moving to Australia, need advice!
 

Hi, can anyone please advice me, I have been offered a job with the Victoria Goverment on a two year contract, they have offered me a $15000 relocation package and a wage of $53000 per year the area that they propose I work is called the Barwon-South Region. Can somebody please tell me if that salary is average.How much Tax would one pay, how much is the average rent for a one bedroom flat?

Can anyone tell what the area is like ie restaurants and nightlife ect, is Melbourne only 1-2 hours away? Any advice would much appreciated.

Sorry LFC, I'm not from Vic and don't know that region - hopefully someone else can address some of those questions. The $15K relocation package sounds attractive on the face of it, but as for the pay, the question is "average for what"? Can you tell us a bit more about the job? I'm assuming that the Vic Govt is offering you this position because you have skills that are in short supply in Australia or in that particular area. Note that most Australians are confirmed townies and can be reluctant to leave the bright lights for the bush. This preference is NOT entirely irrational. IMHO.

What country are you from? That info would help when explaining the situation in Australia. If I have time I'll check out the income tax scales for you, but you can get them from the Australian Taxation Office website, www.ato.gov.au. The first $6,000 is tax-free, anything above that incurs an ascending scale of tax (ie it goes up in steps). On top of that most things you buy incur a 10% goods & services tax (GST), but that's just folded into the final price on the sales docket. There are no state sales taxes as in the US, and the states are prohibited from levying their own income taxes.

If you know the name of one or more significant towns in the region you should be able to run a search on local real estate agents and hopefully get an idea of rents.

If I were in your shoes I'd certainly want reasonable access to Melbourne. 1-2 hours sounds about right.

Cheers Neil, thanks for taking time out to reply

I think I will be based in a place called geelon ( spelling?) and the job is in the child protection arena, the relocation package is based on two years service if I leave before then I have to pay it all back!!!I will be moving from the UK If you convert the $53000 into £53000 then I would be paying 40%tax here in the UK.

I am pretty excited about this and see it as a once in a life time experience-but to be honest a bit scared also. I have done alot of research but wanted first hand experience from someone who lives there besides from all the glossey magazines they have sent me and checking the internet. Cheers LFC

Get yourself a place on the coast just south of geelong....
follow the cats...
and start saying stuff like.."shane warne is the greatest cricketer ever to pull on a boot"..
and you will do just fine...in fact when your contact is up you will move to sydney and never go back to grimy birmingham.

Hi LFC
This is a chance of a lifetime.
That equates to about £23k p/a but cost of living is less in oz than here in UK. I would not hesitate. In fact if you don't go I will.

Muck

Hi LFC

Personally the wage seems to be "nothing to write home about" but on the bright side is the rent in Geelong is reasonably low compared to say Melbourne or Sydney.

I am assuming here that the wage of $53k is actually made up of a salary component plus superannuation etc. If so then your actually take home pay will be around 47.5k before tax and medicare levy. Would probably bring your take home pay down to the mid 30's depending on tax rates.

Cheers

Paul_S

Thanks for the replys, I will endever to practice, in the right accent of course, " gee.. shane warne is the greatest footballer...oops cricketer ever to pull on a boot" and am sure I'll fit right in with the locals!!! Especially coming from Liverpool..oops, sorry Birmingham.

G'day LFC,
Geelong is a great place to live.
It's on Corio Bay and at the start of the Great Ocean Road.
Geelong used to be duped "Sleepy Hollow", but only by those who envied our more laid back lifestyle :-)
There are good restaurants and some nightlife, but of course not as much as in Melbourne. It's only just an hour to drive into Melbourne if you after the 'bright lights'.
You won't have to worry about peakhour traffice on your way to or from work.

I would say "Go for it".
Cheers,
Mike

LFC, are you really from Brum? Get out while you can if that is the case! My husband did and will never regret the decision. This is your big chance. The cost of living in Australia will get you more than you have in the UK and at least it won't cost you an arm and a leg to go from A - B in Australia on trains etc as it does in the UK.
It perhaps is not the best of salaries but if you are on your own you will have enough to live on and be comfortable. The relocation package is great too, so you could bring all your treasures. You will probably end up staying and move to somewhere more climatically wonderful or relocate to the beautiful island of Tasmania which is about 1/2 the cost of the mainland and a wonderful pace. However as soon as you get here do go and see an Accountant so that you can make sure that all your money is going into the right places.

It sounds like a wonderful opportunity and Geelong is a nice place. It used to be seen as the end of the earth but has changed a lot. It's got a nice waterfront area, small town feel, some nice areas around to visit like Portarlington, Queenscliff etc.
The salary sounds pretty average, not really high but not terribly low.
For rent you could check out www.realestate.com.au to get an idea of real estate agents in the area then go on to their websites to check out rent. Rent will be much cheaper in Geelong than Melbourne. You could always share a house which would be cheaper again. Will you buy a car? If so, you could check out www.tradingpost.com.au The RACV (equivalent of AA) will check out the mechanics of a car before you buy, for a fee. Well worth it.
Good luck!
Kay

To reiterate, the question of whether $53K is good money or not depends on the job. It wouldn't be an attractive offer for a middle management position in a government agency, but I imagine it would look pretty good to a frontline social worker (the world isn't very fair that way, is it?)

Paul_S made a good point about cash salary vs package. In round figures: if the $53K comprises just salary and the 9% that employers must contribute to your superannuation fund account, I think the cash component would be say $48K. Income tax (including Medicare levy) would be about $11K, leaving a nett $37K.

I note however that the tax office draws a distinction between "residents" and others - as I don't know what your Australian residency status would be, best take these figures with a grain of salt. Your prospective employer should be able to clear these issues up.

The Medicare levy funds medical care at public hospitals, and provides either free or reduced-fee visits to private doctors. If it didn't apply to you because of your residency status or whatever, I think there's a reciprocal deal with the UK NHS, so you should be covered either way (again, though, I'd check all that stuff).

I know zip about Geelong, so I'm happy to accept other posters' views about its livability. My only concern in your shoes would be to know what I'd be letting myself in for on the job front, and I can't help you there either. I do recall reading that Geelong has a significant component of disadvantaged people (Melburnians, correct me if I'm wrong) - if so it strikes me that a job in child protection there could be busy. However, I guess this is a field in which you have specialist skills, and presumably the issues wouldn't be too dissimilar to what you're used to.

If you have an interest in moving to Australia permanently I guess a 2-year job contract is no guarantee, but would have to stand you in good stead if you applied for permanent residency leading to citizenship. Whatever, it does look like a great opportunity to dip your toe in the water, so to speak - good luck.

I grew up in Geelong - it is a great town. Its the second biggest city in Victoria. Small enough that you can get anywhere in 20 minutes, but big enough to have decent restaurants, cafe's, clubs etc. Its now got a great foreshore area and also fabulous beaches only about 20 minutes away (Jan Juc, Bells Beach, Queenscliff, Barwon Heads...keep on going and you'll head down the Great Ocean Road). It is also about an hour by train from Melbourne. Weather is variable. Gets reasonably cold in Winter (but not as cold or wet OR DARK as UK!) and can be very hot in summer (usually a couple of 40+ days). But heat waves never usually last more than a few days before the cool change arrives. Accomodation is cheaper than Melbourne. Cost of living generally is far cheaper than UK (I am in Oxford at moment, and prices in pounds look exactly same as prices in Victoria - even though worth 2 1/2 times as much!!). Beware some of the northern Geelong suburbs are pretty dodgy. Better to go central, west, south or you could even get a place somewhere like Torquay near the beach. <Sigh> I am making myself homesick. I think $53,000 is about what a fairly experienced school teacher, or first few years graduate would make. Definitely are reciprocal arrangements for access to health care for UK citizens. You do generally have to pay something for doctors still, but it is much better than NHS! Can't think of anything else. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!

Hi LFC
If you are going to be working in Child Protection this would be normal pay for this sort of position.
I am not a Child Protection worker but work with at risk young people and we have a lot to do with Child Protection workers.
There is a major shortage of Child Protection workers in a lot of places in Australia and there has been a major recuitment of workers from Britian.
Child Protection workers work very hard and handle a lot of cases here.
Geelong is a regional city with a port and a major car factory.
It is a working class area some people
commute to Melbourne to work each day.
Hope this helps and Good Luck with your new position.

Hi LFC,
You may benefit from jumping onto the following web site - specially catering to Brits... Type "Adelaide Brits" in Yahoo search. They have their own posting site. They will have lots of helpful advice.
Presume there is something similar for Victorian Brits. Best of luck.

LFC,

As a pom who moved to Oz, just over three years ago, your financial package might well be drastically improved by your getting LAFHA (Living away from home Allowance) This would have the effect of giving you a rent and food allowance. Ask your prospective employer about it.
If you sort out the LAFHA you will be comfortable.

Cheers,

Bertie

Thanks for al the replys, there is still alot to sort out before I can make a decision on going or not and need to sort out all the stuff at this end, I am pretty sure I'll be going though!!!

Hello LFC
http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/

Check this site out for information on living in Victoria.
A few other points, the Barwon South West Region of the Department of Human Services is a large area (30,000 sq.km.)and stretches from about 70km from Melbourne to the South Australian border.
Within the region there are several offices, with Geelong being the "head office" other offices are at Colac, Warrnambool, Hamilton and Portland. You need to check out which office you will be based at (it may well be 5 or 6 hours drive from Geelong). DHS is recruiting overseas as there is great difficulty in retaining protective workers in rural areas, the turnover is very high as the work is demanding, highly stressful often dealing with difficult, dysfunctional families and abuse of children that causes staff a great deal of personal and emotional confrontation and trauma.
In my experience (as a person who started out in protective services), there was not a problem in recruitment to Geelong office, but rather to provide services to the more rural offices. Very few of our new graduates elect to go into child protection, particularly in the outer rural areas.
The wage is offered is OK by social work standards (as it my understanding that $53K is salary alone). It is usual in the public service in Victoria for the benefits such as superannuation (9%), recreation leave loading, sick leave, etc to be additional to the stated salary.
Due to the high workload and staff turnover there would be ample opportunity for overtime rates as well as the opportunity for promotion within the unit you are employed.

If you are based in Geelong, then you are only a 55 minute train ride from central Melbourne and many people commute from Melbourne to Geelong and vice versa.
If you have any other queries, post them here and I will get back to you
Trust this is informative and helpful

Thanks MissB99 will post if more advice needed!!

Hi LFC,
I visited the Barwon-South Region in March this year and met with a manager from children's services. I was very impressed with their set up. I found them to be very friendly and helpful.

I too am a social worker and considering moving over next year. Geelong would be a great place to work but personally I wouldn't want to live there. I saw lots of great places around to live.

Melbourne is only an hour away to visit for nightlife but Geelong has plenty of restaurants.

The salary they have offered you is above average for sw in Oz.Rent is much cheaper in Oz than the UK.

Good luck
Yorkshirelass

You might find www.britishexpats.com useful.