What will it cost to move to Australia?
The cost of moving to Australia varies considerably depending on where you’re moving from, your destination in Australia and what you’re taking with you. There are four major costs to consider: the visa application costs if you emigrating, the cost of the physical move to Australia (shipping belongings, pet transportation, air fares, etc.), the cost of settling in (rent, buying a car, etc.), and other miscellaneous costs. If you’re taking pets with you it can be expensive and you should reckon on a bill of around A$3,000-4,000 to transport a dog to Australia by air. The cost of shipping a standard car from the UK (Southampton) to Sydney is around £750-1,000 and around US$3,500 from Los Angeles, plus import Duty and GST as applicable.
On average you can expect the total cost of relocating to Australia to be A$10-15,000 for a single migrant, A$15-20,000 for a couple and A$20-25,000 for a family of three or four. Shipping you belongings to Australia costs around A$6,000-10,000 (depending on the country of origin) for the contents of an average three- to four-bedroom house and a 20-foor container. However, this can be reduced hugely by just taking personal items and selected items of furniture, rather than moving lock, stock and barrel.
Air fares to Australia are from around £500-600 return (there are only slight savings for single fares) from London to Sydney or Melbourne (around £50 less to Perth). From the USA, the air fare is around US$1,350 from New York to Sydney return ($1,150 single) with at least one stop, and US$800 return ($650 single) from Los Angeles to Sydney. Fares vary depending on the season, the day of the week and the carrier.
You may also need enough money for your expenses for a few months after you arrive if you’ll be working in Australia. You’ll need to pay for temporary accommodation; a security deposit and advance rent for a home; to buy or rent a car (unless you’re in a city where public transport is adequate); and enough for your day-to-day expenses until your first pay day.
For more information see Living and Working in Australia by David Hampshire
