Current situation in Australia

[JoJoGabor]

I thought the skking in Australia was expensive (Blue Cow and Thedbow) then went and did a season in Treble COne in NZ!! Now that must be the most expensive in the world, and for only 2 chairlifts!!! It is rubbish. Australia skiing was much bigger area and more varied and the snow is comparable.

Go to Japan if you want some good skiing close(ish) to Australia

[gadgetman]

I'd planned on going skiing now in Oz but I'm currently hobbling about waiting for an op to fix a torn cartilage. That reminds me weemster, make sure you take out private health insurance!

[weemster]

Ah Mr Gadget - What sort of costs are we talking about for health cover (I have Bupa in blighty, kept it going when I went t self employed and its about £30 per month here !)

You must take care of ones self, I stopped playing rugby when I went into contracting for that very reason

[Moscow Mule]

Correct. Skiing in Australia is the world's biggest rip off. Better to go to NZ. No wonder we're so ordinary at the Winter Olympics.

You used to be able to do a AU$99 weekend from Sydney. That was staying in a ski-bum hostel though...

[gadgetman]

Quite lot more I would think. There's no easy answer.

Because I am on a 457 I can only get 'visitors cover' which is more expensive. Then there are all sorts of discounts and different packages and 'extras' you can add on. I am actually working for Bupa (known as HBA over here) and even I find it tricky to work out.

If you don't get private cover you actually get penalised in your tax by a couple of percent plus the older you are when you start the less governement rebate (max 30%) you get on the premium. But on a 457 I get a free pass on this bit.

Basically you MUST get amulance cover as it can leave you out of pocket by thousands. Fortunately this is cheap on its own. We have bought a top of the range package for the whole family including my 19 y.o. and this costs $340 per month after all the various discounts and rebates. This includes ambulance, hospital, dental, optical etc.

Ah Mr Gadget - What sort of costs are we talking about for health cover (I have Bupa in blighty, kept it going when I went t self employed and its about £30 per month here !)

You must take care of ones self, I stopped playing rugby when I went into contracting for that very reason

[Funkywood]

Interesting note about the insurance. Another expense to add.

As for my update, I've got the Brisbane contract without even going for an interview, which is a first for me. Their first contract hire apparently so they were a bit slow with the paperwork. This one has also set the start date for another 2 weeks before I actually start so might make it to the slopes after all. Anyone had other problems with contract newbie clients?

The agent gave me the name of an umbrella/"contract manager" that has a number of 457s allocated and will get you one, for a price.

They reckon you can then work for multiple clients under them for up to the 4 years. Wasn't my plan but I'll see how things go before I decide how long to stay.

Oh yeah, their website is Lester.com.au

[gadgetman]

Well done on the contract.

Regarding insurance, you don't have to get it You get GP and emergency cover under the reciprocal health care scheme and many aussies don't have private insurance.

But if you get a non-urgent problem like with my knee then you may have to wait quite a while to get it sorted under the public system.

Already under my cover (only since June) both my wife and daughter have had two new sets of glasses, my son has had chiropractor visits and of course I'm getting my op done. I also have a tooth niggling me and need some glasses or lenses myself, so we are currently well ahead!

If you decide not to go private then do get "ambo" cover as a bare minimum though.

Regarding Lester, I refer you to my earlier comments.

[JoJoGabor]

I used Lester for payroll. No real problems, paid regularly. They are also authorised to sponsor you for the 457 - its better this way than the client sponsoring you as you can then work for any end-client. However I had problems with them when trying to get my 457 renewed after moving to NZ for 6 months and my first 457 expired. They took ages to renew my visa, so long I lost my contract renewal and had to return to the UK. Missed out on a 60% increase in my rate with previous client!! However the sponsoring laws had just changed at that time, so they were waiting for government approval