go and visit the schools and see what is the right fit for your children. Greenwood seems to be getting better and better as a suburb, but again nothing beats going and having a drive around and a poke about to see how it feels for you and your family as what one person loves another hates!

Hi, any chance you could post a couple of pictures of the sofa and outside table please?

We used them, and had to make a claim, no complaints from us, happy to share our experience if anyone is wants feedback!

Good luck VS, sounds like an exciting next chapter!

Hi, we have recently done it as well, we didnt have to go back, as others have said we printed and signed docs here and couriered them over. Finance wise also as stated we had to have a valuation for April 15, we also had to complete a form to let UK tax know that we had sold, and we will have to declare the sale in both the UK and Aus as part of our tax returns this year. We havent had to pay capital gains in the UK, but we will have to pay something here as we are PR and have bought a house here prior to the sale of the UK place. I have to say that while I am sure it is fine and perfectly possible to do it all yourself, we are paying a UK / Aus accountant to deal with it all for us, they submitted the UK paperwork following the sale and will do our UK and Aus tax returns. Insurance wise we were able to roll over our existing policy to cover us for the time the house was empty, the cover was extremely limited and it looked as if there was little chance of them actually paying out should there have been an issue, but at least it was covered as that was a condition on our mortgage. Council tax - contact the council and tell them that its empty and you should get some sort of a discount on the fees, I think it varies from council to council but you should be able to get something. I have to say though painful at the time of going through it, it is such a relief to have finally sold and not to have to deal with it any more, so hang on in there and it is worth it in the long run!

Hi, details I used to update mine recently are; 929 Support Europe Service Centre Migration Branch Australian High Commission London WC2B 4LA Tel: +44 20 7420 3690 Fax: +44 20 7465 8218 Email: 929.update@dfat.gov.au I didnt get my new passport certified and they seem to have accepted it, I would email it to them and see what happens, they will let you know if it is not what they are looking for / they need it in a different way (I managed to forget to attach the signed page of the form so they just emailed me back asking for it, was no drama at all) Hope that helps!

Hi As Arwen says, yes your oldest will be in Pre-Primary, and this is the equivalent year level to reception and your youngest will start Kindy in the January. Kindy is 2.5 days a week but many schools / Kindys do it on a 2 days one week and 3 the next basis to avoid half days, some kindys do it with the half day (I believe!). And yes it is similar to the 15 hours free that you get in the UK and not compulsory. There has been a bit of a downward shift in many schools recently on the expectations on the lower years and it will be very school dependent but I found that the expectations for Kindy were way above what they were for nursery in the UK and similarly for pre-primary and reception. As I say this will be very school dependent and people from different schools / areas will all have different experiences. Hope that helps!

Hi Deb, Sorry I dont as we only used it the once and now dont have the space to set it up to take pictures :-( this is the link to it on line though http://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/tents/family-tents/oztrail-sportiva-peninsula-tent/p/BP90001001 to show you what it looks like....

ha ha, its like that game of how many you can fit in a mini! - great fun with the right crowd!

Hi, I have an Oztrail sportiva peninsular dome tent for sale, sleeps 12 has 4 separate areas. As new condition as only used once but we no longer need it Listed on gumtree here, asking for $250 but happy to do a deal to get it out of the way! http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kingsley/camping-hiking/oz-trail-peninsula-dome-tent/1096557926

We FINALLY sold our UK house! its been a really long time coming and I cant tell you what a relief it is! To anyone on the fence about whether to sell or not before you come... sell ...it is so much easier to do while you are there, dealing with things remotely is a complete nightmare!

not ready, not ready, not ready!!! (yes Porty too soon!!)

Congratulations guys! It has been a long journey for you, wishing you every happiness for when you touch down!

We came without knowing where exactly we would end up or what school the kids would go to. We accepted that they would be out of school for a few weeks while we worked it all out and figured it was only the same as having a holiday anyway! I did as much reading and research as I could, then came up with a list of areas that we thought we might like and could afford to live in. I then looked at schools and read about them. I made a list of those that I wanted to visit. Once we arrived we looked at the areas on our short list, these were places we likes the sound of from research and had schools that I thought sounded OK from as much as you can tell from the UK (and a few others as well!) and decided those that we liked / didnt like and then arranged to visit schools. Visiting the schools was a really important part for us, the school I liked the sound of the most on paper, I liked the least when we visited! Hope that helps!

I only did it by email, to the address that was on here, they were very helpful in their reply! Good luck!

Hi, I sent my sons off without certifying it (mostly because I was in a rush and didnt read the instructions properly ... opps!) and they replied to say the visa had been transferred, I figured if it wasnt right they would tell me to send it again! we havent however been out of the country to test the theory yet though :-/ Hope that helps!

We went with Letton Percival, needed to make a claim and had no real issues with them when doing it, I would use them again. :-)

Thanks for the comments, we are just trying to get advice from the right person, being here we just dont have the contacts in the UK any more. We are through an agent and we are waiting to see what advice they give, however I wanted to get our own independent advice as well just to know that we are being given the right information. I am currently waiting on advice from a contract lawyer as I believe that is the area that the mess falls into. Does anyone know if it is only assets in the UK that they can chase or if they are able to chase assets in Australia as well? Thanks for all the help, we are keeping our fingers crossed we dont have to get legal representation but if we have to we will!

Hi, is anyone able to recommend someone that we can seek legal advice from in relation to our property in the UK that is currently let to some particularly special tenants? Also does anyone know if we are entitled to legal aid from the UK although we are no longer resident and if we can still be sued as a non UK resident? Any advice greatly appreciated!