Working holiday in Oz?
Discussion
The company I'm working for has hit the wall and laid everyone off and with there being few jobs here in the UK I'm thinkng about going to Oz for a year with my girlfriend to work and have fun. Has anyone here done it before? How do I go about it? Also does 5k each sound enough to last us until we find work? Anymore tips would great!
Thanks Flanders!
Thanks Flanders!
Assuming you're under 30, 417 visa is what you need, loads of info about around:
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/41...
I did it 10 years ago and I'm still here. I would have thought $5k each would be more than enough, there are plenty of jobs and plenty of recruiters specialising in jobs for travellers (in the major cities).
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/41...
I did it 10 years ago and I'm still here. I would have thought $5k each would be more than enough, there are plenty of jobs and plenty of recruiters specialising in jobs for travellers (in the major cities).
Me and the missus did this a few years ago. We went for a year and had such a good time that we stayed for a second year. We drove all the way round, up the middle, round Tasmania etc. so by the end of it we knew the place better than home.
You can get a one year working holiday Visa straight off but in 2006/7 they introduced a system to get a second year. To do this you basically have to work for a total of three months in what are classified as 'rural' areas. In the time we were there I reckon we worked for probably one week in every three or four, but some of our best times were had when working anyway.
What kind of trip are you hoping for? There are all sorts of ways of doing it e.g.
Some fly into Sydney and... stay in Sydney, enjoying the lifestyle.
There's the Melbourne > Cairns route which is a well travelled path so dead easy.
There's the outback of course, and slightly more raw places like Darwin.
I would say don't bother with an apartment. If you're going to go all that way you might as well get out there and see some of it!
You can get a one year working holiday Visa straight off but in 2006/7 they introduced a system to get a second year. To do this you basically have to work for a total of three months in what are classified as 'rural' areas. In the time we were there I reckon we worked for probably one week in every three or four, but some of our best times were had when working anyway.
What kind of trip are you hoping for? There are all sorts of ways of doing it e.g.
Some fly into Sydney and... stay in Sydney, enjoying the lifestyle.
There's the Melbourne > Cairns route which is a well travelled path so dead easy.
There's the outback of course, and slightly more raw places like Darwin.
I would say don't bother with an apartment. If you're going to go all that way you might as well get out there and see some of it!
Not really. There are loads of companies offering to sort those things out but it's easy enough to do yourself and put the money to better use. It's just time taken filling out forms but time lasts longer over there 
The only tricky one is the bank account because you need a load of ID and an Australian postal address but there plenty of solutions. We just used a friend's address as we were staying with him at the time anyway.
I think you might get bored if you stay in the city btw.
The only tricky one is the bank account because you need a load of ID and an Australian postal address but there plenty of solutions. We just used a friend's address as we were staying with him at the time anyway.
I think you might get bored if you stay in the city btw.
Do you have a skill or trade?
There are heaps of backpackers, especially around the main backpacking areas, who will work for very little wages. If you can do something outside of bar work etc then you've much more of a chance of being able to live well.
If you stay in the city you're missing out on the real Aussie, and you'll regret going 12,000 miles to see the same things you could have seen much closer to home. Get out into the outback and travel the coasts. One of my favourite areas is the Kimberly coast, stunningly beautiful and almost deserted. I know its not the raving nightlife you might think you want, but trust me, once you get used to the pace of life the outback is a wonderful place to be for a few weeks. Real escapism.
Everything can be done yourself, I wouldnt bother with any company offering to do it for you. They speak English for f
ks sake, if you cant ask how to do something or work it out then you're probably not ready to go there at all.
£5k will be plenty, although that obviously depends how much time you intend to travel for before finding work. Living in Oz is expensive until you start earning AU$, then its pretty cheap.
Also DONT miss out on the stops along the way - HK, Bangkok, etc are all really interesting places and very cheap to visit. You may as well get out the plane and spend 2 days there rather than 2 hours on the ground while you refuel.
Any questions just ask.
There are heaps of backpackers, especially around the main backpacking areas, who will work for very little wages. If you can do something outside of bar work etc then you've much more of a chance of being able to live well.
If you stay in the city you're missing out on the real Aussie, and you'll regret going 12,000 miles to see the same things you could have seen much closer to home. Get out into the outback and travel the coasts. One of my favourite areas is the Kimberly coast, stunningly beautiful and almost deserted. I know its not the raving nightlife you might think you want, but trust me, once you get used to the pace of life the outback is a wonderful place to be for a few weeks. Real escapism.
Everything can be done yourself, I wouldnt bother with any company offering to do it for you. They speak English for f
ks sake, if you cant ask how to do something or work it out then you're probably not ready to go there at all. £5k will be plenty, although that obviously depends how much time you intend to travel for before finding work. Living in Oz is expensive until you start earning AU$, then its pretty cheap.
Also DONT miss out on the stops along the way - HK, Bangkok, etc are all really interesting places and very cheap to visit. You may as well get out the plane and spend 2 days there rather than 2 hours on the ground while you refuel.
Any questions just ask.
Edited by Condi on Tuesday 15th January 18:29
If you are really going for a long holiday why not go somewhere for a while and then move on, spend some time in Sydney, Melbourne & Perth maybe. You can only work for any one employer for a maximum of six months anyway.
There are temp agencies you can register with for jobs. Be prepared for bureaucracy, they are really good at it. Buying a phone, opening a bank account, all want id that you probably don't have!
Rent in Sydney will start at around $300 a week for somewhere small in a not particularly great area and goes up from there - so you need to think in terms of £1,000/$1,500 a month as a starting point. Melbourne is no better and Perth is, if anything, more expensive. Not sure about the likes of Cairns. It can be really hard to rent somewhere, its some months since I've been involved in trying but certainly a year or so ago you would turn up to a viewing with umpteen other people all at the same time, many of whom are all prepared with the papers you didn't know you needed! Be prepared for it to take a little while to find somewhere, particularly if you need it to be furnished.
There are temp agencies you can register with for jobs. Be prepared for bureaucracy, they are really good at it. Buying a phone, opening a bank account, all want id that you probably don't have!
Rent in Sydney will start at around $300 a week for somewhere small in a not particularly great area and goes up from there - so you need to think in terms of £1,000/$1,500 a month as a starting point. Melbourne is no better and Perth is, if anything, more expensive. Not sure about the likes of Cairns. It can be really hard to rent somewhere, its some months since I've been involved in trying but certainly a year or so ago you would turn up to a viewing with umpteen other people all at the same time, many of whom are all prepared with the papers you didn't know you needed! Be prepared for it to take a little while to find somewhere, particularly if you need it to be furnished.
Condi said:
Do you have a skill or trade?
There are heaps of backpackers, especially around the main backpacking areas, who will work for very little wages. If you can do something outside of bar work etc then you've much more of a chance of being able to live well.
If you stay in the city you're missing out on the real Aussie, and you'll regret going 12,000 miles to see the same things you could have seen much closer to home. Get out into the outback and travel the coasts. One of my favourite areas is the Kimberly coast, stunningly beautiful and almost deserted. I know its not the raving nightlife you might think you want, but trust me, once you get used to the pace of life the outback is a wonderful place to be for a few weeks. Real escapism.
Everything can be done yourself, I wouldnt bother with any company offering to do it for you. They speak English for fks sake, if you cant ask how to do something or work it out then you're probably not ready to go there at all.
£5k will be plenty, although that obviously depends how much time you intend to travel for before finding work. Living in Oz is expensive until you start earning AU$, then its pretty cheap.
Also DONT miss out on the stops along the way - HK, Bangkok, etc are all really interesting places and very cheap to visit. You may as well get out the plane and spend 2 days there rather than 2 hours on the ground while you refuel.
Any questions just ask.
Are you sure? I have been living here for 18 months (Sydney) on a 457 visa with a 6 figure salary and I would say it is far from being 'cheap' cant say I have found anything that is cheaper than it is in the UK.There are heaps of backpackers, especially around the main backpacking areas, who will work for very little wages. If you can do something outside of bar work etc then you've much more of a chance of being able to live well.
If you stay in the city you're missing out on the real Aussie, and you'll regret going 12,000 miles to see the same things you could have seen much closer to home. Get out into the outback and travel the coasts. One of my favourite areas is the Kimberly coast, stunningly beautiful and almost deserted. I know its not the raving nightlife you might think you want, but trust me, once you get used to the pace of life the outback is a wonderful place to be for a few weeks. Real escapism.
Everything can be done yourself, I wouldnt bother with any company offering to do it for you. They speak English for f
ks sake, if you cant ask how to do something or work it out then you're probably not ready to go there at all. £5k will be plenty, although that obviously depends how much time you intend to travel for before finding work. Living in Oz is expensive until you start earning AU$, then its pretty cheap.
Also DONT miss out on the stops along the way - HK, Bangkok, etc are all really interesting places and very cheap to visit. You may as well get out the plane and spend 2 days there rather than 2 hours on the ground while you refuel.
Any questions just ask.
Edited by Condi on Tuesday 15th January 18:29
I know plenty of people here on working visas and finding well paid work is VERY difficult unless you have experience in a skilled industry.
Edited by Munka01 on Thursday 17th January 05:21
WeirdNeville said:
I've only been here 3 months but in a similar position to you, 457, big salary (wifes, not mine) and yet we're able to save over $1000 a fortnight, which would be unthinkable in the UK and that's with only her working. I'm the childcare. But I have a Geology degree and I'm in Perth with some contacts, so hopefully that won't be for too long.
The individual cost of items here is expensive - food is a bit more pricey, booze much more so, electricity and gas bills seem very costly and rent is expensive, but this is more than offset by the salarys paid in any skilled profession out here. That said, I wouldn't want to be backpacking here or working odd jobs to make ends meet, I think that could get pretty heartbreaking when a sandwich is $8 and a pint to relax is $10.
The people I've met out here are affluent and happy. Most people in the UK doing similar roles appear to be struggling and downtrodden.
I agree with you completely - I just think that the OP being told that it is pretty cheap is a bit misleading. On a six figure salary I am comfortable but from the OP's perspective I doubt they will be able to command salaries of that level on a working holiday visa.The individual cost of items here is expensive - food is a bit more pricey, booze much more so, electricity and gas bills seem very costly and rent is expensive, but this is more than offset by the salarys paid in any skilled profession out here. That said, I wouldn't want to be backpacking here or working odd jobs to make ends meet, I think that could get pretty heartbreaking when a sandwich is $8 and a pint to relax is $10.
The people I've met out here are affluent and happy. Most people in the UK doing similar roles appear to be struggling and downtrodden.
Just my two pence worth but didn't want the OP to be mislead.
Edited by Munka01 on Thursday 17th January 05:44
I recently had friends over, and they completely blew their budgets for the holiday spending.
Ok, so we were doing 'holiday' type things - but wouldn't say we were being extravagant by any means, just 'doing things', which is what the OP would do presumably.
Housing is expensive, if you're happy to share then $300/week + bills should see you ok - so if you weren't working your initial budget would soon disappear.
If you wanted to travel around at your own pace, cars aren't cheap to buy - even the stuff you wouldn't touch with a barge pole is pricey.
Overall, I would recommend coming, but come with your eyes open.
Ok, so we were doing 'holiday' type things - but wouldn't say we were being extravagant by any means, just 'doing things', which is what the OP would do presumably.
Housing is expensive, if you're happy to share then $300/week + bills should see you ok - so if you weren't working your initial budget would soon disappear.
If you wanted to travel around at your own pace, cars aren't cheap to buy - even the stuff you wouldn't touch with a barge pole is pricey.
Overall, I would recommend coming, but come with your eyes open.
You can try and equate things just using the exchange rate. If, for example, you can earn $100k in Australia that equates to around $65k in the UK yet the person in the UK on $65k will be able to afford a lot more that the Aussie on the equivalent.
However the person able to earn £65k here should be able to earn a lot more that $100k there so it starts to even out.
However the person able to earn £65k here should be able to earn a lot more that $100k there so it starts to even out.
Err I think this thread is beginning to get away from the point. The OP is asking about a working holiday visa which is vastly different from relocating to somewhere like Sydney and doing the same kind of nine to five they may be doing in the UK.
It's entirely possible to travel around Australia on very little money at all; we did it and met hundreds of others doing it too, picking up work when you need it and moving on when you've saved enough. You can still do the scuba diving, boat trips, jungle treks etc., you just have to manage your budget.
Once we'd stopped being dumb with our cash and started earning AUD we had no money worries at all. One of the best things about Australia is that if you're prepared to work hard you can build up a stack of cash in a short space of time. Once we got down to our last $1k we started looking for work and we always found it. You often had to travel to find it but who cares, that's part of the adventure!
For example, our first job was packing fruit into boxes on a farm in the middle of nowhere. It was boring, stty work but we had a fantastic time, made some great friends and earned enough to move on. If I recall we did this for around 5/6 weeks and earned about $4k between us, which meant we didn't need to work again for two months.
The next job was paid by the hour so we worked dawn 'til dusk for a couple of months, and after this we had enough to buy a Land Cruiser.
The biggest necessary expenses are a vehicle and fuel. Everything else you just have to be smart with. You can stay on campsites (which are everywhere) and you have time to go to the shops every day so you can shop around for the best offers on food and booze.
It's hard to explain the attitude when you're used to the British "work to live" way of life but it really doesn't have to be like that. We earned enough in the last few months of our trip to have a three week holiday in New Zealand, a week in Thailand and our flights home, and we still had a few thousand $AUD left over.
It's entirely possible to travel around Australia on very little money at all; we did it and met hundreds of others doing it too, picking up work when you need it and moving on when you've saved enough. You can still do the scuba diving, boat trips, jungle treks etc., you just have to manage your budget.
Once we'd stopped being dumb with our cash and started earning AUD we had no money worries at all. One of the best things about Australia is that if you're prepared to work hard you can build up a stack of cash in a short space of time. Once we got down to our last $1k we started looking for work and we always found it. You often had to travel to find it but who cares, that's part of the adventure!
For example, our first job was packing fruit into boxes on a farm in the middle of nowhere. It was boring, s
tty work but we had a fantastic time, made some great friends and earned enough to move on. If I recall we did this for around 5/6 weeks and earned about $4k between us, which meant we didn't need to work again for two months.The next job was paid by the hour so we worked dawn 'til dusk for a couple of months, and after this we had enough to buy a Land Cruiser.
The biggest necessary expenses are a vehicle and fuel. Everything else you just have to be smart with. You can stay on campsites (which are everywhere) and you have time to go to the shops every day so you can shop around for the best offers on food and booze.
It's hard to explain the attitude when you're used to the British "work to live" way of life but it really doesn't have to be like that. We earned enough in the last few months of our trip to have a three week holiday in New Zealand, a week in Thailand and our flights home, and we still had a few thousand $AUD left over.
I did this when I was 26/27. It was brilliant.
My only regret/advice was that I spent too long in Sydney, which is a fantastic city but still just a city, and not long enough in the outback and the north, which is other worldly. With a decent reserve of cash (and £5,000 is about £4,500 more than I had!) this shouldn't be a problem. Get yourself a cheapy old car and a tent and get out there.
It is (or was then anyway) pretty easy to pick up casual work in most parts of Australia.
My only regret/advice was that I spent too long in Sydney, which is a fantastic city but still just a city, and not long enough in the outback and the north, which is other worldly. With a decent reserve of cash (and £5,000 is about £4,500 more than I had!) this shouldn't be a problem. Get yourself a cheapy old car and a tent and get out there.
It is (or was then anyway) pretty easy to pick up casual work in most parts of Australia.
AJS- said:
My only regret/advice was that I spent too long in Sydney, which is a fantastic city but still just a city, and not long enough in the outback and the north, which is other worldly.
Yep, same here. I loved the outback and Darwin was my favourite city by a long way, simply because it's still reasonably raw and the residents are completely mad. Everyone's different of course but that's why I wouldn't commit to anything long term with any haste. It takes a few weeks to get the hang of things and figure out what it is you really want to do.
Munka01 said:
Are you sure? I have been living here for 18 months (Sydney) on a 457 visa with a 6 figure salary and I would say it is far from being 'cheap' cant say I have found anything that is cheaper than it is in the UK.
I know plenty of people here on working visas and finding well paid work is VERY difficult unless you have experience in a skilled industry.
Each to their own, I was working in the outback in a 'skilled' job and the money was good. I didnt pay for accommodation or fuel, just food. Do that for a few months and life is good. As far as 'backpacking' money goes I earnt a lot to take abroad again or travel within Oz. No doubt its different if you're living in the city and building a life for yourself there. I know plenty of people here on working visas and finding well paid work is VERY difficult unless you have experience in a skilled industry.
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