If you are planning to migrate from England to South Australia, here is some information that you might find useful to settle in to Australia. There is also a page of links to other sites that may also help.
Driving, Electrical Goods, Television, Red Tape, Healthcare, Food, Alcohol, Money, Clothes
They drive on the left, just like in England.
You can bring your car over from the UK, but most cars
are available here in any case. You can get European cars (Renault,
Peugeot,
BMW, Audi, Volkswagen,
Mercedes, Range
Rover, Volvo, Porsche, Saab, and others), but Japanese cars are cheaper.
Holden is the Australian
Vauxhall/Opel manufacturer, and makes Astra, Vectra and Berlina (Corsa) cars.
Of course they also have Ford and many other American cars. I haven't seen Reliant
or TVR here.
By law, if a car is sold in Australia, then the spare parts for it must be available
for a minimum of 10 years, so you don't need to worry about maintenance.
Not all states have an MOT test - South Australia doesn't, so there are a lot
of old cars around, some with broken brake lights and crash damage etc. Transport
SA does the licensing.
Road rules are pretty much the same, but the roads are wider and better maintained.
You can drive on your UK license until you become a permanent resident. When
you get a South Australian license,
you need to do a written test. Then you need to pay for the license, which you
can pay by the year or up to 10 years. A 10 year license is $
There are many costs involved with owning a car. Insurance is obvious, but also
the 'rego' (equivalent to a tax disk) is available 3, 6, 9 or 12 monthly. There
is also stamp duty to pay when buying a car, and government charges and compulsory
3rd party insurance (separate from your own insurance). We paid $550 for 12
months rego, and $1035 for the stamp duty on the $30,000 purchase price for
our Renault Scenic.
Speed cameras are in un-marked cars parked on the roadside. They helpfully put
the sign warning you of the camera after you have passed the car. Planned locations
of speed cameras are announced every day on the radio and on the previous night's
TV news.
When you bring your electrical goods over from the UK, they
will all work here - you just need to change the plugs.
Televisions and Videos will work, but you can't tune them in to Australian channels.
You will need cable or satellite (called Pay TV here) if you want to use your
UK television/video.
If you have a DVD player, ensure that it is multi-region. Australia is Region
4, so you will need a multi-region DVD player if you are going to play both
UK (region 2) and Australian DVDs.
If you have electrical items that have a transformer plug and you can't change
the plug, just bring a 4-way extension lead from the UK and put an Australian
plug on it to get 4 UK sockets.
The bathrooms have regular power sockets, not shaver sockets. You may need to
buy new chargers for your electric toothbrush or shaver.
You can bring your whitegoods, but the washing machine may have a different
thread to the pipework here, and you cannot import refrigerators that contain
CFCs in the coolant or insulation. Washing machines in Australia are normally
top-loaders, and people use enzyme boosted washing powder in cold water. Most
Australian homes have a separate laundry room for the washing machine, and tumble
dryers are often wall-mounted over the washer.
British Premier League and FA Cup football results are given
in the regular news.
British bought Televisions and Videos will work, but you can't tune them in
to Australian channels. You will need cable or satellite (called Pay TV here),
or free-to-air digital if you want to use your UK television/video.
Pay TV is only provided by Foxtel.
If you have Sky Digital, then Foxtel Digital is nearly identical - even the
remote control and menus are the same. Almost all new streets have cable already
in the houses. Digital through an aerial and set-top-box only includes the 5
free-to-air channels, and there are no plans for additional channels - if you
want that, get Foxtel.
There are 5 free-to-air channels with a good mix of entertainment. There are
a lot of American programs and British programs. All the best UK TV is shown
here. The only UK soap available here is The Bill. Australian sport, comedy
and current affairs are normally well produced, with a very laid-back approach.
There are a lot of adverts. You may get an ad break that shows the
same advert twice.
Pay TV/Foxtel has fewer overall channels than Sky Digital, but a similar mix
of Lifestyle, food and entertainment channels. There are about 50% American,
40% English and 10% Australian programs (excluding local Australian sport, news
and current affairs).
You need to get a TFN
(Tax File Number) from the ATO
(Tax Office) before you get paid. It costs nothing and takes a week if you apply
online. It's like a National Insurance number.
Pension contributions (called Super here) are mandatory for your employer. They
must set up a fund and contribute at least 9% of your salary in to it. This
may seem like you are being paid less than your quoted wage. Some companies
will also add more funds to your super, but it's not common. It is very uncommon
for an employer to pay healthcare.
You will also need to carry photo ID with you everywhere. In most cases, this
can be your driving license. I have never been asked for ID.
For most official paperwork, you will need "100 points" of identification
- this can be your passport, driving license photo ID, 3 bills, rental agreement
and birth certificate. No, this is not a choice of what to take - you need ALL
of these items to get anything like a bank account. The only exception is within
your first 6 weeks, your UK passport is worth all 100 points - so get those
bank accounts, cars and rent sorted quickly!
As a new resident, you might find it difficult to get some things arranged (telephone
lines, Internet, electricity and gas etc.), so do it early to save on waiting
later.
Private Health Insurance is not mandatory, but extremely common
and popular. If you earn over the average wage, then you get charged more tax
if you don't have private health insurance. Major providers of health insurance
have shops in malls, and are Medibank,
Health Partners
and Mutual Community.
The government cover is Medicare,
which pays for 85% of the cost of any medical expense, including checkups, hospital
treatment and GP visits. You should register with Medicare when you arrive -
without it you will not get treated for anything. Medicare cover is about the
same as NHS cover, but without the waiting lists.
If you are picked up in an Ambulance, this is not covered by Medicare. Some
private plans include Ambulance cover, or you can buy it from SA
Ambulance.
Chemists are well distributed, and they sell almost all the
same items as in the UK. If you have an over-the-counter item that you usually
buy (cold remedy, hay fever tablets, creams etc) then bring an empty box with
you so that you can show the chemist the active ingredients and they can find
the appropriate equivalent.
Some Private Health Insurance companies will give you a discount off anything
bought in participating chemists.
Restaurants are everywhere in Adelaide. All the food is very
good, and because of the healthy competition for your business, bad restaurants
don't last long.
Often, you will find a table yourself, and then look at the menu, then go to
the counter and make your order, quoting your table number. You then pay once
you have made your order, and this allows you to use your EFTPOS (see money
below). The food will be brought to your table.
Service is normally fast and efficient, and people are friendly without being
over the top.
There are of course many restaurants where it is completely table service, but
to pay you will often need to go to a counter in order to enter your EFTPOS
pin number.
The main supermarkets for food are Woolworths,
Foodland, Coles and Bi-Lo.
All are good value and have many British products. You can get Branston, HP
Sauce etc.
All the usual American and global brands are also here, like Heinz and Kelloggs,
and the Australian taste buds are very similar to English tastes. Some items
like mayonnaise and dressings are the American brands, and they can be more
sweet than UK brands were.
When you pay at a supermarket, the cashier will pack your items into bags for
you. You can also buy reusable green bags for $1, and all supermarkets have
similar bags - just hand your green bags to the cashier and they will pack them
for you.
Supermarkets don't sell alcohol - so you will need to go to a drive-thru bottle
shop (off-license).
Bottle shops will sell most of the alcohol that you are used
to in England. You can get all the usual English lagers and beers (although
they are more expensive), and name-brand spirits are also available. Of course,
the wine is very plentiful and cheap. A bottle of South Australian Chardonnay
can cost anything as little as $5 (£2). Jacob's Creek sparkling costs
$9.95 - sparkling wines are often the cheapest.
There are some locations called "dry areas" where it is illegal to
have alcohol in the street.
In pubs and bars, you will not be served if you appear to be drunk.
Beer is served by the schooner / glass (approximately ½ pint), and in
some places by the pint. The beer is always very cold - ice forms on the pumps.
Smoking is due to be banned in bars and other public places.
Banks have charges for everything. Being in credit or overdrawn,
writing a cheque, taking money out of an ATM, withdrawing money over the counter,
monthly fees - the list goes on. Some banks are appearing to decrease their
charges, but they always seem to be limited offers. Shop around for an account
that has a charging structure that is low for your usage. You can choose from
Westpac, National
Bank of Australia, BankSA,
Adelaide Bank
and numerous Credit Unions.
The most common form of payment is EFTPOS. Very similar to Switch, it takes
the money straight out of your bank account. You don't need to sign, only swipe
your own card and then enter your pin - theoretically the EFTPOS card never
leaves your possession. When purchasing with EFTPOS, you are asked if you want
the funds coming out of "Cheque, Savings or Credit", which varies
depending on the account that you are using.
Credit Cards are also accepted in almost all places. You need to sign for credit
cards. The banks charge high fees for Credit Cards - there are very few good
deals.
There is no such thing as a 1c or 2c coin. Even though prices may be quoted
as $2.49 - you will be charged $2.50 - all prices are rounded up to the nearest
5c. This also applies on EFTPOS and credit card transactions.
Yes, the Queen's head is on the money.
Notes are plastic, not paper. They don't crumple or rip, and have a transparent
window. The notes are different colours and sizes, and the numbers are clear
and easy to read.
Salaries are normally paid per fortnight, and are net all taxes and deductions.
You will need to do a tax return every June 30th, but if you have only been
working for one employer and have no other incomes, then it is very simple.
At the time of writing (Nov 2004), the exchange rate is 40p per $1 ($2.50 per
£1). Almost everything in Adelaide is 40% of the cost of items in London
- so it appears that only the £ symbol has been changed to $.
There is no stigma associated with the word "cheap", it just means
low-cost goods, generally not low quality.
You will need warm clothes for the winter. No big thick coats
and gloves - but jumpers and jackets are useful. It can get as low as 5°C
here in winter.
Umbrellas are also required. When it rains, it rains hard - but the infrastructure
can cope with it, and life carries on.
In the summer, you really should be putting on sun screen and a hat. The ozone
layer is thin over Australia and the sun is very harsh. I have never seen sun
cream of less than factor 15 for sale.
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