Moving to Australia: the whole journey, in the order that works

I have spent more than fifteen years in HR on the employer's side of Australian migration, hiring people from overseas, relocating them here, and quietly fixing things when nobody had told them how Australia actually works. This page is the orientation I wish every one of them had been handed on day one: the whole journey from "should I move?" to established life, in seven steps, in the order that works.

Everything here is general information with figures verified against official Australian sources in July 2026. It is the map. For your specific route, the corridor and occupation guides go several layers deeper, and for immigration advice the law is clear: only OMARA-registered migration agents or Australian legal practitioners may provide it. You can verify any agent at mara.gov.au.

Step 1: Decide with your eyes open

Before any paperwork, do the honest ledger. On the gain side: median full-time earnings around AUD $98,000, skilled salaries that often beat home-country equivalents, healthcare that works, space, and weather. On the loss side, the one that matters most is distance. Flights home are long and expensive, most migrant families budget for one trip a year, and if a parent falls ill you cannot be there tomorrow. Decide about that now, not at the departure gate.

Money-wise, plan the move against real numbers rather than vibes: what it really costs to move to Australia breaks down the visa fees, shipping, arrival setup, and the buffer you need before the first payday. As one anchor: a couple landing in a capital city should have at least AUD $15,000 to $20,000 accessible. All the reference figures live in the Cost of Moving to Australia Index, updated each July.

Step 2: Understand the visa landscape (the map, not your route)

The pathways, at orientation level. The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462) for those aged 18 to 35 from eligible countries, a year of full work rights and a real foothold. Employer-sponsored routes: the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), the workhorse for professionals with an offer, with a legal salary floor (the Core Skills Income Threshold, $79,499 from 1 July 2026), and the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), which is permanent from day one. The points-tested family: Skilled Independent (189), State Nominated (190), and Regional (491), where your age, English, experience and qualifications are scored and invitations have become genuinely selective. The Student visa (500) and its post-study work rights. Partner visas if your other half is Australian. And New Zealand citizens have their own arrangement entirely.

We explain how the pieces fit, in plain English, in Australia's skilled visa system, explained. Two principles carry you through this step. Know the shape of each pathway before you talk to anyone, so you brief well and evaluate advice well. And use a registered professional for the application itself: verify them at mara.gov.au, and treat anyone unregistered who offers visa help for money as the scam it legally is.

Step 3: Prepare the groundwork

Whichever pathway fits, the groundwork is similar and takes longer than you expect. Skills assessments run first and set the timeline: nurses through ANMAC, engineers through Engineers Australia, ICT through the ACS, trades through Trades Recognition Australia, each with its own documents and processing times running from weeks to many months. Certificates need ordering, sometimes apostilles, and every document should carry the same name, with formal evidence for any name change, because mismatched names stall everything.

Start gathering about three months before you intend to lodge anything. Assessors and case officers reward tidy, complete files, and the applicants who suffer are the ones ordering a missing birth certificate at the eleventh hour. The moving to Australia checklist sequences this phase at 12, 6, and 2 weeks out.

Step 4: Arrive with the scaffolding already built

The best arrival weeks are boring, because the work was done before the flight. Open an Australian bank account from home, since the major banks accept non-residents pre-arrival, and move your savings with a foreign exchange specialist rather than your bank, whose margin is typically 2 to 4 per cent worse on large transfers, which is thousands of dollars on relocation-sized money. The full sequence is in opening an Australian bank account before you fly.

Then, in the first week on the ground, in order: activate the bank account, apply for your Tax File Number (free, online, and without it your employer withholds at the top rate, 47 per cent, until it is fixed), set up myGov, register for Medicare if your visa qualifies or activate your overseas visitor cover if it does not, and get an Australian SIM so your CV carries a local number. Book temporary accommodation for the first weeks rather than signing a year-long lease from photos; you cannot judge a suburb from the other side of the planet.

Step 5: The first 30 days, where the job search gets real

The Australian CV is its own format, and the differences get overseas applications rejected in seconds: no photo, ever; two to three pages with achievements and dates; a local number and suburb. We wrote the employer's-eye view in the Australian CV: why yours gets rejected in six seconds, and the realistic pay picture in Australian salaries by occupation. Learn the package math early: superannuation (12 per cent, paid by the employer on top of base) means a $120K offer is $134K in real terms, and always compare total package, never base alone.

Understand employment types before accepting anything. Casual roles pay a 25 per cent loading but carry no leave and no guaranteed hours; permanent roles carry the full safety net. Award rates are the legal floor and are public: check yours at fairwork.gov.au before any interview, because knowing the floor changes the conversation.

Step 6: Settle in across the first 90 days

Once income flows, the settling decisions arrive together. Health cover becomes a tax question: above $105,000 for a single or $210,000 for a family, going without private hospital cover triggers the Medicare Levy Surcharge, so basic cover is often cheaper than the extra tax. Schools are zoned, and the public school in your target suburb may be excellent, so check catchments before you sign a lease. Childcare typically runs $50 to $120 a day per child even after subsidy, the cost shock most families never see coming. And choosing where to live deserves method rather than photos: Sydney vs Melbourne vs Brisbane vs Perth covers the city personalities and how locals read a suburb before committing.

This window is walked day by day in the First 90 Days in Australia guide, which exists precisely because the first weeks are a sequence, and the order matters.

Step 7: Established life, and the long game

From about year one the questions change: the pathway from a temporary visa to permanent residency, citizenship eligibility down the track, buying a home (rent in the suburb first; banks take longer with new arrivals), superannuation strategy, and the home-country loose ends that reward patience, from pensions to tax residency. None of it needs solving before you fly. It needs a list with dates next to it, which is most of what "established" really means.

Where are you moving from?

The corridor shapes the move: the paperwork you exit with, the money moves, the qualification recognition, and where your community already lives. Start with your corridor:

What do you do?

If your profession defines your move, the occupation guides go deepest on registration, salary bands, and the employer landscape:

Common questions

How much money do I need to move to Australia?

It depends on visa and household, but as anchors: the 189 visa costs $6,135 in government fees alone, and a couple landing in a capital city should have at least AUD $15,000 to $20,000 accessible for the setup weeks. The full breakdown is in the real cost of moving to Australia.

What is the easiest way to move to Australia?

The one that fits your age, occupation and circumstances. Working holiday for the young, sponsorship for professionals with offers, points visas for strong candidates in listed occupations. The map above is where to start; an OMARA-registered agent is who to finish with.

Do I need a job offer first?

Not for the points-tested visas. Yes for employer-sponsored routes. Either way, an Australian-format CV and employer research before you land put you ahead of most arrivals.

How long does the whole thing take?

Most skilled moves run 12 to 24 months from decision to arrival, with the skills assessment usually setting the pace. Working holiday moves are far faster.

Is it worth paying a migration agent?

For the visa itself, often yes, provided they are OMARA-registered (verify at mara.gov.au). The preparation that pays is understanding the landscape first, so you arrive as their best-prepared client.