All you need to know about the Working Holiday Visa when coming to Australia:
You must be under 31 to be eligible for the Working Holiday Visa (WHV),
Only certain countries are eligible (go to www.immi.gov.au) for more information.
It is a one year visa and you can only work with one employer for up to 6 months (this means if you get hired with a school then you can only work with them for 6-months and then you would need to have the school sponsor you (457 Business Sponsorship visa) if they wanted to keep you longer.)
To get a second WHV, you must work a minimum of 3 months in an agricultural setting in Australia while on your first Working Holiday visa. It will need to be signed off and you then can get a second one-year working holiday visa.
The WHV is the only visa you can work as many jobs as you want, so take advantage of this (ex. you could be teaching in a school, tutoring on the side, working at a bar on the weekends, working at a surf shop over the school holidays).
The WHV can be applied for online and doesn’t take too long to get approval.
Keep your approval email somewhere safe, as you might need your visa details if you do end up applying for any other visas.
For any additional information, go to www.immi.gov.au. We also have other information on what to consider when moving to Australia and more specifically to Melbourne.
When working and travelling in Australia, one term that will likely be new to you, is superannuation. But it is important to understand what it is and what you are legally eligible for.
What is Superannuation?
It is similar to a pension plan but in Australia they call it Superannuation. When working here, you will notice that you don’t often receive benefits or medical extras from your employer when working full-time and this is the same whether you are Australian or from overseas. BUT, you get super!
If you get paid more than $450/month by your employer, then legally they must pay a minimum of 9% of your salary into a superannuation fund. This is ON TOP of your salary and not something that comes out of your salary. Your employer will deposit this into your superannuation account likely on a quarterly or biannually basis. This means, they help you save nearly 10% without even realizing it!
When can I receive my Superannuation?
The good news is, that for many of you, you will be working and travelling on the Working Holiday visa, which means that once you decide to leave the country permanently, you can get your superannuation back right away. They government will tax it but you usually get about 70% of it back. If however you stay in Australia and end up becoming a Permanent Resident, then you won’t be able to get your superannuation back until you retire!
For more information on what the government has to say about superannuation, click ATO superannuation.
When I moved to take a teaching job in Australia with my partner we had no one on the other side to help us. Even though we had each lived abroad internationally previously—and
Flinders Train Station, Melbourne
even though we were moving to an English-Speaking country—it was extremely intimidating. (But that’s another story you can read about in About the Teach’N’Traveller Blog!) We wanted to make sure we had enough money to set-up our new home and to tide us through the months where we might not have any income. We were so glad we did!
Initially I wasn’t making any money:
I signed up with a recruiting company at the time, but found the CRT work they gave me depressing, and in horrendous schools (where there was literally ZIPPO discipline and follow up from the school leadership). Furthermore, I had already done heaps of supply work in Canada as an “Emergency Supply”. I was tired of supply teaching and I wanted the opportunity to develop a rapport and to teach a full course.
If we weren’t making any money How did We Afford to stay in Melbourne?
First of all, there are a number of ways to conserve in cash, keeping money for the important things—like traveling Oz! But we’d planned for our trip overseas to be about traveling (even more than teaching). We brought with us some travel cash and some funds we saved in order to get us through the initial lack of income. There were a few start-up costs/differences to Canadian expenses that we hadn’t thought about either. You can read about those on this blog too.
How Not Planning my Schedule Around The Australian School Calendar Affected my Income:
Another reason I didn’t make any money was that I didn’t know about the teaching holidays when I came to Australia at the end of August. I arrived at the end of Term 3 (so I could enjoy my summer holiday in Canada). Naturally, the schools were going right into a 3 week break in September, returning in October I teach high school. Term 4 is consists of review and exams. (The Year 12s only have 2 weeks of classes!)
I Started Making Money…When:
I had to be a bit more flexible and take a job teaching Year 8 that I wasn’t
My First Adventure, WA
interested in so much—but I really wanted the money and ultimately, it was a great chance to get my foot in the door and get some experience with the foreign curriculum. It seriously enhanced my already-pretty-good-resume.
All-in-All, I recommend:
You’ll have to also plan for the cost of flights and medical insurance. These can cost between $2000-3000. Usually this is the money you save first. If you have been planning to come to Oz, this money will be taken care of already. But what you should also bring is…
Don’t stress about money when you arrive in a new country. Bring about $4000 start-up cash. Remember: you are coming to travel first and foremost. If you don’t have this attitude, you’d be better off staying in Canada to work.
When you sign on a rental lease in Australia, you have to pay a bond. You’ll need to bring some money for this too.
If all this money saving scares you, you probably really need to re-think your reasons for moving overseas.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s TOTALLY possible to save money while teaching in Oz—I’m living proof. But, don’t forget: you probably get a job teaching in Timmins, Ontario – or any other small town. You are moving to Australia to TRAVEL and EXPLORE—do ease your adventurous side. The bang-a-rang kick is: that you’re a teacher, so you can make money in your profession at the SAME TIME! So save the peace-of-mind-cash and come and enjoy yourself. Because, this place is amazing. **NB: You can also save on these funds by coming at certain times of the year. Of course, you can also make more money at certain times of the year. Leading Out will tell you all about how.
Considering there is a water-shortage in Australia, and the Australian press has made citizens very worried about water usage, the prices of water hasn’t really increased. I would think that if they really wanted people to cut down on their water use, they would start charging more for it…but that’s for another discussion.
You Want to Know About Moving Here:
Costs: your bills will be about the same that you paid in Ontario. Unless your bills are all included, you can expect to spend around $150 per month.
Set-up: you have to make phone calls to have your utilities connected. It is not automatic. And, it might not be immediate. It took a couple of days into our rent being paid before the electricity came on.
What Bills Will I have to Pay in Australia?
The billing process is very similar to Canada. You pay for water and electricity—and check whether you also have to pay for gas. Water and stoves might be heated differently than your light switches.
Part 1: 10 Things You Need to Think About When Moving to Melbourne
This post marks the start of a 10-post series that Leading Out has asked me to write for you. These posts will appear once a week, over the Australian summer months, to give you time to get ready for 2009.
Part 1: Public Transportation in Melbourne
More good news on public transportation in Melbourne— (more…)
