Preparing
to move
The practical chapter: flights, shipping, banking, schools and what the first weeks look like.
Kettle on. About 10 min
Three things you can do right now
Build my moving checklist
Before you fly and your first weeks, kept on your device.
Open the checklist I want to know what it costsPrice up the move
Flights, shipping, bonds and the first month, for your household.
Open the cost calculator I want it all in one planBuild my plan
Registration, visa, the move and arrival in one running plan.
Build my planFrom decision to departure
Reviewed July 2026 · general guidance only. Rules on visas, licences, pets and tax differ by state and change; check the official sources below.
Organised or overwhelmed comes down to whether the long-lead items were started early.
This is the national overview. We’ll point you to a relocation guide for your state as those are published.
The countdown
Start the slow things
Registration and visa are already running. Begin the pet import process; it has the longest lead time of anything here. Get freight quotes. Order official copies of birth and marriage certificates, qualifications, children’s school reports and immunisation records, driving licences and history, and references.
Find the approved clinic for your visa medical now, even though you cannot book until the Department issues your HAP ID. Your own doctor cannot do it, everyone on the application is examined, and in some countries the approved list runs to one or two clinics with a wait.
Renting? Check your notice period. Owning? Talk to an agent about selling or letting.
Money, home and school
Open an Australian bank account. Book short-term accommodation for four to six weeks. Contact schools about places. Book freight. Confirm what health cover you need on arrival.
Tell utilities, insurers, banks and your GP at home, and get copies of the family’s medical and dental records.
Wind down and confirm
Book flights once your visa is granted, not before; changeable fares cost a little more and save a great deal of grief. Do not resign until both offer and visa are real. Confirm your first day with your employer. Cancel or transfer subscriptions, memberships and insurance. Redirect mail. Have cleared funds in your Australian account before you land.
Hand luggage
Passports and visa evidence, all original certificates, medical summaries and prescriptions, children’s immunisation records, employer and accommodation details, and enough medication for the transition.
Land, then admin
Local SIM, activate the bank account, apply for a Tax File Number, enrol in Medicare if eligible, register with a GP, start the rental search in person. Find your nearest emergency department and check how ambulance works in your state.
Find an approved visa medical clinic: outside Australia you must use one of the Department’s approved panel physicians; once you are in Australia it is Bupa Medical Visa Services. Home Affairs sets out the whole process on Arrange your health examinations, and our visa guide explains what to expect.
Money, banking & the essentials
Two of these can be started before you land.
Open an account early
Many Australian banks let you open an account from overseas, then activate it with your passport once you’re here.
A Tax File Number
Apply for a TFN once you arrive. Without it you’re taxed at the top rate and must claim the difference back. A first-week job.
Superannuation
Employers pay compulsory superannuation on top of your wage. You’ll nominate a fund or be assigned one when you start.
Three things people wish they’d known
Moving money costs more than you expect. High-street bank transfer rates are rarely the best. Compare a specialist transfer service, and split the transfer rather than moving everything on one day’s rate.
Your credit history doesn’t travel. Having no Australian credit file affects phone contracts, car finance and sometimes rental applications. It builds quickly.
Mind the gap before your first pay. There can be four to six weeks of outgoings before your first Australian pay cycle, on top of bond and rent in advance.
Medicare & health insurance
Access depends on your visa and your passport.
Medicare
Australia’s public scheme. Citizens and permanent residents enrol. Many temporary visa holders qualify through one of Australia’s eleven reciprocal health care agreements. Enrol after arrival with passports, visa evidence and an Australian address.
Private & visa health cover
Many temporary work visas require adequate cover for the whole stay. Medicare-eligible families often take cover anyway, for shorter elective waits and dental and optical extras. Check waiting periods first.
Records & prescriptions
Bring a written summary of everyone’s medical and dental history and current prescriptions. Check your medicines against the PBS before you travel; brand names differ.
Bulk billing, the PBS, ambulance by state and what Medicare doesn’t cover: Understanding healthcare in Australia.
Finding somewhere to live
Rent first. It lets you learn an area, settle the children and start work before committing to a suburb or a mortgage.
Land, then choose
Take short-term accommodation for four to six weeks and house-hunt on the ground.
Come prepared to compete
City rental markets are tight and viewings brief. Have a folder ready: identification, employment contract or offer letter, references, bank statements. Applying the same day you view is normal.
Bond plus rent in advance
Expect a bond (returned at the end if all is well) plus rent in advance. Rent is usually quoted and paid weekly or fortnightly, not monthly. Ask exactly what’s due before you sign.
The no-rental-history problem. With no Australian tenancy record or credit file, good applicants can be passed over. Two things help most: an employer letter confirming role and salary, and written landlord or agent references with contactable details.
Furnished or not. Most long-term rentals are unfurnished, often without white goods. If your freight is weeks behind you, budget for second-hand basics.
Schools & childcare
For public schools, where you live usually determines where children go.
Enrolment zones come first
Public schools generally enrol from a defined local catchment. Confirm the zone with the school or state education department, not a property listing, before you sign a lease.
Non-government schools apply differently
Independent and faith-based schools enrol on their own terms, often with waiting lists and fees. Start months out.
Fees can apply on temporary visas
Public schooling is generally free for citizens and permanent residents. Some states charge fees for children of temporary visa holders; the rules differ by state and the figure can be significant.
The school year runs late January to December
Four terms, with the long summer holiday over Christmas and January. Children arriving mid-year may join part-way through, or be placed by age rather than year completed.
Bring the paperwork
Immunisation records, recent school reports, any assessments or learning-support documentation, and birth certificates. These cut enrolment from weeks to days.
Childcare needs booking early
Long day care and preschool places in popular areas have waiting lists, and subsidy eligibility depends on your visa. If you need childcare to start work, it is a long-lead item like the pet.
More in Education & schools in Australia.
Shipping, pets & what to leave behind
Freight takes months, not weeks
Sea freight means weeks at sea plus port and customs time at both ends. Air freight a small “first month” box if the budget allows. Get several quotes; ask what customs, quarantine inspection and delivery are included.
Australia’s biosecurity is strict
Wooden items, cane and bamboo, garden tools, footwear with soil, seeds, food and plant material attract inspection and can be treated or destroyed at your cost. Clean everything and declare everything. Declaring is never penalised; failing to declare is.
Pets: start now, and get help
A cat or dog needs permits, vaccinations, blood tests with mandatory waiting periods, an approved route and post-arrival quarantine. It runs to many months and is expensive. Use the Department of Agriculture’s guidance as your source, and consider a specialist agent.
What’s worth shipping. Furniture rarely justifies the freight; the sentimental, irreplaceable and good quality do. Check electrical goods against Australian plugs and voltage first.
What to sell or store. Storing for a year often turns into five. Store the small and sentimental; sell the bulky.
Licences, cars & distance
Driving licences are handled by each state and territory, not nationally.
Usually usable, then converted
Most overseas licences can be used for a period after arrival, and many convert without a full test. Timeframes vary by state; some licences need a certified translation. Check your state’s transport authority early, as the grace period is shorter than people assume. Bring your licence history or an official driving record.
Expect to need one
Public transport is good in the inner cities and thin beyond them. With no local credit history, finance can be harder at first; many newcomers buy for cash.
It’s bigger than the map suggests
A drive that looks like an afternoon can be a full day. Factor it into where you live.
What the first few weeks look like
The admin bunches into week one, since much of it can only be done here. The emotional shape surprises people. The first fortnight is often adrenaline; weeks four to eight are frequently the hardest, when the novelty thins and the people who know you well are asleep when you’re awake. It lifts.
We stay in touch through arrival. Stage 08 covers the life that lasts.
The money to plan for
Sydney or Melbourne cost meaningfully more than a regional centre, so we do not print figures.
Before you go: document certification and official copies, English testing if required, registration and assessment fees, visa application charges for the whole family, health and police checks, pet import, freight, and flights.
Landing: short-term accommodation for four to six weeks, rental bond plus rent in advance, basic furniture and white goods, a car, local SIMs and internet, school uniforms and supplies, and any state school fees for temporary visa holders.
Ongoing, and easy to forget: health cover if your visa requires it, ambulance cover in some states, dental, car insurance and registration, and flights home.
Ask your employer, before you accept, what relocation support is offered. Some roles contribute to flights, freight or initial accommodation.
Check it at the source
Visas & arrival
Immigration & biosecurity
Department of Home Affairs Biosecurity · what you can bring Importing cats & dogs Start the pet process here, months ahead.Money, tax & health
The set-up essentials
ATO · Tax File Number & super Services Australia · Medicare Moneysmart · independent money guidance Moneysmart is the government’s own financial guidance service.Living here
Schools, tenancies & licences
Schooling & education overview Ahpra · your registration Ethicare · state destination guides Tenancy, licences, ambulance and school fees are state matters; your state government site is the authority.
If I could change one thing, it would be the money buffer. Almost every difficult first month I’ve seen came down to bond, rent in advance and setting up a home all landing before the first Australian pay did. Get that right and the rest is admin.
SophieFounder, Ethicare Resourcing
The things people ask us first
What about my pension or savings back home?
Rules on transfers, tax residency and timing differ by country and are expensive to get wrong. We are not tax or migration advisers. We can suggest the questions to ask; a qualified adviser in both jurisdictions should handle the specifics. Moneysmart is an independent starting point.
Read a little deeper
We’ll help you plan the move
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Ethicare Resourcing · your guide to a life and career in Australia.