Yeah, those who are injured here really get a rough deal. It's one of the scary things about being a temporary resident, there's only so much we can control.

It's a sweet deal for Australia IMO. Come on over! Pay your taxes and partake in the building of our country and society! Oops, something went wrong? Sorry, we can't help you, you're not Australian, think it's time you went back to NZ now!

We thank them for having us (and fair enough) but sometimes I think they need to thank the more recent arrivals at least for what we input to Australia and what we take in return. It's not a bad wicket for Australia really.

Yes, we are good for the country, they get our $$ but we cost them less. Something will change, it's going to be interesting to see how.

That's why I reckon (hope, anyway!) that they have to be good to those already here.

I really hope they change those rules in a few years so you can all get residency (and they refund me my money for mine lol)

We have made friends with another NZ couple that moved here 2 yrs ago and they got jobs and worked etc etc all good until he started becoming unwell and has now been diagnosed with MS. He is already using a mobility scooter now and can no longer drive. They have been going thru all sorts of legal stuff but basically NZ are paying them the sickness benefit over to here as they are not residents.

Did they have income protection insurance T? (Although maybe that's just for accidents?)

ETA just spoke to DH and no, apparently it is for sickness too, and it would pay out indefinitely if you got sick and couldn't work. It's something we got when we got here as a matter of priority since there's no ACC or anything.

no don't think they had income protection. Now the dad is at home full time and the mum works full time, i don't know what will happen as he deteriorates though?? Luckily for them her job as a nurse is on "the list" so she can apply for residency for her and the kids.

Man, sucky.

Sorry haven't had a chance to read through what's been happening on this thread lately (I skim read every now and then, some of its all so confusing! lol)...But just wanted to share my excitement that we're coming over in 3 weeks, for 2 weeks, on a recce mission Flying into Brisbane and then getting a rental car and driving up to Gladstone where DH's brother and sis in law live, and spending a few days up there with them, checking it all out, as it looks likely that that's where we will move (for a start anyway, as there's plenty of work available there). Then we drive back down to Gold coast for a few days with my dad, and do a couple of theme parks, shopping etc Just wondering, is wet n wild worthwhile for a 7 year old and 2 year old, or is it more for older kids? We're gonna definitly go to sea world, have been there before and think the kids will love it as they both adore animals It's looking like we will definitly move over, DH is totally over his job here in NZ and gagging to move somewhere that he gets paid decently for what he does, and im ready for a change. We decided to come over on a recce trip first just to check it out and make sure we do wanna move there. I would hate to have moved there and sold all our stuff and our house, then find we dont actually like it!

income protection is for sickness too. It really hit home when Dad was sick, the were considered PR as they had been here so long, and before the cut off date, so they were entitled to everything, and they had private health but the income prot really made a difference. Enough that we took some out.

If we are here 10yrs continuously C will be considered an Australian citizen, but not N (she was born here). We missed the cut off date by a few weeks dammit, when they changed the rules. It sucks because I was schooled here, worked here as a teenager etc. Mum is now an Aust citizen, she did the ceremony last year. I do hope they rethink the rules!

Man its hard isnt it. Reading all this makes you realise its not 'just' a simple jump the ditch and your going to make a shit load of money is it. While your income will be higher (when you finally get a job - allow a few months for that one) You really do need to make sure you have enough money to fully support your family for a very long time because if you dont have a job or lose your job your not going to get any financial assistance.

In NZ you pay into ACC so you dont *have to have* private insurance but over here you really do need to take out private medical dont you - unless your an Australian.

I do hope they change the rules so those of you who have been there for a long time will be entitled to more - or they remove it from the Australians in NZ so that its a fair system

Do all of the income insurances cover medical or do you need to shop around for that?

No definitely not all sunshine and money. Not by a long shot. We spent thousands and thousands moving over here and we're only just getting on our feet nearly 2 years after arriving. Unless I get a job on the list or they change the list to include DH's job then we're in a vulnerable position, as are the kids.

DH's job has pretty good death and disability benefits (altho they've just changed it and it's nothing like it was). We have good life insurance both through his work and privately too. It's a must for his job.

Health insurance is different. There's income protection to cover your income if you can't work, health insurance for medical costs, and life insurance in case of death.

It is so frustrating that so many people don't realise this and then end up in silly situations

We are another case that can't even apply for residency as neither of our jobs are on the list even though we are both youngish and have both been working full time nad paying Aussie taxes for coming up 3 years soon.

Joy, if you guys are planning to stay, I would seriously consider one of you retraining for something. You are young enough to have time to do it.

So let me see if I have this right? Its kinda hard reading it and trying to understand when im not there and have no idea what you're talking about, lol....
So if we got over there, and after say a year, builder hubby broke his back (god forbid) and couldn't work for 2 years..we would get no assistance from anyone, unless we had private health insurance? So no public health care, and no benifits?... Also i thought that over there you had to have health insurance? Or am I confusing it with America?
Regarding unemployment benifits, from what i've read you can only get that after you have been living there for 2 years, is this correct?

No, you are not eligible for unemployment benefit unless you have been living and working here for 10 years, and then you are entitled to 6 months only, once. Not 6 months each time. Six months, ever.

You would get healthcare, although even public health care can cost money, for xrays and stuff unless you are in hospital. You don't have to have health insurance, I personally think you should, but it's not compulsory. If you want to find discussions on that, dig about in the thread. But you would get no help with living expenses at all, no ACC, no benefit, nothing. You need income protection insurance for that.

I think the Aussie govt needs to take out ads in NZ explaining this, might be a few less streaming over and getting themselves in financial trouble!!

I've heard of about 12 seperate people (some are couples though), who have returned to NZ in the last 6mths or so, cos things didn't work out for them in Oz. They've found work much harder to get, than they expected and it wasn't all they'd expected. Not sure if they went with really high expectations, or what. Also they said the wages, (if they did end up getting a job), although a bit higher than in NZ, the cost of living was a whole lot more, so they weren't any better off than in NZ.

So yeah, some real info to Kiwis before they move to Oz, would be great.

so in your example Mel, your Dh would get free access to hospital care if he was unwell enough to be admitted, then outpatient care too, having insurance would only cover if it was a planned admission so not an accident. then once home you would not get any income from the govt except for the standard childcare rebates (if eligble) and any rental assistance & family assistance due which is all calculated on your family income.
No sickness benefit or ACC or unemployment benefit at all.

But also, a little more in depth research by the people thinking of coming about things before they come over. You'd think that cost of living and wages would be something people would check into. We did 3 seperate trips here to check all that stuff out before we committed to moving. Moving here is a very expensive exercise, I doubt any of us had change from $10K and for most of us, undoubtedly it cost more, unless an employer paid. To turn around and go back again puts you into a far worse position than when you started.