Australia Guide To Living, Working and Australian Property Ownership

Everyone’s Moving to Live in Australia!

Published on Friday, September 25th, 2009

Australia is witnessing an immigration boom apparently!  In figures recently released relating to the rate at which the population ‘down under’ is expanding it seems that not for fifty years has Australia experienced quite such an expansion in terms of its population’s size!  So, everyone’s moving to live in Australia…

In this article we’re going to take a look at just what Australia has in its favour at the current time if you’re thinking of expatriating to live abroad, why it is proving so popular now, and furthermore we’ll examine what the latest population growth figures actually mean for the nation and for those hoping to move to live there in the near-term.

Whilst we’re already well aware of just how popular Australia is with emigrating Britons, what has changed recently to make it a number one choice for migration, and if everyone is moving to Australia, how much room does it have left for the likes of you and me?

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Ten Tips for Buying Bank Repossessed Property in Australia

Published on Friday, May 29th, 2009

The property market in Australia has almost mirrored the one in the UK in terms of its fortunes which have flowed and which are now ebbing away for some people.  As a result, just like in the UK, Australia is witnessing a massive rise in the number of homes being repossessed at the moment.

The government has put pressure on lending institutions to apply a little more leniency to cases where homeowners have repaid well in the past and are only now encountering financial difficulties, however, that hasn’t stopped there being a strong increase in the numbers of homes being repossessed.

For those on the receiving end of eviction notices, the rise in this rate is a terrible and awful fact.  For those hoping to get on the property ladder Down Under, who are moving to live in Australia, or who recognise the investment potential in many Australian cities, here are ten tips for buying bank repossessed property in Australia – because it can truly be a great way of getting in to the market.

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How the Living in Australia Study Helps Expats

Published on Friday, April 17th, 2009

In 2001 a study was begun called the Living in Australia study, it’s sometimes referred to in the press as the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics study (HILDA).

Thousands of families and individuals are contacted and questioned about life in Australia each year, including questions about their employment, family relationships, education and wellbeing. 

Information from this study has been used in many publications and has received extensive media coverage, but it also has some interesting information for expats who want to live in Australia.

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Living in Australia – Setting up Your New Life

Published on Thursday, April 16th, 2009

With its golden beaches, stunning and vast interior, famous outdoor lifestyle and a really good quality of living, Australia still remains one of the top destinations for Brits who want to live overseas.

A continent in its own right, Australia still excites the imagination for many and offers the promise of new adventures and a fresh start for those looking to make a change in their life.  If you are under 45 and have a skill, or you have family already living Down Under, you can apply to live there, but once you get to Australia what are the most important things to organise?

In this article we’ll look at living in Australia and setting up your new life there for would be expatriates planning a new life in the sun.

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Is it Time to Invest in Property in Australia?

Published on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Australia’s finding that she’s not immune to the global credit crisis and forecasts are that there will be around 30,000 home repossessions by the end of this year with almost half a million Australians plunged into severe mortgage stress.

A further problem that is affecting the Australian property market is the unemployment rate that’s predicted to rise from the current 5.2% to 7.5% by the end of the year.  Whilst this may mean the end of the Australian property dream for many, it is also sending out strong “buy” signals for investors looking to buy real estate in Australia.

With an estimated 7,300 new dwellings to be built in Sydney this year, the lowest rate of growth in 50 years, the outlook is leading economists to predict huge rent rises of around 12% this year, following on from an 8% increase last year.  Many investors are aware of this, and of the profit that they can potentially make from Australian property…so the question is, is it time to invest in property in Australia or not?

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Living in Australia Exploring Canberra

Published on Wednesday, March 04th, 2009

Ask anyone thinking of living in Australia to tell you the name of the nation’s capital city and chances are they’ll tell you that it’s Sydney.  Well it’s not!  For those wishing to emigrate to Australia you need to brush up on your facts, the capital city is Canberra!  It’s a bustling city of 336,000 inhabitants set in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounded by New South Wales.  Canberra is 150 kilometres inland from the pacific ocean, and just a 3 hour drive from Sydney, 2 ½ hours from Australia’s snow fields and a couple of hours from some of Australia’s best beaches.

So what’s the attraction for expats wanting to emigrate to Australia?  Why are they going to choose Canberra as their place to live down under?

Most importantly for expats emigrating to Australia, Canberra boasts one of the lowest levels of unemployment in the nation, with the median figure consistently under 3%.  Put that beside the fact that workers in Canberra receive the highest average wages and employers are crying out for skilled and professional labour, and you can see why so many expats relocating to Australia choose Canberra as their final destination.

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Emigrating to Australia - The Skilled Visa Route

Published on Tuesday, March 03rd, 2009

The introduction of a rigid and structured points system has made emigrating to Australia far more difficult than back in the days of the “ten pound pom” when a desperate government would allow any reasonably healthy, criminally unhindered European to enter Oz with a view to starting a new life in Australia.

Now, anyone between the ages of 18-45 can live and work in Australia providing they can accumulate enough points to get a visa.  Points are allocated according to occupation, age and proficiency in English for example.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics census of 2006, 24% of the Australian population were born outside of Australia; the largest group of 1,153,264 having been born in the British Isles, but if you don’t get the required points you won’t be emigrating to Australia!

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Significant Increase in Brits Emigrating to Australia

Published on Thursday, February 12th, 2009

There has been a significant increase in the numbers of Brits emigrating to Australia according to the latest figures, statistics and reports to be issued…and frankly we’re not surprised.

Whilst Australia is not exactly weathering the recession storm entirely unscathed, it does have more positive factors supporting its move away from economic crisis – and what’s more, the lifestyle, the climate and even the employment landscape are far more positive than those facing Britons who remain in the UK.

If you’re thinking about getting away from it all we’d advise you to make your application for a visa as soon as possible, otherwise yours might be lost under the deluge of applications from Brits and Irish too.  And with the Opportunities Australia expo coming up in London and in Leeds in March, now could be the perfect time for you to take the first decisive steps towards your new life in Australia.

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Accountancy Jobs in Australia

Published on Friday, January 23rd, 2009

What is it with accountants?  Almost 30,000 professional accountants have migrated to Australia over the past three years to plug skills gaps – perhaps those 30,000 could foresee what we are all now realising, i.e., that Britain is bankrupt and to have any sort of positive future, you need to escape UK!

Or perhaps the story is somewhat simpler, these savvy number crunchers were well aware that they could receive a similarly handsome salary Down Under yet live for less, thereby enjoying a better quality of life by moving to Australia.

Well, whatever the reason, as the skilled migrant debate still rages Down Under, accountants remain in demand.  And in this article we’ll take a look at how best you can find and secure accountancy jobs in Australia now before any changes are potentially made to the numbers of those allowed into the nation, as it too suffers its own jobless increases and economic issues.

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Engineering Jobs in Australia

Published on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Engineering is one of the employment sectors in Australia where employers are crying out for skilled migrants.  There are massive skills shortages, and the gaps in the employment landscape are just not being filled by local people.  So, even if Australia thinks about restricting migrant numbers in 2009 as the nation watches jobless figures rise, sectors such as engineering will go on recruiting.

You only have to look at any one of the dedicated recruitment sites and companies seeking employees to work as anything from a civil planner to a mining engineer and you quickly realise how many vacancies there are!

If you’re an engineer with experience, professional qualifications and a desire to find engineering jobs in Australia, you could well discover that 2009 is the perfect year for you to apply for your visa and emigrate.

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